Spanish soccer team joins forces with UN agency to score goal against hunger

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) announced today that it is teaming up with the Spanish soccer club Atlético de Madrid to promote efforts to overcome hunger and extreme poverty.

The two institutions signed an agreement at the agency’s headquarters in Rome to work together to raise public awareness about FAO’s campaign known as “1 billion hungry.” That campaign was launched last month with the aim of gathering one million signatures calling on governments to make eradicating hunger a top priority.

Atlético de Madrid – which won the prestigious Europa League title last month – has agreed to use its foundation to promote FAO initiatives as well as the work of other UN agencies such as the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO).

“FAO has always attached great importance to sports in general and professional football in particular as a tool for peace and development and an instrument of awareness on the situation of hunger in the world,” said Annika Soder, a senior communications official for the agency.