June 7 – In the week before the Champions league final in Istanbul, UEFA and the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) have announced a series of fund raising initiatives to support earthquake victims in Türkiye and Syria.
UEFA has already made an initial donation of €200,000 while member associations have raised more than €900,000 from donations.
The donations raised during Champions League week will be distributed by the UEFA Foundation for Children in collaboration with the TFF to a variety of partners including offering mental health support to children through football-related initiatives and aiding the rehabilitation of children who suffered severe injuries in the earthquakes.
UEFA detailed the following activities around the final:
- Fans can ‘tap-to-donate’ with terminals provided by Mastercard, which will be available at the UEFA Champions Festival, Atatürk Olympic Stadium and Fan Zones.
- A free concert, where artists will call to action to ‘tap-to-donate’ will be held on Sunday 11 June at the UEFA Champions Festival at Yenikapı Park, starting from 19:00. No tickets are required to attend.
- As well as the ‘tap-to-donate’ terminals, people will be able to make a donation via a QR code.
- Some of the children affected by the earthquakes will accompany the players – as part of the Mastercard Player Mascot activation – and the refereeing team at the final on to the pitch. Two groups of children from the affected region will be invited to attend the official team training sessions of finalists, Manchester City and at the Atatürk Olympic Stadium the day before the final.
- Any coins removed from fans prior to entry to the final will also be donated to the Earthquake Fund in support of those affected by the earthquakes in Türkiye and Syria.
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