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Soccer stars to play charity match for Haiti,Pakistan

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-12-14 14:55

UNITED NATIONS - Dozens of international footballers are expected to play in Greece on Tuesday to garner support for the people in Haiti and Pakistan, which were affected by different kinds of disasters, UN spokesman Martin Nesirky told on Monday.

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"Tuesday's 8th Annual Match Against Poverty will feature UN Development Program (UNDP) Goodwill Ambassadors Ronaldo and Zinedine Zidane, among more than 30 international footballers, hosted by the Olympiakos Football Club in Piraeus, Greece," Nesirky said at a daily news briefing.

"Proceeds from the match will go in part to support the people of Haiti and Pakistan," he said. "The match will be broadcast live on more than 20 international television networks, including in Haiti and Pakistan.

"In a message to the event, the (UN) secretary-general will say that we will not forget the people of Haiti and Pakistan in their time of need," the spokesman said.

Haiti repeatedly gets afflicted by disasters and still deals with the reconstruction of the country due to the catastrophic January 12 earthquake, destructions caused by Hurricane Tomas and a current cholera scourge that has killed more than 1,800 Haitians and infected almost 81,000, according to recent estimates.

In Pakistan, the floods that began in July 2010 devastated one-fifth of the Asian country and impacted some 20.3 million people. The waters destroyed much infrastructure and ruined health centers in rural areas, which has made the health situation of many Pakistanis more precarious.