Geneva (ICRC) – The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is organizing an online auction of rare UEFA EURO 2008™ collectors' items, including footballs autographed by players from the tournament champion, Spain.

The auction, which will take place on www.ebay.ch/redcross until 17 July, is part of the "Score for the Red Cross" campaign to raise funds for the ICRC's physical rehabilitation programmes in Afghanistan.

It will also feature footballs and campaign T-shirts signed by the ICRC's "Score for the Red Cross" ambassadors – Cristiano Ronaldo, the Portuguese football star, and Marc Forster, the director of the new James Bond film – and items signed by players from the Swiss, German and French national teams, which played in UEFA EURO 2008™.

Meanwhile, Germany is in the lead to win the title of "Most Humanitarian Team" of the UEFA EURO 2008™ tournament.

Thousands of Internet users have been voting for their favourite teams by purchasing virtual goals online.

In addition, UEFA has donated 4,000 euros for each goal scored during the tournament in Switzerland and Austria.

A total of more than 500,000 euros has been raised so far.

Fan support and UEFA donations, taken together, have put Germany in first place with 80,000 virtual goals scored.

The tournament winners, Spain, are second with 55,000 virtual goals, ahead of the Netherlands and Turkey.

The ICRC will keep www.scorefortheredcross.org online until the end of the summer so that football fans can continue to support their team while helping mine victims in Afghanistan to walk again.


For more information, please go to www.scorefortheredcross.org
or contact Anna Nelson, ICRC Geneva, tel.

+41 22 730 24 26 or +41 79 217 32 64


See also ICRC media contacts

This article on www.icrc.org