NewsFood.com

Madrid/Rome - Spanish soccer captain and FAO Goodwill Ambassador Raúl González was awarded the first edition Spanish prize for solidarity in sports for ?30 000, which he has requested be donated to the FAO special projects fund known as TeleFood.

The first edition of the «Premios a la solidaridad en el deporte» was awarded by the Spanish Olympic Committee, the Spanish Paralympics Committee, the Region and the City of Madrid with the SOS Foundation. Promoted by the International Olympic Committee, the award is intended to highlight the importance of sport as an instrument of solidarity and as a means for promoting humanitarian projects.

In making the award, the jury considered the role of Raúl as FAO Goodwill Ambassador and the proposed FAO TeleFood projects the most valuable examples of how sports can support concrete projects. Altogether, five TeleFood projects will be supported by the Award in Ecuador, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Lebanon and Nicaragua.

The award ceremony took place on 27 May in the auditorium of the Spanish Olympic Committee with the attendance of H.R.H. Infanta Pilar de Borbon, the Minister of Education, Culture and Sports of Spain, Mercedes Cabrera, the Mayor of Madrid, Alberto Ruiz Gallardón, and several Spanish sports and social celebrities.

The TeleFood Fund was established following the 1996 World Food Summit, and has made possible the funding of more than 2 500 projects in 130 countries around the world. The Fund finances micro-projects that help very poor farmers produce more food and generate cash income, for better access to food. Project categories range from crop production to fish and animal production, including support to school garden initiatives and apiculture. The budget of each project does not exceed US$10 000 and have a duration of 12 months.