File Photo: Liverpool's Mohamed Salah shoots past two Manchester City players during their match in Manchester, England. AFP
The UEFA Foundation for Children said on Tuesday it will work with Médecins du Monde, Médecins Sans Frontières and Handicap International to deliver medical care, psychosocial support, food kits and education on the dangers of explosive remnants to children affected by the war.
UEFA president Aleksander Čeferin said the move was part of a wider mission to help young people in conflict zones, adding: “Children are innocent… we must do what we can to help those who are trying to make life more tolerable and normal for them.”
Henry Winter, a prominent British football writer, asked whether the move was a response to Salah’s pointed remarks, writing on X: “The Salah effect? UEFA establishes partnerships with Médecins du Monde, Médecins Sans Frontières and Handicap International… providing vital humanitarian help for the children of Gaza, who are enduring what UN Secretary General António Guterres has described as ‘a humanitarian catastrophe of epic proportions’.”
He described the aid as urgently needed and said it was “interesting” to know if it followed Salah’s criticism of UEFA’s limited statement on the death of former Palestine player Suleiman Al-Obeid.
On Sunday, Salah, the Liverpool and Egypt forward, reposted UEFA’s brief condolence message on X to his 19.4 million followers, asking: “Can you tell us how he died, where, and why?” The message was in tribute to Al-Obeid, known as the “Palestinian Pele,” who, according to the Palestine Football Association (PFA), was killed last week in an Israeli airstrike in southern Gaza.
Al-Obeid, 41, scored more than 100 goals in his career and earned 24 caps for Palestine. The PFA says 421 footballers, including 103 children, have been killed or died from starvation in Gaza since the war began, with 288 sports facilities damaged or destroyed.
UEFA said its new Gaza-focused aid will run alongside existing projects in other conflict areas including Ukraine, Sudan, Lebanon, Yemen, Syria and Afghanistan.
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