Spanish national team aids fight against Malaria

The Spanish national football team is taking part in a campaign to raise awareness in the battle to combat Malaria.

The sickness is calculated to kill a child every 30 seconds in Africa and with Spain one of the favorites to win the World Cup, which kicks off in South Africa on June 11, the current European champions have taken part in a the campaign 'Todos Contra la Malaria' (Everyone against Malaria).

The Spanish football team is working in collaboration with the Spanish Red Cross, Medicos Sin Fronteras, Save the Children, UNICEF and the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund as well as the African Foundation for Medicine and Investigation and the Centro de Investigacion en Salud International de Barcelona (Center for International Health Investigation).

In an attempt to gain further public and political support several players from the Spain team: Iker Casillas, Xavi Hernandez, Xabi Alonso, David Villa, Andres Iniesta and coach Vicente del Bosque all appear in an advert with the message, 'spread the word.'

"Football is the most popular sport in the World, no other sport is able to mobilize so many people and so many different cultures. Because of its popularity and its universal character and the interest it provokes everywhere, it is a powerful tool to help raise awareness of how serious malaria is," said Daniel Tanzer, the coordinator of the Todos contra la malaria campaign.

Source: Xinhua