Cuban children grouped in the children’s soccer club of the Regla municipality, in Havana, joined the celebrations of the 2002 FIFA World Cup with an inclusive match, as part of the actions for World Children’s Day.
The soccer celebration took place on the grounds of the Artistic Literary Lyceum of that municipality with the presence of the UNICEF representative, Alejandra Trossero, and officials from the Italian embassy in Cuba, as well as authorities from the Island.
Under the motto “When we defend the rights of children, we are one team”, the event was part of the celebrations of World Children’s Day, which aimed to promote the inclusion and non-discrimination of children and adolescents, using soccer as a symbol of integration, union and equality, indicated a release from UNICEF.
Trossero, representative of that organization in Cuba, indicated that “the celebration of World Children’s Day coincides this year with the start of the Soccer World Cup and what better way to celebrate it than to link both events. Football has the power to include, eliminate barriers of discrimination and serve as a platform for the promotion of the rights of children and adolescents”.
This year, the actions for World Children’s Day were also added to the 30th anniversary of the presence of the United Nations Children’s Fund in Cuba.
UNICEF carries out systematic work in Cuba in favor of children. Recently, his team traveled to communities in the Pinar del Río province devastated by Hurricane Ian, where they visited schools to celebrate the rights of children and provide assistance in the most affected regions of the province.
