What is the Football Cares initiative?

On Monday 25 May, ECA Member Clubs are uniting to support International Missing Children’s Day.

86 ECA Members have agreed to take part in the #FootballCares initiative that aims to utilise the power of the global football community to help reunite missing children with their loved ones.

What clubs are involved?

There are over 200 clubs from six continents involved – including 86 ECA Member Clubs such as FC Barcelona, Real Madrid CF, FC Bayern München, Liverpool FC, Manchester United FC, Juventus, Paris Saint-Germain and many more. You can read the full list of participating ECA Member Clubs at the bottom of this page.

How do clubs participate?

Clubs will post a Tweet on 25 May – International Missing Children’s Day - containing a short caption and a link to a video that will feature a number of missing children. There are a number of different videos available for clubs to choose from – focused on different regions and in different languages – with clubs being encouraged to choose the video that they think will be most relevant to their audience.

How will this help?

While many clubs have their own foundations and social programmes, the desire to reunite missing children with their families is a universal one. Over one million children go missing around the world each year and while the majority may return home quickly and safely, many remain missing for longer periods of time. We recognise the potential of ECA Member Clubs to amplify efforts to find them by bringing more awareness to these missing children through the incredible social media presence of clubs – reaching millions of followers all around the world.

Who is behind the initiative?

The initiative is being run by the International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children (ICMEC). For more than 20 years, ICMEC has been leading efforts to make the world safer for children. Their work reaches across every continent, and ICMEC’s Global Missing Children’s Network brings together 30 members to help recover missing and abducted children. On 25 May each year, ICMEC coordinates activities and campaigns to build awareness around the issue of missing children, celebrate those who have been recovered and remember those who are still missing.

AS Roma is helping to coordinate the football element and making all the content. The Football Cares project is being fully supported by ECA, FIFA and many international and national football associations and governing bodies.

How can I find out more about ICMEC and get involved in the Football Cares initiative?

Simply click here to visit the special Football cares section of the ICMEC website.

Media Contacts

Alun Vaughan, ECA: Alun.Vaughan@ecaeurope.com
Caroline Humer, ICMEC: chumer@icmec.org
Paul Rogers, AS Roma: paul.rogers@asroma.it
Rebecca Steinbach, NCMEC (USA): Media@ncmec.org 
Georgia Romeril, Missing People (UK): Georgia.Romeril@missingpeople.org.uk

Participating ECA Member Clubs:

FC Santa Coloma, Andorra

SK Rapid Wien, Austria

KAA Gent, Belgium

KRC Genk, Belgium

FK Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina

PFC Ludogorets 1945, Bulgaria

GNK Dinamo, Croatia

HNK Hajduk Split, Croatia

AC Omonia, Cyprus

AEK Larnaca FC, Cyprus

APOEL FC, Cyprus

Apollon Limassol FC, Cyprus

FC Slovan Liberec, Czech Republic

FC Viktoria Plzeň, Czech Republic

SK Slavia Praha, Czech Republic

Aalborg BK, Denmark

Chelsea FC, England

Everton FC, England

Liverpool FC, England

Manchester City FC, England

Manchester United FC, England

Tottenham Hotspur, England

EB/Streymur, Faroe Islands

SJK Seinäjoki, Finland

FC Girondins de Bordeaux, France

Olympique de Marseille, France

Olympique Lyonnais, France

Paris Saint-Germain, France

Bayer 04 Leverkusen, Germany

Borussia Dortmund, Germany

FC Bayern München, Germany

FC Schalke 04, Germany

TSG 1899 Hoffenheim, Germany

VfL Borussia Mönchengladbach, Germany

VfL Wolfsburg, Germany

Lincoln Red Imps FC, Gibraltar

AEK Athens FC, Greece

Asteras Tripolis FC, Greece

Atromitos FC, Greece

Olympiacos FC, Greece

Panathinaikos FC, Greece

PAOK FC, Greece

Fehérvár FC, Hungary

Ferencvárosi TC, Hungary

Hapoel Beer-Sheva FC, Israel

AC Milan, Italy

ACF Fiorentina, Italy

AS Roma, Italy

Atalanta BC, Italy

FC Internazionale Milano, Italy

Juventus, Italy

SS Lazio, Italy

FC Astana, Kazakhstan

FK Jelgava, Latvia

FC Zimbru Chișinău, Moldova

FK Sutjeska, Montenegro

OFK Titograd, Montenegro

AFC Ajax, Netherlands

AZ Alkmaar, Netherlands

FK Vardar, North Macedonia

Linfield FC, Northern Ireland

Rosenborg BK, Norway

SL Benfica, Portugal

Cork City FC, Republic of Ireland

Dundalk FC, Republic of Ireland

Shamrock Rovers FC, Republic of Ireland

CFR 1907 Cluj, Romania

FC Lokomotiv Moskva, Russia

FC Spartak Moskva, Russia

FC Zenit, Russia

La Fiorita, San Marino

Celtic FC, Scotland

Rangers FC, Scotland

SK Slovan Bratislava, Slovakia

Athletic Club, Spain

Club Atlético de Madrid, Spain

FC Barcelona, Spain

Real Madrid CF, Spain

Sevilla FC, Spain

Valencia CF, Spain

Malmö FF, Sweden

BSC Young Boys, Switzerland

FC Basel 1893, Switzerland

FC Zürich, Switzerland

Fenerbahçe SK, Turkey

Galatasaray AŞ, Turkey