24.11.2010
Luís Figo in an interview with Jornal A Bola
At the age of 38, Figo keeps the same look he's always had: penetrating, incisive. And it was with eyes glowing with satisfaction and pride that, two days ago, in a cold and rainy morning, he opened the doors of 51 Rua da Prata so that readers of A BOLA could understand a little more, and in further detail, about his other life project: the Luís Figo Foundation.
The LFF was born in March of 2003, when you were 30 years old and were an European Champion with Real Madrid. Was this an idea that had been brewing in your head for a long time?
Yes. I started thinking about the creation of this foundation some time before creating it. Helping those in need and, in this case, young people, was always tempting, and, at that stage of my sports career, almost eight years ago, I decided to go through with it.
What is the LFF all about?
We mainly act on four pillars: Education, Hope, Health and Sports.
The pillar of Sports was, at first, the most obvious side of the foundation, through the yearly organization of the AllStars Game.
Yes. That was the start of an adventure that, up to this date, has been very gratifying. It's one of our most visible initiatives both nationally and abroad. It's been a great way to raise funds for more 'hidden' projects from our foundation, by increasing the visibility levels in our activities, as well as those from our partners.
The first AllStars match was in 2003, and it's been 7 years...
Yes. The first four matches took place in Portugal [Bessa Stadium, two times at Algarve Stadium, and once at José Alvalade], and the last three abroad [Romania, Switzerland and Angola]. The first four allowed us to raise about 300 thousand euros for our less known projects.
And the last three?
As for those, we used the money we raised in the construction of houses for children. We gave out 80.000€ to build a refugee house in Lisbon, in a partnership with the Portuguese Refugee Council, whose first stone was cast last Monday; in 2008, the foundation gave 50.000€ to the Ronald McDonald Foundation, so that they could inaugurate a project called 'A home away from home', near the D. Estefânia Hospital, in Lisbon, to shelter children who were receiving outpatient treatment; finally, in 2007, the IPSS Movimento ao Serviço da Vida began the restoration of a house donated by the City Hall of Lisbon, located at the Bela Vista Park, which will shelter children in need. This home, the Casa das Cores, was born in November of 2008, to which the LFF contributed with 100.000€.
Let us go back a little. What is the pillar of Education's objective?
We support the Desporto Escolar program from the Board of Education in a project called Priority Intervention Educational Territories (TEIP). The connection between sports and succeeding at school is important, almost decisive, for the healthy upbringing of children. If they do sports, at school or outside of school, the better their chances are of living a healthy life, and their chances of having healthy alternatives to real problems, like drugs, will also improve greatly. We wish to help fighting poor grades at school, mainly in terms of absenteeism, addicting behaviors and violence.
When it comes to the pillar of Hope, there was a particularly emotive moment, when an articulated electric bed was given out to a child who suffered from spina bifida...
Yes. We have our own project, recently created, called «For a better life [Para uma vida melhor]», which supports children and young people in need, attempting to create better life conditions. Last Summer, on July 5, we delivered that bed to Marco António, whose quality of life improved dramatically. It's gestures such as this, maybe less visible to the public eye, that are the most significant. They are gestures that are filled with emotion.
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