Real Betis Balompié donates profits from the Copa del Rey final at the Benito Villamarín to UNICEF

Real Betis Balompié donates profits from the Copa del Rey final at the Benito Villamarín to UNICEF

UNICEF will use the donation to send basic emergency supplies to meet the growing needs of children affected by the war in and around Ukraine.

Real Betis Balompié has donated the proceeds from the entrance fee of the Copa del Rey final at the Benito Villamarín to UNICEF. Joaquín Sánchez, captain of the Real Betis team and Friend of UNICEF Committee Andalucía, and Rafael Gordillo, president of the Real Betis Balompié Foundation, have been in charge of presenting the donation to Claudia Zafra, president of UNICEF Committee Andalucía, and Maribel Martínez, UNICEF’s coordinator in the Andalusian region.

Specifically, the club has donated 56,725 euros to UNICEF, a figure resulting from the full sale of entrance tickets to see the final of the Copa del Rey at the Benito Villamarín Stadium. Betis installed a big screen and admit fans who couldn’t secure a ticket for the Final played in the La Cartuja Stadium of Seville, with season-ticket holders getting priority. The event was attended by thousands of supporters who were able to enjoy this historic moment and, at the same time, collaborate with this charitable cause.

With this donation, UNICEF will be able to provide essential services for Ukrainian children and their families, such as health care, education, protection, and access to water and sanitation. With this amount UNICEF can, for example, provide more than 1,400 first aid kits with essential medicines and equipment needed to treat minor injuries to children affected by the war in Ukraine and on its borders.

Nearly three months into the war, humanitarian conditions for children are increasingly desperate in areas of eastern and southern Ukraine where fighting is intense. UNICEF is aware that, as of 18 May, at least 255 children have been killed and 382 injured, although the numbers could be much higher. Thousands more are deeply traumatised by the violence around them, and in need of health care, security, protection and psychosocial care. These circumstances are causing massive population displacement: some two-thirds of Ukrainian children are internally displaced or have fled to a neighbouring country and it is estimated that more than 6.4 million people have crossed Ukrainian borders into Western Europe.

“Real Betis Balompié is an organisation that always tries to live up to the needs of society. Faced with a humanitarian emergency like this one, we have not hesitated to get down to work and collaborate with UNICEF, an organization that is helping the little Ukrainians who are suffering from this situation.”

Rafael Gordillo, president of the Real Betis Balompié Foundation

“UNICEF would like to thank Real Betis Balompié and its Foundation for always showing their generosity towards the most vulnerable children. They have always responded to UNICEF’s appeals in emergency or crisis situations for children and their families and have given us their support. We would like to thank them especially that, on this occasion, given the magnitude of the drama experienced by children affected by the war in Ukraine, they placed their trust in UNICEF to bring aid to the country and its borders through this donation.”

Claudia Zafra, president of the UNICEF Andalusia Committee

Real Betis Balompié adds this action to others it has already carried out to help the Ukrainian people. Last March, the Real Betis Foundation launched the ‘NoWar’ campaign, which appealed to Real Betis fans to collect humanitarian materials to help meet the needs of those affected by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. In addition, the Foundation has also sent seven electric generators to the Ukrainian border, as well as medical material through Grupo Samu.