Slovenia was hit by a severe natural disaster in August 2023. Floods took away the homes of thousands of locals. Mr. Aleksander Čeferin, the UEFA President, was the initiator and the driving force behind the charity football match, where legendary football stars helped collect donations to help the victims of these floods.
Gianluigi Buffon, Paolo Maldini, Luis Figo, Eric Abidal, Javier Zanetti, Nemanja Vidić, Zvonimir Boban, Clarence Seedorf, Robert Pires, Mario Mandžukić, Predrag Mijatović, Miroslav Klose, Dimitar Berbatov, Andrei Shevchenko, Oliver Bierhoff, Zlatan Ibrahimović and other global football stars joined forces with former Slovenian internationals in a match at the sold-out Stožice stadium on September 15. Teams were led by Fabio Capello and Matjaž Kek.
Some 16.000 spectators enjoyed the spectacle live at the stadium, 1.600 members of the civil protection services, firefighters and soldiers were among the spectators.
The charity match was broadcasted in more than hundred countries, the host broadcaster was PRO PLUS / POP TV (Slovenia), media partner Radio 1. Over EUR 3.7 million from donations across the world has been raised. Everyone involved in the organization of the match waived their costs.
Sport Media Focus was privileged to be in the role of the co-organizer of the event (in partnership with FA Slovenia), media rights distributor and hospitality & sports presentation manager.
