LEO MESSI

Lionel Messi has often been referred to as the Messiah of Argentinian football.  This is indeed a very heavy burden for the small sized Messi.  His footballing prowess and talent cannot be doubted and whether Argentina manages to lift the world cup for the third time, Messi's repute as one of the best footballers of his generation would remain intact.  We had a dose of his brilliance during Argentina's opening match with Nigeria. 

What I want to blog about today is about Leo Messi's non-footballing life, specifically his charity work.  Messi who was diagnosed with growth hormone deficiency as a young boy managed to get treatment for his disorder because Spanish football club Barcelona saw great potential in the young boy and agreed to sponsor his costly treatment.  The boy and his family moved to Spain and the rest is footballing history.  To give back to society, Lionel Messi started the Leo Messi Foundation, a charity supporting access to education and health care for vulnerable children.  He and members of his family have been working -in a tireless way- on carrying out its Mission to act in favour of children and adolescents who are in a risk situation.The prospects are: to work on actions, not only in Argentina, but also abroad and together with other institutions which develop projects in alignment with the ideals of the Foundation.

In an interview, Messi was quoted as saying “Being a bit famous now gives me the opportunity to help people who really need it, especially children.

In response to Messi’s own childhood medical difficulties, the Leo Messi Foundation supports Argentine children diagnosed with medical conditions by offering treatment in Spain and covering the transport, hospital and recuperation costs. Messi’s foundation is supported by his own fundraising activity with additional assistance from Herbalife.
On 11 March 2010, Messi was announced as a goodwill ambassador for UNICEF. As the Unicef ambassador, Messi's activities are aimed at supporting children’s rights. Leo is supported in this by FC Barcelona, who also have a strong association with Unicef.
With all the good work that he has done and will be doing for those in need, I have become a fan of his.  Of course, at the same time I am also mesmerised with his magical display on the football field.
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lionel_Messi
http://www.fundacionleomessi.org/index.php?lang=en&PHPSESSID=67b3562204bd35e75911f335ec8ae35c