July 25 2005

Michael Schumacher to lead a benefit football match for charities in Hungary

Star tenor Placido Domingo to kick-off the game in Budapest

25/07/2005 - The MAI CASCO Football Grand Prix between Formula 1 drivers and a Hungarian All Stars Team will be played on 27 July 2005 (20:15 CET) at the Puskas Stadium in Budapest, and will be kicked-off by star tenor Placido Domingo. The proceeds will go to the Hungarian Association of SOS Children's Villages, the foundation for UNESCO "Education for Children in Need", and the Transylvanian Saint Francis Foundation in Deva, in order to help children in need.

Drawing by a child from SOS Children
Seven times world champion Michael Schumacher will captain a selection of Formula 1 drivers comprising the Nazionale di Piloti team at the MAI CASCO Football Grand Prix, an event intended to raise funds to help children in need. Over the past decade, several such games are played worldwide per year.

The football team led by Schumacher, Alonso, Trulli and Baumgartner will be playing in Hungary for the first time and also includes past and present racing drivers Felipe Massa, Giancarlo Fisichella, Vitantonio Liuzzi, Luca Badoer, Ricardo Patrese, Ivan Capelli, Matteo Montezemolo, Giorgio Pantano, and Gabriel Tarquini.

The match in Hungary also marks the first time SOS Children's Villages will be benefiting from a football match of the Nazionale di Piloti team.

"It is always a pleasure for me to play with my colleagues from the Nazionale di Piloti. It is a lot of fun - even more so as it is for a very good reason. It gives me a lot of satisfaction to be able to give something back to people who are less fortunate," said Michael Schumacher. "I am very much looking forward to playing in Budapest and I hope we will have a lot of fun."

The Hungarian SOS Children's Village association was founded in 1983 and operates seven facilities in the country: three SOS Children's Villages and four youth facilities.