France: Christian Karembeu

France's 1998 World Cup champion Christian Karembeu joined the illustrious team of FIFA/SOS ambassadors at a press conference in April 2006, in which the player and the French Football Federation pledged their full support for 6 villages for 2006.

"It is a matter of course for me to join such a noble cause," Christian Karembeu told a press conference staged at the headquarters of the French Football Federation (FFF), in which 6 villages for 2006, the joint charity campaign between FIFA and SOS Children's Villages, was presented.

During this event, Karembeu, a 1998 World Cup and 2000 European Champion, also joined the long list of active and retired football players who have agreed to serve as "FIFA for SOS Children's Villages" ambassadors.

"In the course of my travels, I have seen a lot of children in great need. We were all once children, we all have a heart - the fundamental lesson in life is learning to share. Therefore, it is important to donate and give the lives of these children a new meaning," Karembeu added.

The FFF is one of many national football federations to have pledged its support for 6 villages for 2006, a campaign which aims to collect sufficient donations to give 800 orphaned and abandoned children a new home in six new children's villages. A further 5,000 children and 1,000 families will benefit from ancillary schools and social centres.

"We have joined this extraordinary campaign with our hearts," said Jean-Pierre Escalettes, president of the FFF, which has been supporting the French association of SOS Children's Villages.