Italy: Pierluigi Collina

Italian Pierluigi Collina, who was widely regarded as one of the best football referees in the world before his retirement, pledged his full support for the charity campaign 6 villages for 2006 and officially became a FIFA/SOS ambassador in January 2006.

Collina, together with Italian football stars Fabio Cannavaro and Francesco Totti, was presented his "FIFA for SOS Children's Villages" ambassador certificate at the "Oscar del Calcio" gala organised by the Italian Players' Association (AIC) in Milan. Italian Christian Vieri has been serving in this honorary role since 1999.

At the "Oscar del Calcio", Collina, who retired in August 2005, was awarded the prize for the best referee of the 2004/2005 Italian football season. His greatest feat as an international referee was when he was chosen for the 2002 World Cup final match between Brazil and Germany.