Barcelona, Beko And UNICEF Launch Child Obesity Campaign

Spanish football champions Barcelona have joined forces with Beko and UNICEF to raise €1m ($1.21m/£879,000) as part of a new campaign to tackle childhood obesity worldwide.

The LaLiga giants have teamed up with the Turkish appliance brand and United Nations programme, to launch ‘Eat Like a Pro’ (ELAP). The scheme will encourage people across the globe to share their healthy eating habits on social media. For each #EatLikeAPro post that appears on Instagram or Twitter, Beko will donate €1 ($1.21/£0.88p) to UNICEF.

The ELAP campaign will grant families access to the eating habits of the Barcelona players while educating parents and children about the importance of a healthy diet and a balanced lifestyle.

Beko will also give up its brand visibility on the Barcelona players’ sleeves during this weekend’s El Clásico, in a bid to highlight the healthy eating initiative.

“Childhood obesity is a worldwide issue and we are delighted that three leading global brands are uniting to help tackle the challenge,” said Beko US President Hasan Yardimci.

“In all our programs that use the FutbolNet methodology, and that are reaching 120,000 children and youth around the world, we use the physical activity and the value of respect, in this case respect towards oneself, to reinforce healthy habits,” added Jordi Cardoner, Vice President of Barcelona and the Barça Foundation.

If current worldwide trends persist, 70 million children will be overweight by 2025.