Roma to support Nepal flood victims through Champions League match shirt

Italian football club AS Roma will help create awareness and raise funds for flood-affected people in Nepal by wearing shirts carrying a message of support during their UEFA Champions League match against Fenerbahce.

The Rome-based club, who travel to Istanbul for their opening match of Europe’s elite football competition on Thursday, will sport shirts emblazoned with the words “Together for Nepal” and the World Food Programme’s (WFP) logo after being banned from displaying their betting company sponsor in Turkiye.

The club will also raise funds for relief efforts by auctioning the special shirts and contributing the money to the WFP, the United Nations’ agency based in Rome.

More than 1,300 people have been confirmed dead and 5,000 remain missing after last month’s catastrophic floods.

Scientists say they were caused by the effects of climate change and triggered when part of a mountain glacier collapsed, sending a torrent of water and mud flooding down into Nepal’s Rasuwa and Nuwakot regions, as well as into China’s Tibet region.

“AS Roma and the WFP are joining forces to support the people of Nepal, who have been severely affected by the floods and landslides impacting the country,” Roma, one of the giants of Italian and European football, said in a statement on its website.

“The Giallorossi players will take the field with the World Food Programme logo on the front of their shirts, bringing attention to the emergency and raising visibility for WFP’s work in support of affected communities,” it added.

The move comes after Roma were prohibited from displaying the logo of their shirt sponsor, as the logos and names of sports betting or gambling companies are banned on team kits in Turkiye.

A moment of silence for Nepal’s flood victims was observed across all Champions League matches as the competition kicked off its new season on Tuesday. Matches held on Wednesday followed suit, with players, coaching staff, officials and fans honouring the victims before kickoff in all fixtures.

Screens in all stadiums displayed messages in support of the flood affectees.

English Premier League club Arsenal have also contributed to flood relief efforts via the Arsenal Foundation and its charity partner, Save the Children, which is responding in Nepal.