The Olympic Movement announced this Friday the creation of a $1 million (€937,000) emergency fund to help the Olympic community, refugees and displaced people in earthquake-hit areas in Turkey and Syria.
Some of the organizations that make up the Olympic Movement have announced their donations, such as the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA), each of which will donate US$250,000, the European Olympic Committees (EOC), whose donation is US$250,000 euros, and the Olympic Asylum Fund (ORF), which will provide an additional $260,000 for immediate emergency assistance to the local population and refugees in Turkey.
“It is with great sadness that we learned of the tragic loss of life and destruction caused by the earthquake that occurred in the southeastern region of Turkey and Syria. Unfortunately, several athletes and members of the Olympic community were among the victims, while many others lost their homes and sports infrastructure was badly damaged,” said IOC President Thomas Bach.
Emergency aid, Bach said, will be channeled to Turkey through the Olympic Asylum Fund and its local partners, while in Syria, the Olympic Movement will work with international non-governmental organizations and UN agencies with access to affected areas where there is an urgent need. these are food, medicine and tents.
Meanwhile, this Friday UEFA donated 200,000 euros to aid earthquake relief in Turkey, the country that will host the Champions League final in June.
The body overseeing European football has also pledged to organize additional fundraising initiatives in the days leading up to the final scheduled for June 10 in Istanbul, in addition to coordinating with 55 member associations to create disaster relief.
Initial donations included €150,000 from UEFA to the Turkish Football Association and €50,000 to the UEFA Children’s Charity Fund to support two organizations working in the area of the earthquake that hit southern Turkey and Syria.
UEFA has ordered a minute of silence before the Champions League, Europa League and European Conference League matches to be played next week. – and that the players wear black armbands.
Syria and Turkey were hit early Monday by an earthquake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale, followed by several aftershocks, one of which had a magnitude of 7.5.
The earthquakes have already claimed the lives of more than 21,000 people, of which about 19,400 in Turkey and at least 3,380 in Syria.