As part of Tuesday evening’s telethon in Berlin, organised by long-established German children’s charity Ein Herz für Kinder in aid of earthquake-shattered Caribbean island Haiti, automobile giants Volkswagen and Audi announced a benefit match between VfL Wolfsburg and Bayern Munich. All revenues generated by the match will be used to alleviate the suffering of children in Haiti. VW and Audi are guaranteeing a donation of at least €1m.
“We’ve all seen the horrifying images from Haiti. We’re deeply moved, and it was immediately clear we’d be doing our bit to help,” commented Dr. Martin Winterkorn, Volkswagen AG chairman and FC Bayern supervisory board member. “VW and Audi will bring together their marquee sporting teams for a friendly match, and will guarantee receipts of at least one million Euro, which we have today made available in advance to the Hilfe für Haiti charity.”
The duel between the reigning Bundesliga champions and Germany’s most successful club will be staged at the Volkswagen Arena in Wolfsburg within the next six months. “We all want to help, so our team will be appearing at no charge,“ commented Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge. “We hope the proceeds from the match will help as many children and people as possible in Haiti."
“Naturally, we’ve also seen the tragic pictures and were ready to help straight away,” said Bayern star Miroslav Klose, who joined his Germany international team-mate Marcel Schäfer at the major fund-raising event in Berlin to announce the initiative and the sum involved. “We at VfL Wolfsburg were also deeply affected by this tragedy,” added Schäfer, confirming that any additional revenues generated by the match over and above the sum of €1m would be added to the total donation.
Bayern have contributed to the annual Herz für Kinder appeal in the past. During the 2008 telethon, the Munich club put a benefit match up for auction and raised a sum of one million Euro for the Ein Herz für Kinder charitable foundation.
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