‘More than a goal’

Futbol Club Barcelona has announced that it will join the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in helping to spread the word on the global effort to eradicate polio.

Every time Lionel ‘Leo’ Messi lines up for goal, millions of FC Barcelona fans all over the world are watching. Now the fans will be watching the club attempting to kick another goal – the goal to eradicate polio. As part of an ongoing relationship with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, FC Barcelona will spend the next year campaigning for polio eradication.

With 18 million Facebook fans and multiple Twitter channels with millions of followers, FC Barcelona will engage its supporters through social media. In-stadium advertisements and announcements during matches will highlight the tremendous opportunity the world has to end polio and save millions of lives through childhood vaccination. Fans will be encouraged to join the team in the effort to eradicate only the second disease in history. The partnership will use the tagline “More than a Goal. End Polio,” a play on FC Barcelona’s tagline, “More than a Club.”

“Just as football is a universal sport with the power to transform lives, vaccines are a universal tool with the power to save lives,” said club manager, Josep Guardiola.

“Fans know that FC Barcelona is more than a club, and ending polio is more than a goal. When fans yell ‘Finish it!’, it can be very powerful. We’d like to take that same energy and help finish polio once and for all”.

More than a Goal Facebook page

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation