Leo Messi
UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador since 2010
Leo Messi, a football star for FC Barcelona and the Argentine national team, is considered one of the best and most respected players of his generation. He has won FIFA's Player of the Year award, the Ballon d'Or, six times. In February 2020, he was awarded the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year.
Throughout his career, Leo has been involved in charitable efforts aimed at helping vulnerable children, a commitment that stems in part from the medical difficulties he faced in his own childhood.
In March 2010, Leo was appointed a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador. Immediately following his appointment, he travelled to Haiti with UNICEF to bring public awareness to the plight of the country's children in the wake of the earthquake.
In addition to his work with UNICEF, Leo founded his own charitable organization, the Leo Messi Foundation, which invests in health-care services to improve children’s lives. Most recently, he supported efforts to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, sharing prevention practices and promoting fundraising messages to support UNICEF’s emergency response plan.