Messi donates €2.6m for children’s cancer care

Argentina star Lionel Messi has donated €2.6 million through his charity foundation to help build a specialised centre for children’s cancer treatment in Barcelona.

The donation was made to the SJD Pediatric Cancer Center project. The centre, being built at a cost of nearly €30 million, will cover 5,137 square metres and is expected to provide treatment to around 400 children each year.

The project aims to bring various cancer treatment services for children under one roof, providing specialised medical care and support to patients and their families.

The project is being funded jointly by the Messi Foundation, institutions, corporate organisations and individual donors.

The Messi Foundation’s humanitarian activities also extend to education, sports and other social initiatives. It supports research into childhood leukaemia, provides modern medical equipment to a hospital in Messi’s hometown Rosario and works to combat child malnutrition in Mozambique.

The foundation also uses sports as a means of promoting social development and community cohesion. It organises sports competitions, awareness programmes and training, while supporting the renovation and construction of sports grounds in Argentina and other countries.

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