Soccer clubs extend hand, help in refugee crisis

World soccer has taken note of the burgeoning refugee crisis in Europe and the Middle East and is pledging to help, with two of Europe’s biggest clubs reaching deep into their wallets to make donations. And at least one of those teams is calling on others to help as well.

AS Roma of Italy’s Serie A donated nearly $650,000 Tuesday to launch a program called “Football Cares,” which seeks to raise money and awareness about the issue. The club and Roma President Jim Palotta gave about $280,000 each, with the rest of the money coming from Roma investors.

And last week, German champion Bayern Munich pledged to donate $1.1 million to relevant charitable programs after thousands of people -- most of them fleeing conflicts in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan -- poured into Germany. Hundreds wound up huddled in a Munich train station seeking assistance.

In announcing its donation, AS Roma challenged other clubs and fans around the world to participate and donate. Money raised will be funneled to the U.N. Refugee Agency, the International Rescue Committee, Save the Children and the Red Cross.

Italian rivals Fiorentina, Bologna and Torino as well as Italy’s Lega Serie A and Serie B already have signed on in support.

“After seeing the images coming out of Europe and the Middle East last week, we felt that AS Roma had to do much more. And we welcome that challenge and responsibility,” Pallotta said in a statement.

“Our approach is a bit different, however, in that we want to create a platform to connect the entire football community under the ‘Football Cares’ banner. We believe we can achieve more together than we can on our own. The culture of football is built on rivalry, but there is also a massive worldwide opportunity in football for unity to make an even greater impact.”

“Football Cares” will raise money for the charities through a donation page and an all-club auction site. On Tuesday, the club said it had put up for auction game-worn jerseys from Francesco Totti, Edin Dzeko and Miralem Pjanic.

Visit https://www.footballcares.info/ to make a donation to “Football Cares.”

Visit https://www.charitystars.com/foundation/footballcares to bid on an item up for auction.

In Germany, which expects to receive 800,000 asylum-seekers this year, Bayern Munich will set up a training camp where it will offer meals and German-language classes to children. In addition, the team’s players will take the field hand-in-hand with refugee children before Saturday’s match with Augsburg.

“FC Bayern sees it as a social responsibility to help those fleeing and suffering children, women and men. To support and accompany them in Germany,” team CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said.

Two other Bundelsiga teams -- Borussia Dortmund and Mainz -- also promised to help. Dortmund, which issued a statement saying Germany needs and should welcome the migrants, invited 200 refugees to attend a game last week as the club’s guests. Mainz also welcomed refugees to a game.