Sports stars donate millions for corona fight

LONDON: Tennis great Roger Federer on Wednesday revealed that he and his wife Mika have donated a sum of 1 million Swiss Francs (Rs 7.70 crore) to help the vulnerable families in Switzerland in the wake of Covid-19 pandemic.

Federer said no one should be left behind in the fight against Covid-19 and urged more people to contribute to the vulnerable families in Switzerland wherein more than 100 people have lost their lives.

The novel coronavirus outbreak has led to a global health scare with countries shutting borders and going into lockdowns in a bid to stop the spread. As of March 25, more than 428, 400 people have been infected by the virus which has also led to more than 19,000 loss of lives.

“These are challenging times for everyone and nobody should be left behind. Mirka and I have personally decided to donate one million Swiss Francs to the most vulnerable families in Switzerland,” Federer wrote on social media.

“Our contribution is just a start. We hope that others might join in supporting more families in need. Together we can overcome this crisis. Stay healthy.”

Even as the novel coronavirus outbreak has led to a global crisis, sports stars across the globe have been pledging support to help combat the situation.

Cristiano Ronaldo and football agent Jorge Mendes joined forces on Tuesday to donate lifesaving equipment to Portuguese hospitals struggling to treat patients with the novel coronavirus.

The two will donate equipment for two wards at Lisbon’s Santa Maria hospital, providing the wards with 10 beds each, ventilators, heart monitors, infusion pumps and syringes, the hospital said in a statement.

Barcelona forward Lionel Messi and Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola have each donated one million euros ($1.08 million) towards the fight against coronavirus.

Argentina international Messi’s donation will be split between Hospital Clinic in Barcelona and another medical centre in his home country, according to a report in Marca.