The campaign is aimed at raising funds and awareness to aid the development and delivery of brand new educational and football facilities as well as much needed water amenities for the town of Lalibela in Ethiopia.
Barnes took on the role as campaign captain after his previous experiences of Ethiopia over the past decade gave him the inside view on the struggle people face there, as well as how football can be used as the common language to make a change:
He said: “All over the world people play football with whatever they can get their hands on. A can, rolled up clothes or a squashed up milk carton make a ball. But rarely have I witnessed such passion for the ‘beautiful game’ as I did in Ethiopia. The sport brings communities together, promotes health and well being. However, Ethiopia is a beautiful yet very poor country. Wash & Go’s Score Ethiopia is looking to raise as much money as possible to deliver vital amenities and football facilities. A little money can make a lot of Ethiopian’s happy!”
As part of the Score Ethiopia campaign this season, Barnes visited all the English Premier League clubs to collect signed shirts from football’s top flight as part of a five day Premier League ‘Van-Dash’.
After witnessing the sterling work John was doing many legends of the game both here and abroad (Jamie Redknapp, Bryan Robson, Paulo Di Canio, Romario) joined the fun donating signed shirts and memorabilia to the worthy cause.
Both collections of kit have been auctioned off and the total raised added to last year’s fundraising total for the materials to commence building work on water amenities, schools and football facilities – the key goal of the campaign.
Another arm of the Score Ethiopia campaign has been asking young footy fanatics in the region to lend a helping hand or two by designing a unique football kit for their school team to be exchanged with one designed by a school in Ethiopia. The best kits will be manufactured and presented as part of an international level initiative – one of which will be taking place right here in Birmingham.
“We have had some amazing designs entered and you can really see the passion of the children in their imaginative drawings and attention to detail,” said John Barnes: “
Children in the UK and Ethiopia do not have sufficient kits or equipment to use, yet their passion for the game is huge. I would have loved to have had kit designs like this back in my playing days but it is just fantastic to see the children getting involved, learning about another culture and having the chance to win and play in a brand new strip with their team – something they may not have experienced before.”