Zlatan Ibrahimovic , the Paris-St.Germain flashy striker, covered his body with tattoos to bring awareness to world hunger.
The stunt cost the 33-year-old a yellow card in his club’s match against Caen on Saturday, and many thought it was just another one of his stunts. However, this time Zlatan Ibrahimovic was showing-off his bare torso to bring awareness to the hunger problem.
The striker felt the need to explain himself and the reason for revealing his body covered with (temporary) tattoos during the weekend match, taking to Facebook and during an interview with PSG .
“On Saturday against Caen, when I took my shirt off, everyone was asking what all the new tattoos were. I had 50 names temporarily tattooed on my body. They are the names of real people who are suffering from hunger around the world. The tattoos have gone, but the people are still out there. There are 805 million people who are suffering from hunger around the world. I want you to see them, via me, to help the World Food Programme.”
Football leagues and FIFA have banned players for celebrating scoring goals by taking off their jerseys, a custom that ruled the fields for decades. But Ibrahimovic defied the rules and displayed names like Carmen, Mariko, Antoine, Sawsan, Chheuy, Lida, Siatta, Rahma, and Yaae, who all receive food assistance, and was punished, according to the Huffington Post .
Shame quickly turned into support of hunger thanks to Zatlan Ibrahimovic’s bold tattoo display, which picked up on social media thanks in part to some of his teammates.
805 million people suffering from hunger in the world! Make sure that the world knows and support them as support me! http://t.co/dpgSBg6Bap
— David Luiz (@DavidLuiz_4) February 15, 2015
A video, featuring Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s tattoos for hunger campaign, was also posted to YouTube by the World Food Program and has garnered over 2 million views.
“This is a campaign from the World Food Programme, the world’s largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide. In emergencies, they get food to where it is needed, saving the lives of victims of war, civil conflict and natural disasters. WFP is part of the United Nations system and is voluntarily funded.
On average, WFP reaches more than 80 million people with food assistance in 75 countries each year. About 11,500 people work for the organisation, most of them in remote areas, serving the hungry.”
— Bleacher Report UK (@br_uk) February 17, 2015
Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s fans hope the yellow card he got for taking his shirt off, to show his tattoos, won’t have any future repercussions. In the end, the Swede star has started an important conversation. To learn more about Zlat’s efforts with the WFP, go here .
[Image via Zlatan Ibrahimovic/Facebook ]
