Ibrahimovic makes dream come true for soccer team
The Swedish star Zlatan Ibrahimovic wanted his country's special needs side to have the chance to do what he could not - play in a World Cup this summer.
The Swedish football team for people with intellectual disabilities were good enough to qualify for The INAS World Football Championships in Brazil.
But they faced an uphill task raising the funds to pay for the trip. One fundraising idea was to auction jerseys and boots signed by Swedish football stars and several footballers were approached and happily signed.
But when the organisers asked Ibrahimovic they got a different response, as described by the team’s assistant coach Stefan Jonsson.
“I spoke to Zlatan” said Jonsson, “and asked if he could donate a shirt and he said, ‘what the hell are you doing with a shirt? How much is it to go?' When we said that we need to SEK 350,000, he asked for the account number and he deposited it.”
Zlatan Ibrahimovic pays €40,000 to a Swedish disabled football team, so they can compete in their World Cup. Class. pic.twitter.com/3lanE1EuqE
— FootballFunnys (@FootballFunnnys) August 13, 2014
Ibrahimovic is captain of the Swedish football team that lost to Portugal in a play-off match for the chance to go to the World Cup in Brazil.
The striker explained the reasons behind his donation to the team, which was equivalent to roughly €40,000.
“Football should be played by anyone, regardless of gender, disability or not”, Ibrahimovic said.
“When we missed out on the World Cup, I was deeply disappointed, but when I heard about (this team) I said to myself that I wanted to do everything in my power to help them to experience the World Cup.”
“There was nothing to think about. It was a given.”
A lovely gesture from a football superstar.
Hat tip: Yahoo Sports
