Home appliance manufacturer Beko has surprised school children from an underprivileged neighbourhood with a training day with FC Barcelona.
Ten children, who regularly take part in Barcelona’s FutbolNet programme, attended the training ground for a surprise training session with Lionel Messi, Gerard Piqué and Arda Turan.
Beko also gave their school a makeover, providing new paintwork, furniture, Barcelona wall vinyls and new Beko appliances for a previously unusable room.
“Everyone deserves to have time to play in their lives, but for some people this is not always possible,” said global Beko chief marketing officer Tülin Karabük. “For the children at the school, football and FC Barcelona means everything to them, so Beko teamed up with the club to give the kids the dream day of play at the training ground and the surprise of their lives from Lionel Messi, Gerard Piqué and Arda Turan. We also left a legacy for the school by creating a new-look workspace complete with new Beko appliances.”
Jordi Cardoner, Barcelona first vice chairman, said: “Working with Beko on this brilliant surprise for the children has been a great experience and we would like to thank Beko for their continued support of the club, the FC Barcelona Foundation and FutbolNet.”
FutbolNet is a scheme for 10 to 16 year olds run by the FC Barcelona Foundation, which works with schools and youth groups in Catalan areas.