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Japan international football sensation, Shinji Kagawa, visits children in Tacloban, Philippines
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Former Manchester United and current Borussia Dortmund professional football player, Shinji Kagawa, made a special visit to FundLife in Tacloban to meet and play football with Football for Life Academy players. He also visited several schools and communities to learn more about the devastating effects of Typhoon Hayian had on children and how football, education and camaraderie have restored hope and purpose to once again believe in their dreams.

Kagawa, is arguably Asia’s most famous and successful football player. He is a two-time German Championship winner and a Premier League winner with Manchester United. For his national team, Kagawa has 90 caps and 30 goals, and holds the record for being Asia’s highest goal scorer in UEFA European competitions. He has played at the Olympics and at two FIFA World Cups for Japan.
 
Kagawa met and played football with children from the Anibong, one of the most devastated communities in Tacloban after Yolanda, which saw over 7,000 people when the world's strongest typhoon hit in November 2013. 

​“It was very important for me to spend time in Tacloban with these children. Seeing how the game of football has had such a positive impact on their life truly shows how important the game is and how effective it can be used as a tool to help communities around the world,” Kagawa said.

​His visit was made possible through Common Goal, a global movement of professional football players supporting NGOs around the world that use football for social impact. Kagawa’s visit to Tacloban was only the second time a professional football player visited a Common Goal member organisation, after Juan Mata, a Spanish football player playing for Manchester United, visited India in 2017. 

Commenting on his visit to the Philippines, Common Goal’s Chief Operations Officer, Thomas Preiss added;
 
It’s fantastic to see such a player of Shinji’s calibre take time to visit one of the organisations he teams up with through Common Goal. It’s important that Shinji and the organisation have this experience together so both realise how vital each of their roles are and that only teamwork can help us solve the problems that are affecting communities like Tacloban and others over the world.
 
As part of his visit to Tacloban, Kagawa also visited the resettlement communities in Tacloban North to see for himself how challenging life can be for children from vulnerable communities.
 
We hope Shinji’s visit will inspire children to believe in themselves and their potential. There is so much adversity that these children face every day that it’s easy for them lose hope. To have a football hero they have only seen on YouTube scoring goals in packed stadiums, actually talking to them and playing with them is something they will never forget and something that will always give hope” added, FundLife, Founder, Marko Kasic.

As one of Asia’s most gifted natural talents, Kagawa stands only 5ft 8in. He is proof that dedication to the game and being technically skilled is far more important than height – something that should inspire Filipinos to take up the game, which has grown in popularity in recent years. 

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