Real Madrid Campaign Against Child Labour

Superstars of the soccer world teamed up with the International Labour Organization in a campaign to fight child labour. The Galacticos, as the top players are known, joined with the ILO and the football association, FIFA, to give child labour the red card, used to send a player off the pitch.

Date issued: 16 December 2002 | Size/duration: 00:02:48

Ronaldo, Raul, Roberto Carlos and Zidane, just some of the big names from Real Madrid who will help raise a Red card on child labour on World Football day. To mark their 100 years as a team, Real Madrid is joining the International Labour Organization’s campaign to give a red card to child labour.

Alice Ouédraogo, ILO Director for Policy development and advocacy

The symbol of the red card to me is very powerful. When you show the red card, you mean "you're out because you're not playing the game". It's exactly the same thing for child labour. That is to say, to tell the countries, to tell those who do really exploit children: "you are no longer tolerated. Either you eliminate child labour, you join forces with us or you're out".

Real Madrid has already lent their support, recording a television spot to air during the match.

The road to a world without child labour is long. But the line is clear. 180 million children work under intolerable conditions. They want to know: which side of the line are you on? With Read Madrid and the International Labour Organization, Red card to child labour!

The aim is to hammer home to the point that millions of children are exposed to work that is hazardous to their health or their well-being.

Metalworker is one of the many forms child labour can take. ILO programs try to get children into school while offering support to their parents. When the campaign was launched at the African Cup of Nations in Mali, it struck a chord and fans alike, perhaps because some of the biggest stars in football may at one time have been child labourers themselves.

Ricardo Espinosa, ILO/IPEC Campaign co-ordinator

As young people, they were poor and they know what is child labour and they don't want to see their children to have this necessity to do the same work.

More than 8 million children are trapped in slavery, trafficking, prostitution or other criminal activities. But working children still have dreams. They dream of an education, of being slavery, trafficking, prostitution or other criminal activities. But working children still have dreams. They dream of an education, of being president, perhaps even of becoming a football champion.