Geneva, January 23:

FC Barcelona on Tuesday signed an agreement with the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) to help refugee children in Ecuador, Nepal and Rwanda develop important life skills through sport.

“As a football club, our most important assets are our football stars. They are the ones who can give that touch of happiness to the most vulnerable people,” Barcelona president Joan Laporta said at the signing ceremony, which was also attended by UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres.

The partnership is initially due to run for three years. The UNHCR and Barcelona will jointly identify and design a number of education and life skills projects through sports activities to benefit child refugees in Ecuador, Nepal and Rwanda.

The Catalan side has a long history of philanthropic and charitable activities, and already has partnerships with UNICEF and UNESCO.