Federer has shown he is not only good in the game of Tennis but at the game of life as well as he continues to raise funds for underprivileged African children.
Federer beat world No. 1 Andy Murray in a charity exhibition match in Zurich last evening, winning 6-3 7-6.The event, organised by the Roger Federer Foundation, was titled ‘Match for Africa 3’ — this is the third time he has played a tennis match specially to raise money for his philanthropic work in Africa. The first Match for Africa was played between Federer and Rafael Nadal in 2010, and the second between Federer and Stan Wawrinka in 2014.One might wonder exactly what one single match could do? last night’s match has already raised over 1.4 million Swiss francs (around $1.39 million), and donations are expected to continue for another week. Match for Africa 2 vs Wawrinka had raised roughly $1.06 million.
It’s interesting to know that Federer set up his Roger Federer Foundation when he was only 22 — not an age when most youngsters turn their attention to goodwill. The foundation’s website provides the number of children that has benefited from Federer’s fundraising (2,77,000 children) almost all of them are southern Africans.The power of sport, and charm of Federer, shines through his work — Federer has given joy to millions of tennis fans, and he’s worked hard to make a difference to the lives of thousands, even lakhs, of underprivileged children
Match for Africa 4 will be played in Seattle later this month. World Richest man,Bill Gates will join him on the court. Roger does much more than just play occasional matches to raise money for his projects. He’s also worked to raise awareness and money for disasters that have inflicted different parts of the world.In 2005, after winning the US Open, he auctioned his racket to raise money for the victims of Hurricane Katrina. The same year, he organised ‘Rally for Relief’, involving top players, to raise money for the victims of the Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004. In 2006, the Tennis star visited places in Tamil Nadu that were affected by the tsunami.In 2010, he organised ‘Hit for Haiti’ during the 2010 Australian Open, and the proceeds from the charity exhibition went to the victims of the Haiti earthquake. In January 2011, he raised money for the victims of the Queensland floods.
