June 7, 2012 - 12:02 AMT
RESPECT campaign for EURO 2012 launched

UEFA's Respect campaign for UEFA EURO 2012 was launched in Warsaw with Dutch legend Clarence Seedorf and Italian refereeing luminary Pierluigi Collina acting as ambassadors.

UEFA President Michel Platini, Dutch legend Clarence Seedorf and Italian refereeing great Pierluigi Collina joined forces in Warsaw on Wednesday, June 6 to launch UEFA's Respect campaign for UEFA EURO 2012 in Poland and Ukraine.

Respect, UEFA's social responsibility program, was launched in 2008, and its objective is to support local communities, tackle social issues and work towards unity and respect across gender, race, religion and ability.

The Respect project at UEFA EURO 2012

is receiving a UEFA financial contribution of up to €3m, and involves four main strands – UEFA's commitment to combat racism (Respect Diversity), increasing and improving access for fans with disabilities (Respect Inclusion), promoting health through physical activity (Respect Your Health), and fostering intercultural dialogue between fans and the host cities (Respect Fan Culture).

"It is a great pleasure and a great honor to participate together with UEFA on such an important issue. I've always promoted these issues in a positive way, and tried to act with the right values during my career. I think that Respect is exactly the word that is needed – football can be a tool of help against problems, UEFA official website quoted Seedorf as saying.