Liverpool and Manchester United among 86 clubs using social media to find missing people

Roma: The Serie A club raising awareness of missing children

Liverpool, Manchester United and Manchester City are among 86 European clubs using their social media to help find missing young people on Monday.

Arsenal, Chelsea, Tottenham, Celtic and Rangers are also taking part.

The 'Football Cares' initiative on International Missing Children's Day sees clubs share videos featuring children missing all over the world.external-link

They include photos, details of where they were last seen and a phone number to call with information.

The project was inspired by Italian club Roma, who have showed videos of missing children when signing players over the past two transfer windows.

As a result, six children featured have been found.

Both world football's governing body Fifa and the European Club Association are backing the initiative, which is run by the International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children (ICMEC).

"On International Missing Children's Day 2020, we are honoured to have the support of the global football community," said ICMEC chief executive Bob Cunningham.

"With the huge following and global reach that these clubs boast, we hope that someone, somewhere could recognise one of the missing children in the videos and lead to a child being reunited with their loved ones."

Other clubs taking part include German sides Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund, Italian clubs AC Milan, Inter Milan and Juventus, and Spanish teams Atletico Madrid, Barcelona and Real Madrid.

"When it comes to protecting children, we want football clubs and fans to come together and to help bring these children back home," ECA chief executive Charlie Marshall told BBC London.

"Clubs were falling over themselves to get involved and it chimes with what a lot of them are already doing individually."

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