City boss Pep pays for repair to refugee boat
PEP Guardiola paid for the repair of a rescue boat which plucks refugees from the Mediterranean.
The Manchester City manager is said to have stumped up more than £130,000 to help re-float the Open Arms vessel, which is run by non-governmental organisation Proactiva Open Arms.
The ship has rescued more than 5,000 refugees and migrants from the sea, or from dangerous vessels trying to make the crossing from north Africa to Europe.
But the boat, the charity’s main vessel, had been in dry dock for weeks needing repairs – until Guardiola donated the money.
That has put the Open Arms back on the waves at the time when most migrants attempt the hazardous crossing as they flee war, persecution and poverty.
The founder of the Barcelona-based organisation confirmed on Catalan radio station RAC1 Guardiola had contributed to the repairs.
He said: “Guardiola offered us a donation of 150,000 euros from his own pocket. The support of various other athletes who also wanted to contribute helped us to achieve the goal of making the vessel active again.”
Every summer thousands of migrants attempt the crossing, often in unfit boats – more than 3,000 of them died last year.
The charity has also had backing from current Barcelona boss Ernesto Valverde, who said that the crews of the Open Arms and other rescue vessels should be viewed as real heroes, rather than footballers.