São Paulo – Palestinian Mohammed Assaf, 24 years old, will sing at the opening ceremony of Fifa Congress, which will be held on June 10th and 11, in São Paulo’s capital. The meeting is held annually and gathers national football federations to set Fifa’s rules and approve the annual report. In Brazil, the congress will be held two days prior to the beginning of the World Cup 2014, which will be on the 12th.
Assaf was the winner of the second edition of Arab Idol, an Arab version of the North American reality show American Idol and his victory deeply moved Middle East, according to information released by the United Nations (UN). Thousands of Palestinians took the streets to celebrate the young man’s victory in the international contest.
At Fifa congress, Assaf will sing a song named Assaf 360 that mixes different rhythms and talks about hope, youth and union. It was specially produced for the occasion and is also part of the campaign “Give for food”, of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), whose goal is to raise funds to assist a million Palestinian refugees in Syria, Lebanon West Bank and Gaza.
Assaf was born in Palestine and, when he was four years old, moved with his family to the refugee camp of Khan Yunis, in the Arab country. Before winning the reality show, the young man used to sing at wedding parties. Currently he performs around the world and has videos on the internet accessed by millions. He became an idol for Palestinians. He is also UNRWA’s youth ambassador.
During his stay in São Paulo, the singer should also visit organizations which assist UN’s fundraising campaigns, such as the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce. The organization gathered, alongside UNRWA, US$ 43,880 (or R$ 100,000). UNRWA assists five million Palestinian refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, West Bank and the Gaza Strip, where Assad studied.
*Translated by Rodrigo Mendonça
