BBC NEWS AT BBC.CO.UK/NEWS
Supporters of Tunisia’s Club Africain donated more than $450,000 in one day as they battled to save the financially troubled club. The donors included one blind fan who chose to forgo the medicine he had been saving for in order to help his beloved team.
Club Africain, which is Tunisia’s second-oldest football club and one of the best-known teams in Africa, has been deducted six points and sanctioned financially because of unpaid salaries to former players.
To help the club, which was established in 1920, the Tunisian Football Federation set up a crisis management committee to save it from further sanctions.
In October 2019, the federation set up a bank account for fans to donate money to help clear the debt, which has raised
$1 million so far, including the single-day $450,000. The federation puts the total debt at almost $6 million.
In the 24-hour campaign, children arrived with piggy banks, and the blind supporter handed over his savings, for which he was honored with a signed shirt.