Footballers Raise $550,000 for Cancer Victims

Costa Rica footballers succeeded in raising $550,000 for the Association to Fight Childhood Cancer.

Popular Costa Rican football teams Cartagines, Herediano, Saprissa and Alajuelense took part in the charity tournament, dubbed as "90 Minutes for Life", hosted for the second year in a row at the new National Stadium, attended by 35,000 spectators, reports Xinhua.

The tournament featured four 30-minute matches, divided in two 15-minute halves. In case of a tie, the match was settled in a shootout, where players are given six seconds to travel 40 metres before attempting to score a goal against their rival.

In the first match, Alajuelense beat Cartagines 1-0, while Saprissa and Herediano tied by 1-1 in the regular time before Herediano won in the shootout.

Afterwards, Cartagines defeated Herediano 1-0 while Costa Rica's most popular teams, Saprissa and Alajuelense, faced off in the final.

Lighting problems caused the matches to be suspended three times. However, "90 Minutes for Life" still managed to achieve its goal of raising funds.

Source: IANS