Three players from England's Manchester United Football Club havejoined forces with UNICEF for a multi-media AIDS awareness advertisingcampaign in Sierra Leone. From VOA's London news center, Tendai Maphosahas the details.  

Africans love their football. EnglishPremiership games are followed closely, and the players are householdnames on the continent. It may be off-season now, with players taking arest. But, starting Saturday, Sierra Leonean football fans will seesome of their heroes on billboards and hear them on radio andtelevision.

"Hello, I am Ryan Giggs, and I play for ManchesterUnited. We are working with UNICEF to bring you in Sierra Leone thismessage about HIV and AIDS," says one ad.

Ryan Giggs is one of the threeManchester United players who have lent their voices and images to anAIDS awareness campaign aimed at young Sierra Leoneans.

Speakingwith VOA from Freetown, UNICEF representative Geert Cappelaere saysthat the joint campaign is part of a multi-pronged effort to make youngpeople more aware of the growing threat of HIV and AIDS. Cappelaeresays UNICEF has been building partnerships with religious andtraditional leaders, and has now turned to sports to bring the messagehome.

"Soccer is definitely the best medium," he said. "It isthe most popular sport in Sierra Leone and definitely Manchester Unitedis the most popular international team here. If you walk around, youwill see young people walking around in Manchester United T-shirts. So,that's why we really want to use the popularity, the exposure thatManchester United has and the power, the authority that players likeRyan Giggs or Rio Ferdinand or Patrice Evra have here in this country."

UNICEFsays that, although the HIV prevalence in Sierra Leone is only about1.5 percent, young people face a growing risk of HIV and AIDS. Since2002, UNICEF says, the country has seen a 75 percent increase in newHIV infections. Despite this, only 17 percent of young peopleunderstand how to protect themselves against the virus.

"HelloI am Rio Ferdinand and I play for Manchester United. We are workingwith UNICEF to bring you in Sierra Leone this message about HIV andAIDS. I work hard to keep my body healthy, so I can stay at the top ofmy game. AIDS destroys a healthy body. So, if you want to stay on topof your game, whatever you do in life, protect yourself and your lovedones. Wear a condom. Only you can stop AIDS," says one of the ads.

Manchester Unitedteamed up with UNICEF in 1999 to launch an initiative known as Unitedfor UNICEF. To date, the club has raised over four million dollars,which have gone to help over 1.5 million children worldwide.