ABU DHABI // More than Dh400,000 was raised for cancer research in Italy at the inaugural Nazionale Piloti charity football game held last night at Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium.
The game featured some of motorsport's superstars, led by Felipe Massa, Fernando Alonso and the world champion Sebastian Vettel, facing off against some of the UAE's most talented players from the past and a number of international players led by Manchester City's chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak, who scored an impressive hat trick as his side won 5-4.
All proceeds from the event were generated through sponsorship and private donations, and two cheques worth 40,000 euros were presented to the Nazionale Piloti chairman Mario di Natale.
The proceeds will be presented to the Biomedic Research Foundation and the Veneto Cancer Research Institute in Italy.
"With the kind generosity of our sponsors and those who have made individual contributions, we have been able to keep this as a free event for spectators," said Patrizia Azzariti, the founder and managing director of the event organiser DM Cube.
Formula One and football fans alike attended the match.
"This is a great opportunity to show my son some of the local and international football stars of the past," said Mohammed Hatim, a Mauritanian mechanical engineer in Abu Dhabi.
The home team included the renowned footballers Walter Zenga, Gabriel Calderon and Hidetoshi Nakata alongside the UAE 1990 World Cup team members Adnan Al Talyani, Mohsin Musabah and Abdel Rahman Mohammed.
