Eduardo Camavinga

Eduardo Camavinga

Eduardo Camavinga is a professional footballer who was born in a refugee camp in Angola to Congolese parents and grew up in France. Eduardo started his football career at Stade Rennais F.C. in France, where he had a successful breakthrough, being called up for the French national football team. At 17-years-old, he became France's youngest goal scorer in over a century. He now plays as a midfielder for Real Madrid in the Spanish La Liga. In 2022, Eduardo played a game-changing role to get his team into the final, ending with Real Madrid winning the Champions League.

Eduardo Camavinga is a UNHCR high profile supporter and started supporting UNHCR in the summer of 2021 when he featured in a video, covering his journey from being forced to flee war to settling in France. In February 2022, Eduardo raised awareness around the importance of access to sports for refugees on his social channels.

In March 2022, a video of Eduardo’s inspiring story was broadcast on the giant screens in the Stade de Genève in Switzerland around a football match, encouraging people to donate to UNHCR. When the conflict in Ukraine started, Eduardo asked his fans to support those who were forced to flee Ukraine to donate to UNHCR.   

Speaking ahead of the 2022 Champions League final, the footballer made a powerful statement for refugees: ‘I was born in a refugee camp in Angola after my family fled war. My parents brought me to a new life in France and football has brought me to the Champions League final. I'm grateful to play and proud to do so as a former refugee. I hope the millions of refugees around the world who also love football know that we stand together.’