Ronaldinho lends hand to tackle poverty

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United Nations: Brazilian soccer star Ronaldinho, one of the world's best known sports figures, agreed on Friday to use his celebrity status to help the United Nations fight poverty.

"Sport is a universal language," Ronaldinho said at the United Nations. "Football has given me a marvelous life, and I feel obliged to use football to give back."

The world body appointed the FC Barcelona midfielder its spokesperson for sport for development and peace and Ronaldinho said he would campaign against poverty during visits to poor areas in Latin America and the Caribbean.

His visit to UN headquarters coincided with a visit by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, but Ronaldinho drew far larger admiring crowds in the UN corridors.

Ronaldinho, the FIFA World Player of the Year in 2004 and 2005, will be paid a dollar a year for his work, said Djibril Diallo, director of the New York UN Office of Sport for Development and Peace.

Barcelona was in New York for a scheduled exhibition match on Saturday against Major League Soccer's New York Red Bulls.