Footballer Lee Young-pyo joined a growing donation campaign Friday to support a youth football team in strife-ridden East Timor.
The campaign began here after the movie "A Barefoot Dream," the true story of a youth team in East Timor led by Korean coach Kim Shin-hwan, hit theaters last month.
Lee, currently with Saudi Arabia's Al Hilal football club, donated 10 million won (US$8,150) after watching the movie at a Seoul theater with East Timorese children who starred in the movie, said the film distributor Showbox.
The human drama directed by Kim Tae-gyoon drew spotlight as the first commercial film shot in the conflict-torn Southeast Asian country and was screened at the U.N. headquarters in New York last month.
Lee will also join a charity match with a Korean professional team, Ansan Hallelujah FC, on Saturday. The match aims to support migrant workers and families of international marriage in Ansan in the outskirts of Seoul and will be also participated by Park Ji-sung (Manchester United), Lee Chung-yong (Bolton Wanderers), Park Chu-young (AS Monaco) and Ki Sung-yueng (Celtic), organizers said.
South Korea's national football team returned to Seoul on Tuesday after reaching the second round at the 2010 South Africa World Cup finals for the first time in an away tournament. The team was ousted after losing 2-1 to Uruguay.
