Surprises for the derby coming up. Flamengo and Fluminense have just announced their lineups, with changes to their teams. For Flamengo, Everton Oliveira da Cunha will play wide on the left, replacing Everton, and William Carvalho de Almeida will replace William Arão. For Fluminense, Wendel Daniel da Conceição will replace Wendel in the middle, and Lucas Fernandes Silva will replace Lucas on the right. Don't get it? It's the Solidarity Lineup project. The two teams have teamed up and are raising awareness for 44 missing children and adolescents in the state of Rio de Janeiro, who are being monitored by the SOS Missing Children program, run by the Foundation for Childhood and Adolescence (FIA). The difference lies in the children's names, which are the same as those of Flamengo and Fluminense players. The idea is to draw attention to the problem, which affects approximately 40 children and adolescents every year in the country.
"FlaxFlu is one of the biggest debacles in the world. We expect the number of children and adolescents located after this operation to increase. Publicity is the most effective way to solve these cases and end the suffering of these families. We want to bring information to as many people as possible," emphasized FIA president America Tereza.
The families of the missing children and adolescents have been invited to the derby, and some will be together in the East Stand of the Maracanã. They were invited by the Foundation for Childhood and Adolescence (FIA) team.
"Every great football team plays an important role in society. Clubs stir people's passion, engage millions of fans, and draw attention to fundamental causes capable of transforming Brazil into a better country. In this joint initiative by Flamengo and Fluminense, we hope to raise awareness of a critical issue: missing children. I truly hope we can reunite some of these children with their families," explains Márcio Mac Culloch, Flamengo's Communications Director.
"It's part of Fluminense's history to participate in important causes. An institution with millions of fans needs to serve as an example and actively contribute to important social factors. This is an extremely important campaign, and Fluminense is proud to be able to contribute," stated Fluminense president Pedro Abad.
The Social Escalation initiative is being carried out by FIA, an agency linked to the State Secretariat of Science, Technology, Innovation and Social Development, Disque-Denúncia, and the NBS Agency. To contact the SOS Missing Children Program, call 9.8596-5296 or visit the website www.soscriancasdesaparecidas.rj.gov.br/.
Tickets for children from the favelas
The classic will also be special for a large group of children and teenagers from social projects in the city's favelas. In partnership with the Favelagrafia project, Flamengo and Fluminense invited 500 children from Rocinha, Santa Marta, Prazeres, Babilônia, Borel, and Morro de São Carlos.
"There was a boy who thanked me so much for the opportunity because he'd never been to Maracanã. This will be his first time. I'm sure this boy will never forget the FlaxFlu on Children's Day," celebrates José Luiz de Oliveira, from the Escola Bola Santa Marta project.
Tickets were also sent to the Ronald McDonalds Institute and to social projects in Xerém, where Fluminense's youth teams train.