REFORMA/ JORGE CAMPOS

JORGE CAMPOS TO PARTICIPATE IN A CAMPAIGN TO PROTECT MARINE SPECIES

MEXICO, D.F., FEBRUARY 2, 2006

The Mexican ex-goalkeeper Jorge Campos, considered one of the best goalkeepers of the 20th Century, will work with the environmental organization WiLDCOAST in a campaign to protect marine species.

According to The Mexican Press, Campos, a former member of the Mexican Soccer Team and current assistant of the national team coach Ricardo Lavolpe, will be the image of a campaign to promote marine protected areas.

"The best defense for the ocean is you. Join the team and support the marine protected areas so that the fish don't disappear and we can continue to fish forever. The ocean belongs to all of us," says Campos, in a message filmed in Acapulco.

The campaign, which will feature other soccer players as well, is the continuation of another polemical campaign for the protection of sea turtles, featuring Argentinean model Dorismar.

"My man doesn't need sea turtle eggs", read a poster, in which Dorismar, in a seductive pose, called to end consumption of sea turtle eggs, which, according to popular belief, are aphrodisiacs.

Now Campos appears on a message with a soccer ball and a newly born Leatherback turtle in his hand to promote the protection of marine species.

"This campaign with soccer players will run through the Sea of Cortes and will also address the Latino population in the United States", WiLDCOAST's spokesperson, Fay Crevoshay, told "Reforma."

The Sea of Cortés was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2005, and is ranked fourth in the world for the importance of its biodiversity.

The campaign that Campos is doing "will be a campaign to support marine protected areas, where fishing techniques are less aggressive, so that fish can have a chance to reproduce", said Crevoshay.

The Mexican ex-goalkeeper was recognized in 1999 as one of the top 50 of the 20th century, on a list created by the International Federation of Soccer History and Statistics, in which he appeared in 28th place.