Spain's leading goalscorer of all times, Raúl González, aged 22, was appointed FAO Goodwill Ambassador in October 2004.

Long before the arrival of other soccer stars such as Ronaldo and Beckham, Spanish prodigy Raúl was justifying the price of an entrance ticket to see Real Madrid, his football team. On October 29, 1994, Madrid coach Jorge Valdano gave him his debut. Raúl was 17 at the time. Madrid and Valdano have never looked back.

He has since drawn plaudits from all the major figures in world football and from the general public. Raúl is a genuine star. He scores a goal every two matches on average. He has also helped his team win three Champions League titles (the last was in 2002), two Intercontinental Cups and four Spanish championships.

Born in Madrid and typifying traditional values, he is extremely popular all over the world and in Spain, where he has become a kind of national hero.

In addition to his impressive sports talents, his commitment to humanitarian causes has won him the respect of the public.

Because the suffering of any human being diminishes all of us, it's our responsibility to try to ease that suffering