Choupo-Moting visits the kids at the IME in Neuilly-sur-Seine
On Wednesday, Paris Saint-Germain forward Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting visited the Institut Médico-Éducatif in Neuilly-sur-Seine where 55 handicapped kids got the chance to play football with him.
On this rainy morning, the fifty or so kids at the IME received a beautiful gift! While the children were focused on making Halloween costumes, Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting dropped in for a surprise visit.
The joy was palpable when the player has sat down to participate in the children's activities. Smiles, laughter, slightly more shy faces, tears (of joy, of course): everyone expressed themselves in their own way because these 55 children and adolescents, cared for by the IME Le Phare, all suffer from mental disabilities and psychological disorders. But, for a few hours, they seemed to be in a bubble, as confirmed by Benjamin Charrier, Sports Educator at the IME: "Many are fans of Paris Saint-Germain in general. It is a great surprise for them to meet a player from the club. Eric Maxim perfectly fulfilled his role and was so good with the kids. He brought joy and passion to the exchanges he had with children."
After the drawing workshop, the Cameroon international was confronted with tenacious football players in a tournament, finally won by the Parisian and his team. Valentin, one of the teenagers still made it difficult for him with no less than 17 goals scored. Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting didn't hold it against him: "I love playing with children because they are the future, they also represent joy, they are almost always happy. They are fair and honest. Paris Saint-Germain - Children First is a very good thing and, when you can help, it is the best thing in the world."
The collaboration with the IMEs has been ongoing since the creation of the disability unit within the Foundation a year ago and is constantly evolving: "We are working on a project to promote the diversity and inclusion of both groups, valid with our children in the Red and Blue schools and those with disabilities. We invite the structures to visit our Red and Blue Schools and vice versa, so that at the end everyone can meet at the Parc des Princes for a multi-sport afternoon," explained Sandrine De Moura, Project Manager of Paris Saint-Germain - Children First.