Roger Federer has urged people to ‘help families in need quickly and unbureaucratically’ after pledging 1m Swiss francs (£860,000) to help those impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.
Federer is in Switzerland with his wife Mirka and four children, recovering from knee surgery in February.
More than 90 people have died from the disease with nearly 9,000 positive cases in Switzerland.
Like much of Europe, people have been told to stay at home to help limit the spread of the virus.
Last week, Federer posted a video on social media, calling for people to follow the guidelines issued by health experts.
But the 20-time Grand Slam champion went even further on Wednesday when he announced he would donate 1m Swiss francs (£860,000) with Mirka ‘for the most vulnerable families’ in the country.
In a separate message a few hours later, Federer revealed they would be supporting the charity ‘Winterhilfe’.
The organisation aims to help ‘working poor families who are experiencing existential loss of income due to the current situation with the coronavirus’.
“We must help families in need quickly and unbureaucratically,” Federer wrote on social media.
“Mirka and I have donated to a newly established emergency assistance fund for families in Switzerland.
“The fund is managed by “Winterhilfe”, a trusted partner of our foundation and highly experienced to support vulnerable people for decades.
“From tomorrow March 26, the “Fund for families in need” will be functional and ready to make contributions such as vouchers for food and child care services and where necessary.”
A host of sports stars have made contributions to various charities to help those affected by the coronavirus.
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has donated €1million(£920,000) to fight the outbreak in Spain, which is the second worst-hit European country.
Arsenal has pledged to make a £100,000 donation to local charities with a £50,000 already given to local community initiatives by The Arsenal Foundation.
While Bayern Munich players are donating 20 per cent of their wages to pay other club employees.
