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Slain Colombia star Escobar honored in Rio

AFP
Portrait of Colombian defender Andres Escobar, taken 26 June 1994 at Stanford stadium, before the Soccer World Cup match between Colombia and Switzerland. Escobar was shot to death in a parking lot in Medellin, Colombia, early 02 July. AFP
Portrait of Colombian defender Andres Escobar, taken 26 June 1994 at Stanford stadium, before the Soccer World Cup match between Colombia and Switzerland. Escobar was shot to death in a parking lot in Medellin, Colombia, early 02 July. AFP

Campaigners using football to underpin social development Wednesday met in Rio to honor the memory of Colombian footballer Andres Escobar, slain 20 years ago to the day.

"Today, we are celebrating Andres' legacy," said Juergen Griesbeck, a German former academic moved by the shooting of Escobar to create footballstreetworld, a non-profit urban culture movement now present in some 60 countries.

His death has been widely blamed on the fury of Colombian drug lords at losing a gambling fortune because of the country's World Cup exit.

Some Colombian fans at this year's World Cup in Brazil have carried pictures of Escobar to games.

The team has reached the quarter-finals for the first time and faces Brazil in Fortaleza on Friday.

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