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Updated Monday, May 10, 2010 12:13 am TWN, By Mike Collier DPA



	Bjorn Heidenstrom, seen on his bike, stops off at UNHCR headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, during his cycling tour from Norway to South Africa to raise awareness of the plight of refugees. Heidenstrom is collecting football jerseys, which, at the end of his trip, will all be sewn together to make one giant football jersey that will be displayed at the World Cup.(DPA) Enlarge Photo

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Norwegian makes World Cup refugee intercontinental ride

RIGA -- “I must have the hardest ass in Africa,” Norwegian Bjorn Heidenstrom tells the German Press Agency dpa from Kenya. On April 20, 2009 the 41-year-old former professional footballer set off on his bicycle from Oslo on a one-man mission to raise awareness of the world's refugee crisis.

By April a year later, he had “hitchbiked” his way through more than 25 countries, collecting hundreds of football shirts on the way.

The aim is to arrive in South Africa for the final of the FIFA World Cup having stitched them all together to create the world's largest football shirt and gain the attention of a billion-strong global audience.

On March 24 representatives of the Guinness Book of World Records confirmed that if he is successful, they will give his record attempt the official stamp of approval, which should help Heidenstrom's main purpose: to publicize and promote the work of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). “The only thing I have promised is attention so UNHCR can raise money. So far we've attracted 90 million viewers.

“It was 70 million a week ago, then the media and TV in Kenya put out some stories that were sent to 48 new countries. That added 20 million new viewers in 7 days,” he says.

As well as collecting shirts, Heidenstrom has been stopping at UNHCR projects on the way including the world's largest refugee camp at Dadaab on the Kenyan border with Somalia which houses 300,000 people.

Heidenstrom's pedal-pushing effort has received support from FIFA president Sepp Blatter, UEFA president Michel Platini, singer Elton John and even rock group Iron Maiden. There have also been numerous incredible experiences along the way.

“It was memorable when an Italian family waved me in from the street and served a 12-course meal on Christmas Day,” Heidenstrom says. “The most unusual thing was probably having 3,000 kids running after my cycle in Ethiopia, while the scariest moment was certainly when I met a man with a gun who said he wanted to have sex with me...”

But more than anything else, says Heidenstrom, his 10,000-kilometre odyssey has taught him about the unifying power of football. “I have learned that football is a global family and that you can walk or cycle into any bar in the world and say 'I like football' and you will have 20 friends in 20 seconds.

“All people have egos, but everyone has been keen to help if they just get the time to think about it,” he says.

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