Football fans will be given plenty of food for thought thanks to a special initiative being backed by the Premier League and its clubs this weekend.

They will be highlighting the plight of world hunger by linking up with other top European Leagues and the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).

More than 200 professional football clubs, 100 stadiums and millions of football fans will be involved in the first ever Europe-wide football weekend against hunger being held from 20th to 22nd March.

Aimed at raising awareness about the urgent need to fight hunger and poverty, exacerbated by the current economic crisis, funds raised during the football weekend will help to finance anti-hunger micro-projects around the world.

The match weekend is part of a "Professional Football against Hunger" campaign launched on 15th October 2008 by FAO and Professional Football Leagues across Europe.

The Association of European Professional Football Leagues (EPFL) is made up of 29 Members Leagues and Associated Members, comprising more than 900 professional football clubs across Europe.

The "Professional Football against Hunger" campaign is intended to raise awareness of the plight of the 963 million people who suffer from hunger and malnutrition and who do not have adequate access to food.

Sir Dave Richards, Chairman of the Premier League, said:

"The Premier League has a deservedly strong reputation for the amount of work we do off the pitch, both in England and in many countries around the world. We were therefore keen to lend our support to the 'Professional Football Against Hunger' campaign.

"I hope that we might highlight that football has the power to increase awareness, political will and financial resources to help address this extremely important issue."

The money raised in the campaign will serve to finance FAO TeleFood microprojects designed to provide immediate and lasting solutions to poor families and communities and enable them to produce their own food.

Earlier this year a high-level delegation, including former internationals Paulo Rossi and Hansi Muller - visited micro-projects in Egypt as part of the preparations for the FAO/EPFL partnership's global "Professional Football Against Hunger" campaign.

The micro-projects, funded to a maximum of €7 000 each, are used to finance tangible resources such as fishing equipment, seeds and agricultural implements. They vary enormously, from helping families raise pigs in Venezuela, through creating school gardens in Cape Verde and Mauritania or providing school lunches in Uganda and teaching children to grow food, to raising fish in India.

The Professional Football against Hunger weekend will include, among others, major matches from Italian Lega Calcio and Pro Lega, German Bundesliga, English Premier League, Spanish La Liga, Portuguese League, Dutch Eredivisie, Scottish Premier League, Bulgarian League and Welsh Premier League as well as the Football League.