Lionel Messi, considered the world's top football player at the moment, takes aim at more than just the back of the net. Photo: prettyfriendship (flickr)

Many of us dream of bending it like Beckham. But star-quality soccer — football, to most of its 250 million players worldwide — is almost impossible without a healthy childhood.

That's why the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, with an assist from the 2011 UEFA Champions League victors FC Barcelona, is teaming up to draw attention to the importance that vaccines hold for the world's future football stars. They're taking aim at polio in particular, seeing the potential to eradicate the disease completely.

With millions of fans worldwide, FC Barcelona has the ability to reach global masses. There is benefit for FC Barcelona as well. In partnering with the Gates Foundation, FC Barcelona is capturing the hearts of a whole new market and adding a social edge to their organization.

Polio is an infectious viral disease, spread from human to human. The disease attacks the central nervous system, resulting in severe paralysis and disability or death. But the vaccine, which costs about 13 cents a dose, protects children from this devastating disease and keeps them in school and in the workforce.

The effects of polio are not only damaging for the individual, but for poor families and countries as well. Caring for polio-stricken family members taps already limited resources, and polio victims struggle to work and effectively contribute monetarily. As children have had access to the vaccine “cases of this devastating disease have fallen by 99 percent in the past 20 years,” according to the Gates Foundation.

If the vaccination of at-risk children can continue, the potential for complete elimination is in sight. But to reach this goal, so that every child has the chance to score, the fight must continue. And as the Gates Foundation says, “polio anywhere is a threat everywhere."

It's probably no surprise that for big-time soccer fans, watching the world cup is more enjoyable than working. But breaks taken to check the latest score and watch part or all of the game collectively add up to big dips in productivity, according to a recent Atlantic Monthly article on the economics of the World Cup.

As the tournament gets closer to the finals there are even bigger slides in productivity. The Center for Economics and Business Research estimates that the price tag for a month of sports-induced distraction amounts to $2.8 billion.

For soccer fans, going to the World Cup is a dream come true. Watching the games on TV or online is the next best thing. Photo: Axel Bührmann (flickr)

Mexian fans celebrate a goal. In soccer-centric countries such as Mexico, winning a soccer match can represent more than just a victory on the field. Photo: ++Frank++ (flickr)

Mexico's finance secretary recently warned that falling oil prices and production may lead to the nation's worst recession in 30 years.

But on Wednesday, economic worries took a backseat to Mexico's World Cup qualifying match against the United States, which many Mexicans viewed as more than just a soccer match.

“This was life or death for the whole country,” Kurt Vogt, a Mexican supporter, told The New York Times, which headlined their article about Mexico's 2-1 victory, "Mexico Restores Order to Its Universe."

Not only did Mexico's World Cup 2010 hopes rest on the outcome of the match, as well as an impressive home unbeaten streak — they're 23-0-1 against the U.S. at Azteca Stadium — but the country's hard-hit ego and slumping economy stood to gain substantially as well.

“It's incredible how it effects our emotions and our economy — one game,” said Eliseo “Papo” Santos, a former professional player and coach told Mark Zeigler of The San Diego Union-Tribune. “Not qualifying for the World Cup, it would be devastating for us. It'll bring your country down big time.”

This isn't just a gut feeling — it's "soccernomics." The Union-Tribune's Zeigler points out that after Italy won the World Cup in 2006 its gross domestic product grew by 2 percent, after two years of zero growth.

No wonder both Mexico and the U.S. played their recent World Cup qualifier as if it was the championship match.

FC Barcelona is one of the largest soccer clubs in the world. Photo: Foraggio Fotographic (flickr)

Soccer club FC Barcelona and Fox Soccer Channel — America's leading broadcaster of worldwide soccer — are teaming up with the non profit Malaria No More to fight the preventable disease that kills an estimated 1 million people a year.

In August 2008, FC Barcelona and Malaria No More announced their partnership in the campaign "More than a Club; Kick it to Malaria". Since then, over 1,000 nets have been distributed through online donations.

Carlos Puyol, FC Barcelona's captain, says he's grateful to be part of this cause. "We are all very happy, very proud to be here and to be able to support this great cause."

Fox Soccer Channel has also joined the cause by launching their campaign "Every Goal Saves a Life," where the channel donates $10 — the equivalent of one malaria net — to the More than a Club program for every live goal scored on the channel — the channel has raised over $10,000 so far.