Geneva - Argentinian football star Lionel Messi joined Thursday a campaign to support the humanitarian work of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.

The "Our world. Your move" campaign, launched in May, aims to highlight humanitarian problems and the roles individuals can play to effect change.

"In life, as in sport, we're able to do more and achieve more when we work as a team," the Barcelona player Messi said in a statement.

"The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) are hopeful that Mr Messi's involvement will encourage his fans to take an interest in helping others," the movement said.

Messi joins a growing list of international celebrities who have backed the Red Cross campaign, including James Bond director Marc Forster.

This year marks the 150th anniversary of the formulation of the basis for the international Red Cross movement by Henri Dunant, a Geneva businessman. (dpa)