BERLIN, March 18 -- While German national coach Joachim Loew made an urgent appeal to fans and the public to follow required rules to fight coronavirus, the German football association announced they were setting up an aid-program for struggling regional state associations.

The national team has donated 2.5 million euros to support health projects fighting the virus.

The team has set up a support home page "wirhelfen.eu" (we help).

Players like Manchester City midfielder Ilkay Guendogan, Bayern Munich's Manuel Neuer and Joshua Kimmich, Real Madrid star Toni Kroos and Barcelona keeper Marc-Andre Ter Stegen all called for greater solidarity amongst footballers and fans in the country.

Neuer, Goretzka, and Kimmich all appeared in video-clips on social media channels. German team captain Neuer rang up all his teammates to get their approval.

Several squad members such as Moenchengladbach defender Matthias Ginter, Leipzig's Lukas Klostermann, Freiburg's Robin Koch and Luca Waldschmidt and Leverkusen's Jonathan Tah announced their support for the project in video statements.

Loew and the national team's managing director Oliver Bierhoff indicated they were prepared to accept salary cuts in order to make a contribution. "Both told me that were considering it without me asking," said the association's president Fritz Keller in a video-press-conference.

Keller announced the German association would have to face budget cuts due to the current crisis. Fans have to be aware that the national team are likely to have to play games behind closed doors.

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