BUENOS AIRES, Nov. 11 (Xinhua) -- Franco Villegas, an 11-year-old boy from Argentina, donated his birthday money to his favorite team, Instituto de Cordoba, to help them climb out of debt and into the first division, local press reported on Wednesday.

The boy donated 300 Argentine pesos (31 U.S. dollars), which he had recently received as a present for his birthday, to the team.

"As a fan of the club, I donate 300 pesos. This is my money. They gave it to me on my birthday and I want to give it to you. In return I would like to have a jersey signed by all the players, if that is possible," wrote Villegas in a letter to the team.

His dream came true when the players called him and delivered him a red and white jersey bearing all their autographs.

Instituto de Cordoba launched a donation campaign for fans on November 4 to gather some 2 million pesos (about 280,000 U.S. dollars) to help the club pay late salaries to players. So far, the team has gathered 78,326 pesos (about 8,160 U.S. dollars).?