The 'Futura Afición' project begins its 9th edition at the Cívitas Metropolitano with some significant new elements.

‘Futura Afición’, the educational programme that FUNDACIÓN LALIGA runs with the aim of teaching children the positive values of sport, has begun its ninth edition in style at the Cívitas Metropolitano Stadium with Club Atlético de Madrid as hosts. The day saw more than 80 boys and girls from its youth and junior categories, and from the Fundación's schools, put into practice fair play, sportsmanship and respect.

The new season of 'Futura Afición' was used to unveil one of the main changes for this year, where LALIGA clubs take on greater relevance by holding different educational workshops at their training facilities, with the aim of having an impact on their own grassroots football categories and academies.

These activities, in addition to those carried out by LALIGA clubs, will be directed, as in previous years, at primary school children from 3rd to 6th grade. They will be based on gamification and interaction as tools to convey messages, through completely revamped challenges and games, as well as activities that encourage participation and reflection.

Another of the most important additions to 'Futura Afición' this year is the creation of a specific dossier that will deal with the subject of school bullying, with content endorsed by the AEPAE (Spanish Association for the Prevention of School Bullying). It includes highly practical and informative exercises that explore the nature of the problem, which is increasingly prevalent among children and adolescents.

The new season of this educational project, which began in 2015, will involve more than 9,000 new pupils from different schools in Spain, and will provide participating schools with a range of resources to help pupils learn how to resolve conflicts on and off the field in a positive way. These materials are designed to be developed autonomously or in a guided way in class, and are supported by a participatory methodology that ensures an effective and easy-to-implement play-educational experience. 

‘Futura Afición’ has been strengthened by these new elements and is now a project endorsed by more than 75,000 participating children and more than 500 schools that took part in the eight previous editions. Their teachers and families have also rated the programme very positively, highlighting its avant-garde use of new technologies as an educational tool of enormous value.

The Estadio Cívitas Metropolitano, a luxurious venue for the season launch

Atlético de Madrid is the first club to host a 'Futura Afición' workshop this season. The ninth edition of this innovative project will see individual LALIGA clubs host workshops for their grassroots level players for the first time.

The event, held yesterday afternoon, began with a welcome and introduction by Adelardo Rodríguez, President of the Atlético de Madrid Foundation and Athletic Legend; Carla Pereyra, Ambassador of the Atlético de Madrid Foundation; and Clemente Villaverde, President of FUNDACIÓN LALIGA.

Before moving on to the various educational workshops organised for the participants, the aforementioned three highlighted the collective commitment to raising awareness of the issue of violence and unsporting behaviour in football.

After a day full of fun, learning and group work, the more than 80 boys and girls from Atlético de Madrid's Alevín and Benjamín categories reflected on the day's events, by displaying murals with messages that each group had made, which can be seen in the club's interactive exhibition "Territorio Atleti".

Olga de la Fuente, Director of FUNDACIÓN LALIGA, was charged with closing the event, and encouraged the participants to “put into practice the values they have learnt, both on the pitch and in the stands, but also at home and at school, to become the respectful future fans we all want.” Additionally, she stressed that “'Futura Afición' will also focus its attention and resources on the families of the participating children, with the aim of supporting them in developing positive values for young people and society in general in order to raise awareness and take action in all situations."

 

Carla Pereyra summed up the importance of this programme, “it's a privilege that students from our Academy and social schools, who dream of one day playing here at the Cívitas Metropolitano, are the first to take part in a project that speaks of respect, education, collaboration, teamwork... in short, the kind of fans we want. Today's event is the starting point to jointly develop the future fans we want. Those who represent Rojiblancos' values”. “Thanks go to FUNDACIÓN LALIGA for leading this magnificent initiative and instilling these important values in the fans. It's an extremely important project that transcends the boundaries of sport,” stated Adelardo.  

'Futura Afición' materials, project information and a registration form are available at https://www.futuraaficion.com/.