"LALIGA Scholarships: Extraordinary Champions", the training project for Olympic athletes

LALIGA presents a new initiative called "LALIGA Scholarships: Extraordinary Champions", a training project aimed at helping exceptional talents grow professionally and personally by broadening their knowledge through the options offered by LALIGA BUSINESS SCHOOL.

Together with consultancy firm Ackerman International, the relationship between LALIGA and the athletes goes beyond mere academic development. Athletes are evaluated, with their professional interests, skills and experience identified with the aim of suggesting the best option for them within the range of LALIGA BUSINESS SCHOOL Master's degrees and MBAs on offer.

In this inaugural year, the six participating Olympians are karateka Sandra Sánchez, snowboarder Regino Hernández, handball players Eli Pinedo and Raúl Entrerríos, track and field athlete Concha Montaner, plus triathlete Mario Mola. It's essential for them to understand and have access to the training provided by LALIGA BUSINESS SCHOOL and they emphasised the importance of providing access to the workplace after having had a successful elite-level sporting career.

In addition to the six athletes, the presentation of the project was attended by Óscar Mayo, LALIGA's Chief Executive Officer; José Montero, Director of Institutional Relations at LALIGA; and José Moya, Director of LALIGA BUSINESS SCHOOL.

All three stressed the importance of this kind of project to LALIGA, as it brings together two of the organisations key issues: training and support for other sports. For some time now, LALIGA, through its educational department LALIGA BUSINESS SCHOOL, has emphasised the need for training in order to adapt to changes within the industry; Likewise, support for other sports is reflected in various projects, such as our OTT, LALIGA+ and the Viana Pacts, as well as in this one.

The event was attended by representatives of sports federations, as well as other institutions such as ASOBAL (handball) and LNFS (futsal). In addition, the CSD (Spain’s National Sports Council) was also present at the event to show its support for the initiative.

Ultimately, the "LALIGA Scholarships: Extraordinary Champions" project, which will be extended to other sportsmen and women in the coming years, aims to provide elite Spanish athletes with training in accordance with their preferences and characteristics to then help them move into the workforce.