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The sporting world is also contributing to the fight against Covid-19

Apr 6, 2020 | Latest News

World Karate Champion Sandra Sanchez donates her 2015 Egyptian Premier League Gold Medal for charity auction Photo: EFE/ Pepe Zamora/Archive

Organizations such as the Consejo Superior de Deportes (CSD), teams such as Real Madrid and Barça and elite athletes such as Gasol and Nadal are contributing to the fight against the coronavirus

 

The battle against Covid-19 is a long-distance race. And our athletes know a lot about running, effort and goals. One sector, that of sport, has not hesitated to pitch in during this health crisis.

 

The CSD - the Spanish sports hub for solidarity

 

The Consejo Superior de Deportes (CSD), the highest governing body in Spain in the field of sport, is working to organise the solidarity initiatives of many different Spanish sports agents. It has launched a campaign for the general public called #YoMeMuevoEnCasa, a joint initiative with the COLEF Council - the body representing the Official Associations of Physical Education and Sport in Spain - to promote physical activity and exercise at home during confinement through tips and advice on social media.

In an effort to help out with medical equipment and logistics, the CSD is working with Spanish federations, clubs and sportsmen and women to mobilise and make available to the Ministry of Health all the resources it has available. So far 17 respirators have already been delivered to the health authorities.

In other efforts and thanks to the Real Madrid Football Club and through the Ministry of Culture and Sport, it has collaborated in the adaptation of the Santiago Bernabéu - the home stadium of the capital’s team - as a space where the donations of strategic health supplies to fight the pandemic, can be stored. By facilitating this space Real Madrid has made it possible for entities and companies to make financial and material donations to the Ministry of Health. Masks, gloves, protective gear and bottled water are just some of the materials that are already filling the Madrid stadium and are being sent to hospitals and residences in the Community of Madrid.

 

 

Football and solidarity giants

 

Barcelona Futbol Club, for its part, is also collaborating in the battle against the coronavirus. Barça has made its facilities available to the Department of Health of the Generalitat de Catalunya, as well as offering the staff and facilities of its network of clubs to help local entities. In fact, the Confederación Mundial de Peñas, has started a collaboration with the Food Bank and, through the Barça Innovation Hub, the club has offered to help research centres such as the Hospital Clínico, the Hospital Trias i Pujol and the Barcelona Supercomputing Centre.

The Catalan team is also taking advantage of its global influence to mitigate the crisis. It has contacted its global and regional sponsors for donations of medical supplies and equipment, through which it has managed to obtain 30,000 masks from China.

 

 

The two giants of Spanish and international football have also been joined by other football teams throughout Spain. El Levante, for example, has raised 297,100 euros for health material thanks to the campaign it launched in the last week of March and in which some 500 people and entities have participated. The Real Betis Balompié Foundation has donated to the Virgen del Rocío Hospital in Seville more than 5,000 gloves and more than 100 masks, as well as tubing and disinfecting material. The Real Racing Club of Santander, for its part, has made its footballers’ residence available to the Government of Cantabria.

Women’s football has also been involved. More than 40 players from Primera Iberdrola (Betis, Barça, Atleti, Sevilla, Levante, Valencia, Tacón, Rayo, Madrid CFF, Athletic, Espanyol and Real Sociedad) and PSG have launched the campaign #JuntasVenceremos, to raise funds in the fight against Covid-19. The mechanism: a crowdfunding platform which looks to exceed 20,000 euros in order to purchase medical equipment.

 

Champions in solidarity

 

In addition to football, other organisations have wanted to join in the fight against the Covid-19. The Ángel Nieto Foundation, for example, has launched a project with catering groups and the Madrid City Council to provide between 500 and 1,000 meals a day for healthcare workers in Madrid during the crisis.

Through the initiative This Medal is Yours, the senior international basketball players Javier Beirán and Marta Xargay; the world champion motorcyclist Maverick Viñales; the international football player Amanda Sampedro; the world champion karate player Sandra Sánchez; and the Olympic champion canoeist Saúl Craviotto, have donated their most important medals and trophies to raise funds in a solidarity auction, the entire proceeds of which will be used to fight the virus.

 

 

The campaign #NuestraMejorVictoria, launched by sports stars Rafa Nadal and Pau Gasol, to contribute to The Red Cross Responds project, with which the humanitarian organization hopes to raise more than 11 million euros. Since Nadal and Gasol launched the campaign on March 26, more than 60 top athletes have joined, including Andrés Iniesta, Garbiñe Muguruza, Iker Casillas, Fernando Alonso, Carolina Marín, Alberto Contador, Gemma Triay, Jordi Alva, Lucía Sainz Pelegrí, Alejandro Valverde, Carlos Sainz, Sergio Llull and Fernando Belasteguín, as well as sports clubs and teams.

 

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