NEWS STORY. 01/06/2023
At Real Madrid City, Emilio Butragueño, Director of Institutional Relations at Real Madrid, received Luis Manuel Moral, Director of Salesian Missions; Father Tadeusz Jarecki, of the Eastern Poland Province; and Father Marcin Koncewicz, President of UKS Salos Ełk, to sign a collaboration agreement for the establishment of a new socio-sports school of the Real Madrid Foundation in Poland.
As a result of the partnership between the Real Madrid Foundation with the NGO UKS Salos Ełk and the Salesian Province of Eastern Poland, a socio-sports school will be established for the integration of over a hundred minors at risk of vulnerability, including refugee children and adolescents from Ukraine. This initiative stems from the growing need to respond to the serious socio-economic problems facing the Ełk community.
Education on values
Butragueño pointed out that, after more than 12 years collaborating in various countries with Salesian Missions with the aim of helping to improve the lives of tens of thousands of boys and girls at risk of social exclusion or disadvantage, the Foundation is taking on this challenge “with the enthusiasm and motivation that only sport can provide for young people: transforming their leisure time into an opportunity for education in values, the adoption of healthy habits and inspiration for self-improvement.”
Meanwhile, Luis Manuel Moral added: “We have 21 schools in 14 countries in the Americas, Africa and Europe, and we are delighted to be adding a new school to this list in Poland.” Father Tadeusz Jarecki stressed that: “By also involving Ukrainian children in the project, we will be giving them the opportunity to integrate with their peers and have a safe environment for development, physical activity and recreation.” Father Marcin Koncewicz concluded by saying: “I am delighted, and so is our city, with the partnership we have formed with the Real Madrid Foundation, which will allow us to improve our sporting and educational development.”
Training
The Training Area has delivered the first in-person training to prepare 14 coaches and seven people in charge of socio-educational activities under the methodology of the Foundation For a Real Education: values and sport. The beneficiaries will be able to learn about football, basketball and values in a state-of-the-art sports facility in the area built in 2019, funded by the Polish Ministry of Sport and Tourism and the local Ełk community, which gathers a thousand children and teenagers every week. Additionally, the beneficiaries will receive school support classes, medical check-ups, nutritional support, talks on healthy eating, drug prevention, psychological support and legal counselling for refugees.
