BarcelonaSocial inclusion is the process that ensures that people who are at risk of poverty and exclusion have the necessary opportunities and resources to participate fully in economic, social and cultural life. Football, as on other occasions, has helped to promote it by creating a project that has made people who suffer from this kind of situation smile.
One of the entities dedicated to promoting social inclusion is the Mas Albornà Foundation, rooted in the Penedès. One of the main challenges he has is the point of leisure or socialization with the people he deals with. Precisely, during the pandemic the members of the foundation were very affected mentally. “In ordinary conditions, it is already very complex to find spaces for socializing and practicing sport. Our group had different restrictions and still could not do activities that the rest of the population could do,” explains the the entity’s head of communication, Cristina Barbacil.
Last year an opportunity fell from the sky: the possibility of creating an inclusive football team in the foundation. “This project suited us very well, because it aligns with our values. It has been the fresh air that has entered their lives after two years without oxygen,” concludes Barbacil.
This mixed inclusive football team is made up of players with intellectual disabilities and has the collaboration of the Vilafranca Athletic Foundation, which belongs to the Vilafranca Athletic Club. The Vilafranquí team has altruistically given the facilities for training, as well as equipment, material and sports equipment to the fifteen members of the team.
Abel Peris is one of the team’s players. He lives in the Cabanyes residence, a home-residence of the foundation, and trains with his colleagues every Friday. Although his position is that of a forward, he has also played as a goalkeeper and in the middle of the field, spreading the game: “I really like football, I have been playing it for a long time. The Mas Albornà team I really liked it and I’m very happy.”
Ramon Llorens, themother soul
The project is led by Ramon Llorens, coach and creator of the team and also a volunteer of the Mas Albornà Foundation. It has been the bridge of synergy between the two entities, thesoul mother which has brought the experience and absolute devotion of all the players. The vehicle of union between the organizations that has been the key piece for this project to go ahead. A thank you that Ramon can’t quite believe: “It’s a recognition that I don’t think I fully deserve either because I may have had the idea, but without the entities I couldn’t do anything.”
A know-how that, surely, starts from the mentality or vision of each person. Ramon is a school teacher and doing this activity gives him life: “Many times they tell you that you help them, and that’s really not the case. It sounds like a cliché, because it is, but they are the ones who make you better at you”.
In the psychological aspect, the management of the trainings has also been important for the well-being of the participants: “The fact that the training is on Friday, at the end of the week, makes them come happy, very happy, and it’s great for cohesion “Going down on the days I have training or when we have to play and see how happy and content they are doing simple activities, that’s enough for me and I’m very happy,” he points out.
The team has already debuted in an official match at the Enfutbola’t tournament. Football for Everyone, promoted by the Catalan Foundation for players with functional, intellectual and sensory diversity. For the coming season, the club has already registered in the special football league 7 WeLeague7, promoted by the Fedamar foundation and made up of teams with players with functional diversity spread across the country. An opportunity to achieve a social side that is sometimes complicated.
A well recognized project
A few weeks ago, the Sports Awards for the 2021-2022 season were held in Vilafranca del Penedès. It was a gala that honored local organizations and athletes and during which the Mas Albornà Foundation was awarded for its activities linked to sport. He received the award for the best initiative in the field of physical activity and sport and for the inclusive football project that he has promoted in collaboration with the Vilafranca Athletic Foundation, in addition to recognition for the people who, altruistically, have collaborated in the sporting events organized by Vilafranca City Council.
Promoting the social and labor integration of people with intellectual disabilities through sport is an immeasurable tool and the foundation is open to repeating the success or the project with other disciplines, as long as the necessary conditions are in place. What has become clear is that football has helped promote this social inclusion in a group that, many times, has been unfairly disadvantaged.
