Spain: Four alumni from the FIFA/CIES Executive Programme involved in organising “UEFA Grassroots” week

Four alumni of the FIFA/CIES Executive Programme taught in cooperation with Universidad Rey Juan Carlos and the Real Federación Española de Fútbol were involved in organising the first “UEFA Grassroots” week in the autonomous community of La Rioja, in the north of Spain.

Rubén Losantos, Sonia Calvo, Juan Carlos Luque and Ana Rossell, who attended the first, second and third editions of the FIFA/CIES Executive Programme, actively contributed to creating and organising events during the week, and which also took place in other countries across Europe, from 24th September to 1st October.

Grassroots football is all football which is played at non-professional and non-elite level. This includes, but is not limited to, children's football, schools and youth football, amateur football, football for disabled players, football for veterans and walking football.

As the representative of the Federación Riojana de Fútbol, the organising entity, Rubén Losantos was tasked with coordinating all the activities organised during the week. This included conferences, themed days, football tournaments and futsal. He was supported by Juan Carlos Luque, an expert in the field of sports coaching, who shared his experiences in junior high schools and at Logroño prison, as well as with football coaches in La Rioja.

Ana Rossell, for her part, inspired many children by telling them about her experiences as a player at Atletico Madrid and as President of AR10, which is a business aimed at ensuring that “no girl is prevented from playing football merely because she is a girl”. Ana exchanged views with young boys and girls in several schools and led two technical training sessions with specialists working in her “AR10 Soccer Talent” academy.

Finally, Sonia Calvo, a winner of the FIFA/CIES University Network Prize in 2012, took on the duties of Communication Manager. Her work involved ensuring that the values of the “UEFA Grassroots” programme remained at the heart of all the events organised during the week.

The excellent work undertaken by Rubén, Ana, Juan Carlos and Sonia is yet another example of the professional success achieved by FIFA/CIES Executive Programme alumni in Spain. It also shows the synergies and cooperation which has gradually built up within the alumni network. We send our congratulations to all of them!