The football that children should learn

Javier González, the coach of the Prebenjamín A team of AD La Plata from Torrejón de Ardoz (Madrid), clearly remembers the first time his eight-year-old son discovered the word bullying during a team training session. For a while, they set aside the ball and the boys and girls of the club received a talk during awareness days as part of the AQUÍ SE JUEGA A JUGAR project, a joint initiative by LALIGA and PUMA aimed at conveying the essential values of sport to the little ones: respect, camaraderie, and tolerance.

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That day, they addressed school bullying. “My son knew that some kids pick on others, but he didn’t know the word bullying. Later, he asked me many questions about what they had told them in the workshops, and I thought: ‘Well, this is very useful,’” he says in the LALIGA VS podcast, an initiative by PRISA and LALIGA to eradicate hate inside and outside football stadiums.

Besides the club where González coaches, other youth football teams from all over Spain have already joined the project: CF Bufalá from Badalona (Barcelona), Union Sport San Vicente from Barakaldo (Bizkaia), CD Thader from Rojales (Alicante), CD Valdefierro (Zaragoza), CD Amistad from Alcorcón (Madrid), and the Dragones de Lavapiés, the emblem of the famous neighborhood in the capital. The president of the latter, Dolores Galindo, confirms the reasons for the success of AQUÍ SE JUEGA A JUGAR. “Children are taught to feel what a team is, that their teammates are pursuing the same goal.”

Participants in this podcast

AD La Plata

Torrejón de Ardoz (Madrid)

Through Javier González, coach of the Prebenjamín A team founded in 1979 by residents of the Torrejón municipality.

CF Bufalá

Badalona (Barcelona)

Through Iván Benavente, coordinator and coach of the club’s school, founded in 1946 by a group of friends from the Bufalá neighborhood in Badalona.

Union Sport San Vicente

Barakaldo (Bizkaia)

Through Álex Ruiz, president of the club founded in 1923 in the San Vicente neighborhood of Barakaldo, a benchmark of Basque youth football with links to Athletic Club.

CD Thader

Rojales (Alicante)

Through Samuel Casado, coach and coordinator of the reserve team of the club founded in 1923, a historic club in Valencian youth football that played in the Third Division.

CD Valdefierro

Zaragoza

Through Joel Peña, player of the Alevín Preferente team, founded in 1960 in the Zaragoza neighborhood that bears its name.

CD Amistad

Alcorcón (Madrid)

Through Marta Peña, manager of the team founded in 2004 after the merger of two local clubs, UD San José de Valderas and AP Trival.

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Dragones de Lavapiés

Madrid

Through Dolores Galindo, president of the team ambassador of the AQUÍ SE JUEGA A JUGAR project, founded in 2014.

Olga de la Fuente

Director of the LALIGA FOUNDATION

She has been promoting the Futura Afición workshops for 11 years, one of the fundamental parts of the AQUÍ SE JUEGA A JUGAR project.

Javier Gurrea

Director of Sponsorship and Licensing at LALIGA

In office since June 2024, his department is responsible for the alliance with PUMA to promote the AQUÍ SE JUEGA A JUGAR project.

With this project, LALIGA and PUMA seek to keep children away from some aspects that sometimes surround football, such as excessive competitive pressure, negative behaviors, or hate. Instead, they aim to educate them to understand sport as an educational and social tool. And to give a new perspective: the important thing is to enjoy the game and compete with respect and tolerance.

“The main goal is to build a more positive and diverse football from the grassroots,” says Javier Gurrea, Director of Sponsorship and Licensing at LALIGA. “We want to return grassroots football to its origin, which is about playing in a healthy and safe environment. It is important to remind them that players, before being players, are people.” The partnership with PUMA is also a differentiating value. “It is important for us because they have something interesting for us, as they seek the platform to have a purpose,” Gurrea assures.

Another fundamental part of AQUÍ SE JUEGA A JUGAR is the collaboration with the LALIGA FOUNDATION, through which they promote the Futura Afición workshops, where these values are passed on to the next generations.