The Don Bosco Institute in Cadiz launches new soccer team for youth with disabilities

(MissionNewswire) Cadiz Virgili Don Bosco, a five-a-side soccer club founded at the Don Bosco Institute in Cadiz, Spain, has expanded its sports-educational offerings with a team dedicated to people with disabilities known as the Eyser team. Training for team members takes place free of charge on Mondays and Wednesdays at the Don Bosco Institute.

The team’s name honors George Eyser, the first Olympic athlete with a disability, who won six medals as a gymnast. The Eyser team was an initiative of the Don Bosco team’s coaches, Teresa Atero and Néstor Villegas, and has received the support of the Don Bosco Polideportivo Club and of the five-a-side soccer team Cadiz Virgili Futsal.

Cadiz Virgili Don Bosco currently has several teams engaged in tournaments and training. The teams are run by qualified and certified coaches who, with the support of the Salesian community, promote the individual care and development of athletes.

Villegas noted, “The new team for persons with disabilities is a team that five-a-side soccer needed, and we are fortunate to have qualified people to carry it forward. With this team, people with functional diversity will have a place and an opportunity to play sports, have fun and learn and play five-a-side soccer.”

Salesian Father Rafael Cazorla, coordinator of the Salesian sports club, added, “We want to achieve greater integration in sport. It is very important to work in this direction and that is why we want this team to continue to grow and be able to compete in tournaments in the near future.”

Salesian missionaries have been working for many years to provide educational and workforce development opportunities for poor youth and women in Spain through residential, technical and vocational training programs. Although teachers are available to start providing distance learning again in the event of a new lockdown, the importance of face-to-face education is emphasized in Salesian schools.

Close to 37 percent of young Spanish workers under the age of 25 are unemployed and a growing number of them can’t afford to buy enough food to live. Poor youth with few employable skills struggle the most to find and retain stable employment. Women in Spain face inequality in the workforce. They earn up to 14 percent less than men and represent only 34.5 percent of those listed as the highest earners in Spain.

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Sources:

ANS Photo (usage permissions and guidelines must be requested from ANS)

ANS – Spain – Integration through sport: “Eyser” team of “Cadiz Virgili Don Bosco” club

Salesian Missions – Spain

World Bank – Spain