LaLiga participated by supporting the ‘Laliga Kick&Clean’ initiative on the island of Siargao by organising a beach clean-up and various beach football activities
Once again, LaLiga shows its commitment to social responsibility in the Philippines, in this case by collaborating in the fight against climate change through its support for the ‘Climate Change Awareness through Soccer‘ project led by the local foundation Gawad Kalinga. The project consists of a first phase online followed by two camps on the islands of Siargao and El Nido from June 5-30 and aims to raise awareness of environmental impact to 100 young leaders across the Philippines.
The threat of climate change is impacting the environment and sports is not exempt to it. In this project we will use football as a tool to spread environmental awareness to 100 youth leaders across the Philippines in partnership with the U.S. Embassy in Manila through the Sports Diplomacy Division of the U.S. Department of State, and with LaLiga through their delegation in the Philippines. The camps will be held in El Nido Palawan, Siargao Island and in Manila. It can impact more than 2,500 individuals and around 30 marginalized communities.
LaLiga participated by supporting the ‘Laliga Kick&Clean’ initiative on the island of Siargao by organising a beach clean-up and various beach football activities between June 8-10, to coincide with World Oceans Day. The camp was attended by 50 young leaders from different communities in the country, some travelling for 20 hours, from Tacurong City, Bukidnon, Cagwait, Maragusan (Davao de Oro), Butuan City and Siargao Island itself from Lobogon, Del Carmen and General Luna. The beach waste collection aims to raise awareness among young leaders of the impact that humans have on their environment, promote waste recycling and educate on sustainability and climate action. In addition, games were organised on the beach to showcase the creativity of the young leaders in coming up with solutions to address the challenges they face in their communities related to climate impact. The camp in Siargao also counted on the support of local volunteers and host families of the local Gawad Kalinga community.
Furthermore, LaLiga, represented by its delegate in the Philippines, Almudena Gómez, participated in the chat with the young leaders via the Webinar: Sports LEADS- Climate Change Awareness Through Soccer where she shared the initiatives of some of its football clubs – such as Real Betis, Athletic Club and Sevilla FC – that contribute to sustainability and environmental protection. The case of Real Betis, which among other projects, was discussed, as it has aligned itself with the UN’s Climate Neutral Now program and Amazon’s Climate Pledge, creating an ambitious environmental plan that revolves around “Forever Green”, a sustainability platform that harnesses the power of sport to protect the planet. It was also explained how Sevilla FC has launched the RehabilitaVerde Sevilla project, which seeks to raise public awareness of the importance of energy efficiency in buildings. And among other examples, Athletic Club‘s work in this area was shared thanks to its renovation project for the San Mames Satadium, becoming the first football ground in Europe to be awarded the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification, the most widely used green building rating system in the world. The LEED certification rates the sustainability of a building on the basis of the following criteria: sustainability sites, energy and water saving, use of low environmental impact material, indoor environmental quality and innovation in design. The club has also launched a ‘CO2 Offsetting’ campaign to help compensate for its current carbon emissions. “At the end of each season, the level of CO2 emissions is calculated and the appropriate number of trees and bushes are planted over the course of the following season to compensate for the club’s carbon footprint,” the club added. “Last season, 2029 native trees and bushes were planted in the Urdaibai Biosphere Reserve.
