Quatre Carreres Sports Center was the scene of the presentation ceremony of the fourth edition of the Trinidad Alfonso Foundation Sports Community Teams support program; This program was attended by its director, Juan Miguel Gómez, and a large representative group of seven athletes. The community’s elite clubs competing in the highest category of handball, rugby and national volleyball; TM Benidorm, Fertiberia Puerto Sagunto from Liga Plenitude Asobal, Atticgo Elche and Elda Prestigio from Liga Guerreras Iberdrola, Les Abelles and UPV Léleman Conqueridor Valencia from Rugby Pride and CV Villena Petrer from Volleyball Super League. But there are many more in this fourth edition, up to 40, and 55 of them have passed throughout this initiative, which emerged in such a complex year as 2020, as Juan Miguel Gómez recalls, which will distribute a figure “close to a million euros”.
This is an initiative that aims to provide clubs with sufficient resources to become economically sustainable over time, strengthen sports projects and increase the representation of the Comunitat de l’Esport in the main national leagues of the relevant disciplines. More than 650 athletes represent the Comunitat de l’Esport through their clubs this season.
«In these three years Valencian clubs have achieved significant successes, some of which make us very proud: Les Abelles from the rugby team and the Léleman Valencia Volleyball team have been promoted and have consolidated themselves in the highest national league; Elche Handball girls made a sporting breakthrough, winning the Spanish Cup and the Super Cup, even competing for the league and regularly qualifying for Europe; Benidorm Handball can also be played in Europe, just like Alcodiam Roller Hockey. They are the architects of these successes, but we are very excited to think that we can cooperate in some small way with this aid program and participate in some way in these successes,” explains Juan Roig, president of the Trinidad Foundation Alfonso. «This program is an urgent matter due to Covid-19 “From being a social problem, it has turned into a quest for the consolidation, professionalization and sustainability of the clubs. “The project is developing.”
The final aid given to each club is determined by the total budget of each. and a number of variable parameters, such as the level of the league they participate in, the number of athletes at the grassroots level, the presence of teams of both genders, the presence of Valencians or the purchase of private sponsorships, among others. Twelve of the teams competing in eight sports are active at the elite level, seven are represented by men’s and women’s representation, and Atticgo Elche competes in European competitions.
The event was attended by Jacobo Balongo, Sergio Carballeira and Pablo Vainstein (TM Benidorm), Juanjo Bataller, Toni Malla and Adrián Nolasco (Fertiberia Puerto Sagunto), Juan José Ávila, Joaquín Rocamora and Nicole Morales (Atticgo Elche), Manuel Pastor, Chema. Vives and Lucía García (Elda Prestigio), Antonio Márquez, Natxo Costa, Bautista Guemes and Gloria Pérez (CR Les Abelles), Belén Clemente, Fabián Muraco and VIcente Monfort (UPV Léleman Conqueridor Valencia), and Néstor and Abel and Carlos Jiménez, CV From Villena-Petrer.