The LaLiga Foundation and LaLiga's women's football department have signed a collaboration agreement with the Vicente Ferrer Foundation, with the aim of developing football in the most deprived communities of the district of Anantapur, India. This will be achieved by establishing conditions in which both individual and collective talent will flourish in India.
The Anantapur Football League (AFL) is a rural grassroots competition that was founded for the 2014/15 season and is run by the Anantapur Sports Academy, which is in turn managed by the Vicente Ferrer Foundation. Since its formation, the AFL has grown in size, expanding both its number of divisions and youth teams.
Through this joint initiative set up by LaLiga and the Vicente Ferrer Foundation, around 2,000 boys and girls between the ages of 11 and 19 will have the opportunity to play sport and receive an education. The project will instil such values as discipline, self-improvement and team spirit in the youngsters, qualities which are sure to stand them in good stead for the future.
As part of three collaboration schemes, coaches and players from the Liga Iberdrola will have the opportunity to share experiences with their Anantapur counterparts through a series of videos. This will encourage the exchange of information on getting the best out of players, such as training methods and player development, as well as promoting the positive values which are ingrained in football and other sports.
In addition, various representatives from LaLiga, Spanish women's clubs and the Vicente Ferrer Foundation will visit Anantapur in the latter stages of the project in order to organise joint activities and witness the impact of the project in India first-hand.