Rafael Nadal and his mother, Ana María Parera, created the Rafa Nadal Foundation in 2008.
From the beginning, sport and education are our best allies, which all our projects are based on.
Aliados con el #deporte y la #educación // Allies of #sport and #education
— Fundación Rafa Nadal (@frnadal) October 3, 2018
....#fundacionrafanadal #rafanadalfoundation #nonprofit #rafanadal @RafaelNadal @rnadalacademy pic.twitter.com/0CnBSuI54s
Vision
In the Rafa Nadal Foundation we strongly believe in the transformative power of sport and education, two tools that allow children and teenagers to go as far as they can, regardless of their background or personal and social conditions, even for those who have learning difficulties or disability.
Mission
Our mission is based upon the belief that every child and youth should have access to equal opportunities now and in the future. Through our projects in Spain and India, we work alongside with them to make the most of their abilities, empowering them and fostering values such as self-improvement, respect and effort.
Projects
- More than Tennis promotes the practice of this sport for young people with intellectual disability who participate in the Special Olympics in Spain.
Besides improving their psychomotor skills, such as movement abilities and coordination, the participants adopt attitudes and behaviors based on effort and perseverance; they incorporate healthy habits and strengthen their integration and sense of belonging to the society.
With More than Tennis we create and offer a setting where the participants can share their experiences, make friends, have fun, progress each day and improve themselves, strengthen their self-esteem, etc.
- Social integration of vulnerable children: NETS (Nadal Educational Tennis School)
In NETS center (Nadal Educational Tennis School), located in one of the poorest regions in India, we attend children from different disadvantaged communities with an essential goal: to reinforce their social integration, regardless their cast or gender.
The project offers activities such as tennis practice and training as well as academic support in English and Computers, besides providing the children with a daily nutritional supplement and basic health care.
This project, launched in 2010, is carried out in collaboration with Vicente Ferrer Foundation.
- Promotion of sports talent
This program offers the opportunity to combine sports training and competition with studies for young athletes who are fully committed and practice a sport regularly. With Study and Play they can access to scholarships to study in American universities.
In collaboration with I-Con Sports, we provide the necessary tools to apply for these grants. Moreover, through the Rafa Nadal Foundation, we offer additional economic help to students whose family and economic situation requires so.
The participation in this program can determine the present and future of these youths, avoiding the situation in which they have to choose between their studies or their sports career.
- Integration and Sport
From 2011 until 2018, along with Aldeas Infantiles SOS, we were carrying out this project included in the area of social integration for vulnerable children. During seven academic years, we assisted more than 1,300 children with a risk of social exclusion in Barcelona, Granada y Zaragoza.
Thanks to the participation in the project and through the sports practice experience, the children could improve their social relations with others and adopted healthy habits. This affected their family dynamics in a very positive way.