Real Madrid President Florentino Pérez and Executive Vice President of Nutrition at Abbott, Daniel Salvadori, signed an agreement under which the US pharmaceutical company becomes the official health nutrition sponsor of the club and a Real Madrid Foundation global partner for the next three years.
The collaboration encompasses education, sports and social welfare activities to help children at risk in 80 countries, as well as providing nutrition support for Real Madrid’s men’s and women’s first and youth teams, in addition to new product innovation and development.
Abbott Nutrition Executive Vice President Daniel Salvadori said: “Abbott and the Real Madrid Foundation share a common goal: improving children’s nutrition around the world so they can be healthier and reach their potential. By combining our collective strengths, we will be able to reach more people and have an even bigger and longer-lasting impact on the lives of tens of thousands of children around the world.
The Real Madrid Foundation’s work
The Real Madrid Foundation supports 65,000 children in 80 countries every year through education in sporting values, teamwork, respect, health and nutrition. Working with local partners, it identifies and brings together children from areas at risk, typically in remote rural communities. The schools cater for many different activities, ranging from healthy snacks and dental hygiene, to after-school programmes related to health education and sports training.
A local social or environmental activity, such as visits to health centres, is included in every programme. Children are tested for key health indicators at the beginning of each programme and are given nutritional support throughout the process. A week-long camp is also organised by the Foundation for children who wish to train more and develop their game following Real Madrid’s methodology.
Real Madrid’s Director of Institutional Relations Emilio Butragueño explained: ” Through the Real Madrid Foundation’s work we aren’t looking to develop the next footballer, we’re aiming to develop the next engineer, scientist or lawyer. Working with Abbott, a world leader and expert in nutrition, we can help children around the world live healthier lives”.
Reducing malnutrition
Malnutrition affects one in three people around the world. Abbott recently launched the Abbott Centre for Malnutrition Solutions, an innovation centre staffed by leading experts in nutrition, which aims to reduce malnutrition in every region around the world over the next ten years.
The collaboration with Real Madrid is the first to be launched by the centre and will run until the end of the 2023/2024 season, working with the Real Madrid Foundation’s social sporting schools in 12 countries to identify malnutrition, provide education and nutritional support, while simultaneously addressing nutritional needs on its campuses, which are located in 42 countries.
Innovation and development
As Real Madrid’s official health nutrition sponsor, Abbott will also work closely with the club to advance research into innovation and the development of new ingredients and products as part of the nutritional support for the men’s, women’s and youth teams.
This project supports Abbott’s 2030 sustainability plan goal of transforming healthcare for malnutrition, chronic diseases and infectious diseases, with the aim of improving the lives of more than 3 billion people by the end of the decade.
