The Cádiz CF Foundation has brought an intense 2020 to a close, a year badly affected by the pandemic, with the lockdowns and other measures in place to prevent the spread of Covid-19.
But the coronavirus has not affected us at all in terms of our desire to keep doing our bit, and with the use of a lot of imagination we’ve carried on our good works, finishing the year with 70 partnership agreements signed, 20 more than the previous year.
At the Foundation we are all too aware of the role we play in Cádiz society and, faced with the new panorama caused by the Covid pandemic, we’ve bolstered our collaborations with associations, NGOs, institutions, etc… with more than 100 collaborations now in place. What’s more, we’ve developed a range of initiatives a little bit different to those of recent years, such as the charity sponsorship of our women’s team, CCF Femenino, supporting the fight against breast cancer; tributes to the volunteers of a number of associations who worked so hard during the Covid lockdown; and the online celebration of World Children’s Day. And of course not forgetting the successful activities of the programme DeCerCadizCF in its version from home.
In the year we’ve now left behind the Foundation has signed major agreements, such as the one with HU Puerta del Mar and its project ‘Hospitalised Childhood’; an Agreement with the group HUM-843 at UCA; projects analysing the psychological situation of patients with breast cancer; and the renewal of partnerships with NGOs including educo and Cruz Roja, which is now more than 15 years old.
The Foundation continues focused on the province of Cádiz, and although in 2020 it was not possible to conclude the DECERCADIZCF programme, nor run the summer campus or the TOUR DE VERANO, a number of different programmes were run online, such as ‘visiting’ 44 towns and villages through their town halls; agreements such as the one with the Caballos de Sanlúcar horse racing; the monthly meeting with the supporters clubs; and the campaign ‘Cádiz Artistry’ (‘Una provincia con arte’) which highlights leading artists from the region, strengthening our links with our land.
2021 has only just started and we’re already hard at work on actions and initiatives which will highlight the best of the region’s towns, from a number of perspectives: touristic, cultural, sporting and gastronomic.
Despite the restrictions affecting all of society, the Foundation continues to support the protection of children’s rights, with a number of different actions, including the Carranza Estadio de Tolerancia, as well as our support for LGBTIQ+ rights, with this campaign being recognised by various local and regional institutions.
The STOP BULLYING campaign, while not being able to be carried out physically, has continued on-line, and in 2020 we have been working to bolster this action so that it becomes one of the fundamental pillars of the Foundation’s activities for the coming year, with the creation of a network of different entities focused on eradicating bullying from the classroom, which will allows us to take decisive action and expand our field of activity, holding workshops, sessions for parents and teachers; as well as holding talks in schools and educational centres. Agreements, such as the provincial association against bullying at school, signed last May, will allow us to increase the actions we carry out in 2021 across the entire province.
Despite the LA LIGA GENUINE being suspended, the Foundation together with the LaLiga Foundation have carried out a range of initiatives during the lockdown period with our players. As we have said, 2021 is the year in which we are all ‘Capable of Anything’, and we are running two programmes: EMPRENDE GENUINE and ESPORT GENUINE to help those who need it find their way in the digital world. We want to create employment opportunities, provide an education in values and all with a digital backdrop.
This year we were forced to stop the El CADIZ AL COLE (CADIZ AT SCHOOL) programme when we had only carried out four visits to centres in the Bahía, but in order to stay in touch with youngsters across the region we started ESE CADIZ A LEER (Come on Cádiz…let’s read), a programme to promote reading among children, thanks to an alliance with the local library network and agreements with publishers BABADIBU and BOOKOLIA, which has been running for the past few months (and will carry on throughout 2021). Under the plan we’re encouraging everyone to read; what’s more we are launching a communication campaign in various schools and educational centres this month with the EL CLUB DE LECTURA CÁDIZ CF (Cádiz CF Reading Club), which will run through to June. In 2021, too, we’re going to get even more involved in the literary world, with the creation of a short story competition for young writers, as well as giving a voice to young authors from our province - there’s no doubt the Foundation continues to back the arts and culture.
Providing a summary of 2020 is both difficult and at the same time highly gratifying - the Cádiz CF Foundation has been highly active in carrying out its initiatives, with the aim of being present at every level of society in Cádiz, with an action plan the route map of which is guided by meeting the sustainable development goals set out in the 2030 Agenda. This has led the Foundation to develop a new line of actions focused on the conservation of nature, a new branch of initiatives that aims to make Cádiz CF more ecological and more sustainable. We’ve added to the 2019 CAMPAÑA CAPITÁN TAPÓN (Captain Bottle Top Campaign) with the PLAYAS AZULES AND AMARILLAS (Blue and Yellow Beaches), a major campaign to raise awareness among Cádiz residents and Cádiz fans, with the idea that we all clean our one metre of beach before packing up our towel. To help we’ve handed out nearly 5,000 reusable ashtrays. We’ve also signed an agreement with the movement ZERO WASTER, which aims to reuse waste to avoid it being burnt or sent to landfill, with the aim of reducing pollution.
The basis of the project is the selective collection of waste, just as is done across Spain with containers for glass, paper, plastic and organic waste, and the creation of cleaning patrols in nature spots. In 2021 we’ll continue to back actions aimed at defending nature, and we are also carrying out initiatives to reduce the use of paper and plastic in the day-to-day running of the club, put in place energy efficient practices and the installation of recycling points on game days for the fans. Away from the stadium we’re backing reforestation actions in our province, promoting the conservation of the Bahía de Cádiz National Park and other initiatives that directly affect citizens.
