"Armbands for Hope": the RFEF joins the Spanish Cancer Association's initiative
By promoting the use of green armbands in all official competitions this weekend, the RFEF wants to support a cause whose International Day is this Sunday, 4 February.
The Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) has joined forces with the Spanish Association Against Cancer (AECC), within the initiative "Armbands for Hope", and will promote the use of a green armband in its official competitions this weekend.
In doing so, the aim is to represent the fight against this disease, with World Cancer Day being this Sunday, and to support an absolutely fundamental social cause by providing the maximum visibility offered by the most influuencial sport in this country.
Under the slogan "Everyone against cancer", this initiative aims to raise awareness of this disease and to achieve a 70 percent survival rate by 2030 through research, prevention and treatment.
The greatest challenge facing public health
Cancer is considered the most important public health problem at a national and global level. According to the Association, it is predicted that by 2030 there will be more than 330,000 new cases of cancer in Spain, with a diagnosis every 1.8 minutes. This means that one in three women and one in two men will suffer from this disease in their lifetime.
In 2023, more than 295,000 people were diagnosed with cancer in Spain, which represented an increase of 9.1% compared to 2017. However, the survival rate in men grew from 52.0% to 55.3% between 2002-2013 and in women from 59.1% to 61.7%.
The aim is to reverse these new case figures and improve the survival rate and quality of life of people with this disease. To achieve this, the help and mobilisation of all citizens, associations, public and private entities, scientists, doctors, patients, families, the media and social leaders is needed so they can join forces and unite resources against this major public health challenge. Football is a fundamental tool to achieve this.