This Wednesday, Leyendas España, together with the Royal Spanish Football Federation and the Lovaas Foundation, presented their 2024 charity calendar in which, for the first time, the past and present of the Spanish National Team are united in a charity initiative whose profits will go to the Lovaas Foundation, a non-profit clinical and training centre that offers early and intensive behavioural intervention programmes for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).
The presentation ceremony, held in the Villalonga Hall of the Ciudad del Fútbol in Las Rozas, was attended by Dani Carvajal and Joselu Mato, both current players of the Spanish National Team and ambassadors of the Lovaas Foundation; Víctor Rodríguez, secretary and clinical director of the foundation; Luis Milla, director of Leyendas and its president, Fernando Giner, and Javier Gómez Matallanas, spokesperson for the RFEF.
The calendar features Pablo, Lucía, Javi, Guillén, Hugo, Marcos, among other boys and girls chosen by Lovaas Foundation, who pose alongside current internationals such as Dani Carvajal, Joselu Mato, Álvaro Morata, José Luis Gayá and Gavi; and football legends such as Joan Capdevilla, Marcos Senna, José Emilio Amavisca, Luis Milla, Salva Ballesta, Ricardo López and Alberto Luque, director of the Spanish national team.
The president of Leyendas España, Fernando Giner, expressed his excitement during the event: "I am very happy thanks to the work and social initiatives carried out by the association of international footballers in giving something back to society, these are very nice initiatives. In this edition we wanted to unite several generations and just seeing the look and the smile on the faces of the children who have participated makes everything worth it," he added.
For his part, Víctor Rodríguez has explained what the participation in this calendar means for Lovaas Foundation: "We are an association that has existed for 20 years and our focus has always been to defend the rights of people with autism to be treated as they deserve and to support their families. To be able to align ourselves with a solidarity calendar with the legends of the Spanish National Team, and that Carvajal and Joselu, ambassadors of the foundation have been able to join us and with them legends of the present and past is a dream for us, the best Christmas present we could have".
The Leyendas España 2024 charity calendar can be purchased online on the Lovaas Foundation website (www.lovaasfoundation.es).
Dani Carvajal and Joselu Mato, ambassadors of the Foundation, acted as sponsors of the 2024 charity calendar. Carvajal knows first-hand the work they carry out in society: "In our close circle we have situations of children with ASD and I have been able to learn a lot about how Víctor works with them". The national team player is aware that there are plenty of reasons to collaborate: "This calendar is very much about that, that they need help and resources and I encourage everyone to buy lots of calendars".
Carvajal: "The 15th of June, the start of the European Championship, is marked on our calendar".
The two were present at a very special morning photo session that Joselu defines as follows: "The children had a great time and to bring a smile and helping all those children and parents who at some point have gone through difficult moments is the most important thing for us. We are more than grateful for the opportunity that the RFEF and the Foundation have given us".
The result is 14 photos in which the looks and smiles speak for themselves.
