President Bartomeu has presented with Mayor of Barcelona Xavier Trias a new publishing project based on the methodology
The ‘FutbolNet’ project, which promotes values through football, is taking its remit beyond the pitch and into other areas. The project, supported by the FC Barcelona Foundation, from Wednesday onwards now has entered the world of letters with the publication of a book. This initiative has the support of the Barcelona City Council, the University of Barcelona and the Obra Social “la Caixa”.
FC Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu and Xavier Trias the mayor of Barcelona were both present for the launching of the book on Wednesday at the Sala Moragas in the Born Cultural Centre in Barcelona. Also present were Dr. Lourdes Cirlot, Vice Rector of Institutional Relations and Culture at the University of Barcelona, Frances Xavier Bertolín, director of the Area of Commercial and Educational Action at the Banking Foundation “la Caixa” and Alexia Putellas, a member of the Women’s football team at FC Barcelona.
Publishing project that examines 'FutbolNet'
The book titled “Barça reaches everyone” brings together the essence of the ‘FutbolNet’ methodology that the Foundation has been supporting since 2011 and that at the time of writing reaches over 100,000 children. With photographs from Tino Soriano and written by Jordi Rovira, the volume recounts the experiences of boys and girls in Catalonia, Oman, Senegal and Brazil who have participated in this extracurricular project.
The book also outlines just what these values mean to the children and how the ‘FutbolNet’ project has helped them on a day to day basis. Soriano and Rovira have distilled the essence of this project which has become a veritable phenomenon internationally. It started in Catalonia, but since has spread to more than 40 countries in such areas as Latin America, Africa and the Middle East.
The book is 148 pages long and has a prologue from Josep Maria Bartomeu and Xavier Trias and is aimed to be used as a gift book that will help promote the project’s philosophy and success over the last few years.
‘FutbolNet’ is a teaching philosophy that attempts to educate children and young people about positive values that come from sport, in particular, football.
'FutbolNet' a well established social project
The project outlines five particular values, identified as essential for personal development that are discussed before, during and after the game. Those values are: Effort, Teamwork, Humility and Ambition. During the sessions sports games are developed around these concepts and a small league is organised in which the winners are not always those who score most goals, but instead those who have best applied the rules based on each value.
President Josep Maria Bartomeu:
“With ‘FutbolNet’ children enjoy extra education. Children, it is explained in the book, have been helped to become better people by ‘FutbolNet’. I encourage everyone to get closer to this methodology.”
Mayor Xavier Trias:
“’FutbolNet’ introduces reflection and dialogue and that favours social inclusion and helps prevent situations of social discrimination. ‘FutbolNet’ performs a very valuable social function. It is a successful project for the future.”