The Yellows Academy team stand up to this disease with a series of initiatives
The Villarreal U16 A team show their charitable side yet again. In an initiative that has come from the young players themselves, the Yellows Academy U16s have prepared a series of events all to achieve the same goal: to raise money for the investigation to find a cure for ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease and motor neurone disease, which is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects the nerve cells of the brain and spinal cord. Among thousands of other Spaniards, Carlos Matallanas has this disease.
The relationship between the U16 A team and Carlos Matallanas began with the presentation of Endavant Igualtat, two seasons ago, which his brother, Javier Matallanas, attended. Carlos Matallanas’ story impacted the U16 A team players and from then on they have supported the fight against ALS with a series of initiatives, although now, they want to take their support one step further.
It should also be mentioned that the U16 A team are already a part of the club’s charity initiative, Endavant Igualtat, in which they collaborate with the ‘Virgen de Gracia’ Senior Residence in Vila-real. Therefore, the U16 A team wanted to add the campaign against ALS to their charitable duties.
The actions that form part of the ‘#DonaContraELA’ (#DonateAgainstALS) campaign are the following:
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SUPPORT SHIRTS. From now until the end of the season, the U16 A team players will shine with the name ‘C. MATALLANAS’ on the back of their match shirts above the number, with the hashtag #DonaContraELA (#DonateAgainstALS) below the number at the bottom of their shirts. Last weekend the young Yellows already played in the shirts during a match against Torre Levante and they will do so until the end of the season, both in the ‘Liga Autonómica’ and the ‘MIC tournament’ that will be celebrated in the next few days. What’s more, the team put together a touching collage of photos for Carlos Matallanas with messages of motivation against ALS.
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CHARITY ACCOUNT NUMBER. The club has also set up a charity bank account for FUNDELA (Fundación Española para el Fomento de la Investigación de la Esclerosis Lateral Amiotrófica- Spanish Foundation for the Investigation of ALS), into which fans can donate money to finance investigations against ALS. (Charity account number- ES22 0128 0290 4701 0003 6303). It is planned that the U16 A team players will put a banner on display during the MIC tournament with the hashtag #DonaContraELA, as well as the account number that fans can donate to. Throughout the tournament the U16 A team will spread the word of the charity initiative as there will be talks throughout the competition.
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CHARITY STAND VS SPORTING DE GIJÓN. The U16 A team will have an official photo taken with the First Team before the LaLiga Santander match at the Estadio de la Cerámica corresponding to Matchday 35 to be played on Friday 28th April (8:45pm CET). In the photo there will also be an information board with the hashtag #DonaContraELA and the charity account number: ES22 0128 0290 4701 0003 6303. In addition, the routine ‘Charity Stand’ will be dedicated to the campaign against ALS for this match. The Villarreal U16 A team players will be in charge of selling the tickets for the match against Sporting de Gijón for only 10 Euros. All funds raised will go into the charity banck account set up for this campaign against ALS.
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CHARITY BRACELETS. Fans that would also like to buy charity bracelets with the #DonaContraELA have the chance to do so. They are yellow bracelets and will be sold at various points of sale such as the Villarreal CF Training Ground (Ciudad Deportiva) or the club’s Official Shops, among others.
