SPAIN’S professional football league LaLiga and Spanish Pork sector leader Interporc, joined hands to celebrate and honor Filipino athletes and organizations and their invaluable contribution in the community at the recent Heroes Off the Pitch Awards Gala Dinner at Fairmont Hotel in Makati City.
The Heroes off the Pitch Awards Gala Dinner brought to life LaLiga and Spanish Pork’s commitment to highlight the positive impact of sports to individuals, families and communities as they further encourage the growth of football in the Philippines.
This year, LaLiga and Spanish Pork conferred the Best Community Project awards to three Filipino sports programs which clearly illustrated the positive impact of sports in the country.
Receiving the Heroes Off the Pitch Best Community Project for Football was Gawad Kalinga and the US Embassy in Manila for their “Project SPORTS LEAD: Climate Change Awareness Through Soccer.”
The recognition highlights a project that utilized football as a tool to educate and spread environmental awareness and relevant social issues in communities across the country.
More than 100 youth from Davao de Oro, Sultan Kudarat, Butuan, Palawan, Bohol and Manila gathered to discuss important topics such as climate change or gender equality.
The Pinay5 by Philippine Football Federation, Henry V. Moran Foundation, Philippine Sports Commission and MVP Sports Foundation were awarded the Heroes Off the Pitch Best Community Project for Women’s Football.
The project comes also from the long efforts of “Liga Eskwela,” which developed futsal in public schools and communities, training teachers in the sport to support the coaching of young players and culminating in the creation of the PINAY5, the national women’s futsal team.
The Daungan Cuatro project of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA), TikTok and Rain or Shine received the Heroes Off the Pitch Best Community Project in Basketball.
The project benefited the residents of Daungan Cuatro in Navotas City by turning over a renovated basketball court to the residents with an innovative and artistic approach that now serves as a safe and inspiring place for the community and encourages Filipinos to pursue their passion in sports and in life.
As a global organization, LaLiga is a leader in the sports and entertainment sectors that focuses on innovation and social responsibility in promoting football across the world.
Interporc and its brand, Spanish Pork, is a non-profit organization representing all sectors in the Spanish Pork value chain which promotes Spanish white pork meat and meat products both in Spain and abroad, and its contribution to economic development.
“As a sports organization, we see it as our responsibility to promote football, not only as a sport but also an avenue to create a positive impact and give back to the community,” said Almudena Gómez, LaLiga’s delegate to the Philippines.
“Through Heroes off the Pitch, we recognize the sports teams and individuals and their initiatives to make the world a whole lot better through sports.”
“Heroes off the Pitch honors leaders in sports, but more important, leaders also in giving back to the community. Spanish Pork sector also shares those values, and contributes to the economic development, specially of rural areas,” said Daniel de Miguel, International Director of Interporc.
“In addition, its nutritional values make pork meat ideal to be included in the sportsman diets, thus contributing to a correct performance,” Miguel added.
Filipino sports personalities like former Azkal James Younghusband, PBA Commissioner Willie Marcial and player Von Pessumal along with lifestyle personalities and sports enthusiasts Janeena Chan, Laura Lehmann and Andrei Felix and representatives from the Spanish Embassy in the Philippines also graced the gala dinner.
The event also featured a delectable four-course dinner prepared by culinary expert Chef Chele Gonzalez in partnership with Fairmont Executive Chef Bela Rieck.
Using world-class quality Spanish Pork, the dishes certainly highlighted why this is considered by foodies among the best around the world.
