LALIGA and its clubs join forces in the fight against bullying through LALIGA VS

Bullying refers to a child's exposure to repeated physical, verbal or psychological abuse by his or her peers in a school environment. It's an often unreported problem that affects 1 in 4 pupils in Spain, according to the Spanish Association for the Prevention of School Bullying (AEPAE).

Similarly, according to the State Study of School Coexistence in Primary Education, carried out by the Ministry of Education, only 10% of students who are witness to bullying stand up to the perpetrator. At LALIGA, we're aware of the unique power football has in uniting and empowering people.

That's why, LALIGA VS, a platform that's committed to eradicating hatred both inside and outside the stadiums, and which focused on racism last season, is now turning its attention to a new initiative: LALIGA VS BULLYING. Coinciding with the start of the school year, LALIGA is appealing to football's fundamental values: team spirit, unity, collective strength and sportsmanship, as it urges children not to be passive observers of bullying, but to unite and confront the problem by demonstrating that together they have the power to reduce cases of bullying by supporting the victims. Under the concept ‘A team doesn't let anyone stand alone’, the campaign is focused on highlighting an existing problem in society and football's ability to change the rules. The central element of the campaign depicts bullying as a monster that appears on a school football pitch and shows how, thanks to team unity and the strength of all the players, they manage to tackle the problem.

FUNDACIÓN LALIGA, a key player in LALIGA's fight against school bullying

In addition to the campaign highlighting the serious problem of bullying in schools, LALIGA will carry out various measures, backed by its Fundación, which for years has been promoting the positive values of sport in schools all over Spain through its Futura Afición project. This educational project promotes and encourages the positive values of sport, and has reached more than 85,000 students throughout Spain since its launch in 2015. Under this premise, FUNDACIÓN LALIGA introduced specific workshops on school bullying last year, and these will be extended for the 2024/25 season.

The essential role of the clubs

For many seasons now, LALIGA clubs have demonstrated their commitment to the fight against bullying by implementing various campaigns which have had a huge local impact in raising awareness of this serious problem. For example, Atlético de Madrid, through its Foundation, has been running the ‘Hazte defensa contra el bullying’ (Become a defender against bullying) project, which involves collaborating with schools in the Community of Madrid to give talks, with the aim of raising awareness of the problem. It also includes the involvement of first team players. Valencia CF, also through its Foundation, organises the ‘TODOS CONTRA EL ACOSO ESCOLAR’ (EVERYONE AGAINST SCHOOL BULLYING) programme, which is carried out in collaboration with the National Police of the Community of Valencia to tackle cyber-bullying and prevent bullying in general within local schools. Another example is that of Albacete Balompié, which runs an educational programme in collaboration with the Provincial Council of Albacete and the National Police. Through this initiative, talks are aimed at the foundation's players, together with their parents, to address issues related to school bullying and its prevention.

As such, almost 20 LALIGA EA SPORTS and LALIGA HYPERMOTION clubs are using various initiatives and projects to raise awareness of football's fight against bullying and the importance of preventing it, primarily by focusing on sport's positive values such as unity, sportsmanship and friendship.

Further initiatives highlighting the fight against bullying

LALIGA and its clubs are using their full capacity to make an impact and raise the visibility of the message among the public: From the LALIGA EA SPORTS and LALIGA HYPERMOTION broadcasts on Matchdays 6 and 7, to the various activities carried out by the clubs in the stadiums: pitchside advertising, commentators and the advert itself. The most significant activity will be carried out by the escort kids, who will take to the field with the players from both teams wearing a kit featuring the campaign motto: A team doesn't let anyone stand alone.

Additionally, LALIGA EA SPORTS and LALIGA HYPERMOTION clubs will be provided with personalised digital materials, such as this special jersey, which can be used on their own social media channels.

Moreover, the second season of the LALIGA VS podcast, which premieres the week of September 23rd, kicks off with the firsthand experience of Sevilla CF player Saúl Ñiguez.

In short, LALIGA VS BULLYING is a new initiative from LALIGA VS, which will continue to promote campaigns and projects aimed at combating hatred in all its forms, whether it be racism, homophobia or any other discrimination that occurs both inside and outside football stadiums.