The Rafa Nadal Foundation was born in 2010 as a result of the desire of Rafael and Ana María, his mother, to contribute to a better world. They considered themselves very lucky and wanted to contribute their grain of sand and return the love and support received to society.
Rafael was clear that sport should be present, because in addition to being his way of life and his passion, he considers it to be a very powerful tool for social transformation.
Ana María knows that with a good education in all aspects, we contribute to the development of children and young people so that one day they will become adults with opportunities.
We review the highlights of recent years and continue to look to the future with commitment.
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2024
Laureus Sport For Good
The Rafa Nadal Foundation has been awarded the Laureus Sport For Good Award for its work using sports as a tool for social transformation. This award was presented in Madrid at a ceremony filled with prominent sports figures. Rafael Nadal becomes a five-time Laureus award winner and the first in history to also win a Laureus Sport For Good for his social efforts.
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2023
First full course of the Play All project
The Rafa Nadal Foundation continues to grow and has launched a new project in Barcelona managed in collaboration with the Tennis Barcelona Foundation and with the support of Nike. The first course has been held and it’s a complete success. With this new program, it supports over 100 minors in vulnerable situations, aged between 5 and 16, from different neighborhoods in the city through regular tennis training and values education.
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2022
I Rafa Nadal Foundation Awards
The Rafa Nadal Foundation continues to promote new projects to improve people’s quality of life. The first call for the Rafa Nadal Foundation Awards is launched to help promote social initiatives developed by non-profit entities that work in five different areas: sport, education, health and well-being, social innovation and development cooperation.
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2021
Rafa Nadal Foundation Center in Madrid
The flagship project of the Rafa Nadal Foundation continues to grow and the Rafa Nadal Foundation Center in Madrid is born, in the San Fermín neighborhood, Usera district, one of the most vulnerable areas of the capital. We serve girls, boys and young people through sports, educational activities and psychosocial support. In addition, we carried out a complete renovation of our corporate image and celebrated 10 years of activity at an event in Madrid.
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2020
New normal
The Rafa Nadal Foundation has had to adapt its intervention to the health crisis derived from covid-19. We continue to serve minors and families of the Rafa Nadal Foundation Centers despite the circumstances, through financial aid for the acquisition of basic food and hygiene products.
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2019
The Rafa Nadal Foundation Center in Valencia is born.
The Rafa Nadal Foundation Center in Valencia opens in the Natzaret neighbourhood, one of the most disadvantaged areas of the city. In this center we serve minors in vulnerable situations through sports, educational activities and psychosocial support.
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2018
The projects of the Rafa Nadal Foundation continue to be active.
All the programs carried out by the foundation continue to work successfully and the IV National Meeting More Than Tennis is held, where athletes with intellectual disabilities from all over Spain meet and compete.
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2017
Race “Millor Junts”.
The popular race “Millor Junts” is born, held in the city of Palma de Mallorca. Beyond promoting healthy physical activity and the values of sport, this sports initiative suitable for the whole family aims to raise funds for the Rafa Nadal Foundation Centre.
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2016
All projects active and the third More Than Tennis Meeting.
All the projects of the Rafa Nadal Foundation are active and the third More Than Tennis National Meeting is held in which athletes with intellectual disabilities from all over Spain compete.
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2015
First International Gala and Study&Play begins.
The first International Gala of the foundation is held in Paris with the aim of raising funds for its projects and the Study&Play scholarship program begins to support young athletes and students at US universities.
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2013
The projects continue and the first Olazábal and Nadal Golf Tournament is held.
The activity of the Rafa Nadal Foundation continues with its ongoing projects and the Olazábal and Nadal solidarity golf tournament is held for the first time.
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2012
First National Meeting More Than Tennis.
We celebrate in Barcelona the first More Than Tennis National Encounter where athletes with intellectual disabilities from different schools throughout Spain have met.
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2011
We celebrate in Barcelona the conference “Together for Integration”
Continuing with the objective of raising funds to guarantee the continuity of our projects, on December 15, 2011 we celebrated in Barcelona, together with Invest for children, the Together for Integration day.
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2010
Foundational activity begins.
The NETS project in India launches with the Vicente Ferrer Foundation, and the More Than Tennis project launches with Special Olympics. These are the first programs launched by the Rafa Nadal Foundation.