At the beginning of October, the president of the Higher Sports Council (CSD), Irene Lozano, received a call from the Secretary of State for Digitalization and Artificial Intelligence, Carme Artigas, with a very specific request for help: to use sport as a vehicle for raising awareness for the population to download Radar Covid, the
app
that the Government considers essential to fight the pandemic.
The multi-champion of water polo, Jennifer Pareja, CSD advisor, tells how they received the mission: "We have an impact on the young population, the one that is having the most contagion records, which we could take advantage of. From the CSD we were going to put what was in our hand for this pedagogical work ".
And at hand were, above all, 4,900 high-level athletes.
The CSD contacted all sports federations and institutions to join them in the cause and send an individual message to each of the athletes, not only to download the tool but also to spread its importance.
"A study estimates that if 20% of the population download this
app
, it will reduce the impact of the pandemic by 30%," says Pareja.
In this search, the CSD found in LaLiga a great ally to spread this message.
Víctor Martín, who joined the management team of the institution this year, after being general director of CD Numancia for 21 years, highlights the work of his organization in this regard: “We have been pioneers in the development of protocols to compete again last year and to start doing it this season.
Many European competitions have been based on our work ”.
Martín, who was a director in the world of volleyball before managing CD Numancia, highlights the role of football in any social cause: “The fact that we are the most followed gives us means, resources and a speaker that allow us to impact the society as it has happened on this occasion ”.
Message to promote the Radar Covid application before the start of ElClásico, last weekend.
THE LEAGUE
The greatest exponent of this possibility is ElClásico, LaLiga's star game, followed by a potential audience of 650 million viewers from around the world.
It was there, in the virtual stands developed to give excitement to the broadcasts of the competition, where they launched last Saturday a precise message: "For your protection, download the
Radar Covid
app
."
Since the beginning of the pandemic, the connections between political authorities and soccer executives have been close and constant.
A closeness that to a large extent has been in charge of strengthening Roberto Bermúdez de Castro, director of Institutional Relations of LaLiga, who before making the leap to the world of sport was a councilor, senator and even secretary of state with the last government of Mariano Rajoy.
“The relationship with the Government and the communities is constant and, from the first moment, very fluid.
There is a team of six dedicated to it and from both sides the priority was a quick and above all safe return to the game ”, explains Bermúdez de Castro, who considers that the return of the competition this summer became a showcase to demonstrate how an entire country was coping with the virus.
The establishment of security protocols has been essential to guarantee the viability of the competitions and to show the exemplary nature of a show followed by millions of fans.
In the case of LaLiga, the protocol for the past year —recurrent PCR tests, cleaning of Mediapro's technical equipment in the stadiums, control of team movements — has been reinforced since September with limitations on the use of changing rooms or the creation of of the figure of the auxiliary inspector, who accompanies each one of the 42 teams of the two highest categories to guarantee compliance with all sanitary regulations.
Real Sociedad coach Imanol Alguacil at the Reale Arena during a game this season.
However, the organization has not only been concerned with the fate and survival of football, but also with the well-being of the rest of society.
After the break between March and July last season, messages were launched in the stadium stands to promote Spain as a safe tourist destination during the summer before the vast international audience that follows the games and the LaLiga Santander Fest initiative, which brought together to artists of the stature of Alejandro Sanz or Aitana, managed to raise more than one million euros for the acquisition of equipment and medical supplies to combat the pandemic.
At the same time, the clubs and players have shown their commitment to society.
The examples are varied: from the rojillo midfielder Rubén García, who called more than a hundred young CA Osasuna fans when they could not celebrate with their friends, to the tablets and mobile phones that RCD Espanyol de Barcelona sent to a clinic to combat the isolation of the infected, to the nutrition advice and recipes on YouTube from Johnny Porto, chef of the Real Sociedad first team.
Forward Karim Benzema during the match between Real Madrid and Cádiz CF of the sixth day of LaLiga Santander.
THE LEAGUE
Each and every one of the entities has been involved in providing material help and awareness and psychological support in this adverse scenario without forgetting, in addition, other causes.
The pink shirts that FC Barcelona and Real Madrid wore during the sixth day of LaLiga Santander, coinciding with the World Day of the fight against breast cancer, are the best proof of the breadth of vision with which Spanish football conceives its impact beyond the pitch.
How to download Radar Covid
Radar Covid, the contagion tracking application promoted by the Government, is one of the tools that the authorities use to combat the pandemic, just like the mask or hand washing.
The installation of the
app
is always voluntary.
However, its use is recommended insofar as it can help complement the work of manual trackers, especially to detect contacts with unknown people and mitigate community transmission of the virus.
The tool alerts its users when they have had contact with a person infected with covid-19 and, at the same time, considers that there is a risk of contagion when it detects that someone is in contact for at least 15 minutes and at a distance of less than two meters.
For mobiles with Android operating system
, the application is available at this link to the Google Play Store.
For mobiles with an iOS operating system
, the application is available at this link to the Apple App Store.
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