CaixaBank renews its sponsorship with the Spanish Paralympic Committee on the road to Los Angeles 2028

• Alberto Duran, President of the Spanish Paralympic Committee, and Gonzalo Gortázar, CEO of CaixaBank, presented the renewed commitment alongside a group of athletes from the Spanish Paralympic team

• For the third consecutive Paralympic cycle, CaixaBank is supporting Spanish Paralympic athletes in their preparation for the Los Angeles 2028 Games, while continuing its backing of the ‘CaixaBank Paralympic Triathlon Promises Team’

• As part of this sponsorship, CaixaBank will promote three projects focused on identifying talent for generational renewal, a campaign to normalize disability from early childhood, and a plan to increase the visibility of Paralympic sports and athletes

CaixaBank and the Spanish Paralympic Committee (CPE) today presented their new sponsorship agreement, through which the financial institution will support the Spanish team throughout the new Paralympic cycle leading up to the Los Angeles 2028 Games. Alberto Duran, President of the Spanish Paralympic Committee, and Gonzalo Gortázar, CEO of CaixaBank, formalized the new sponsorship at CaixaBank’s corporate headquarters in Madrid.

The agreement, which renews CaixaBank’s essential support for the Plan ADOP (Support Plan for Paralympic Sport) for a third consecutive Paralympic cycle, was signed during a presentation attended by two athletes representing the Spanish delegation: Sara Andrés and Ander Cepas.

Strengthening commitment and normalizing paralympic sport

During the signing ceremony, Gonzalo Gortázar explained that “through this new sponsorship agreement, we will continue to strengthen our commitment to Paralympic sport for a third consecutive cycle.”

The CEO of CaixaBank also highlighted that with this renewal, “we will continue to give a voice to the ‘nonconformists of sport,’ supporting them on their journey to the Los Angeles Paralympic Games through financial backing and also through visibility and awareness campaigns, so that all of Spanish society can know and recognize the achievements of all the athletes who are part of the Spanish Paralympic Committee.”

For his part, the President of the Spanish Paralympic Committee, Alberto Duran, emphasized that “since CaixaBank joined the Paralympic Family in 2019, it has not only been a key part of our ADOP Plan and various development levels, such as ‘Nuestra Próxima Estrella’ and the CaixaBank Paralympic Triathlon Promises Team, but it has also become a powerful voice in normalizing disability and giving visibility to our sport. We now have four more years ahead to continue working along this path and to keep building a fairer and more inclusive society.”

Paralympic athlete Sara Andrés, speaking on behalf of the athletes, said: “For us, it’s a real privilege that brands like CaixaBank get involved in this way with athletes with disabilities. We need this kind of support to keep growing and to have the equal opportunities we always talk about.”

Table tennis player Ander Cepas also added: “It’s really valuable that sponsors like CaixaBank pay just as much attention to grassroots athletes as they do to the elite. Not long ago, I was a promising young athlete, and thanks to this kind of support, I now have the joy of holding a Paralympic medal. I hope many children with disabilities, like I once was, can have the chance to achieve their dreams.”

Through this new sponsorship agreement, CaixaBank will continue its active collaboration with the CPE through the ADOP program, providing scholarships and other services aimed at more professional preparation. The program includes technical training, performance evaluation based on scientific research, the application of technology for monitoring and tracking progress, specialized training camps, national and international competitions, and medical insurance.

In this way, the financial institution extends its commitment to Paralympic sport, having promoted various initiatives in recent years to support and raise the profile of athletes within the ADOP Plan, as well as the Spanish wheelchair basketball teams, both men’s and women’s, through its collaboration with the Spanish Federation of Sports for People with Physical Disabilities, and its sponsorship of the skiing program for people with disabilities in Sierra Nevada.

‘Nuestra Próxima Estrella’ program to attract young talent

As part of this new Paralympic cycle in which CaixaBank and the Spanish Paralympic Committee will work together, the financial institution has developed a new sponsorship activation plan focused on three main pillars: attracting talent for generational renewal, normalizing disability among young people, and increasing the visibility of Paralympic sports.

Firstly, CaixaBank has joined the ‘Nuestra Próxima Estrella’ program. This joint initiative between both entities aims to identify young talent through sports events designed to determine which sport best suits each child based on their interests, preferences, and needs. In the first event, which already included 60 athletes, the groundwork was laid to begin working on the generational renewal of the Spanish team.

Secondly, CaixaBank has launched the ‘Empower Kids’ project. Led by elite athletes, this program aims to visit clubs and sports centers to hold events where young people can see, understand, and normalize disability from an early age, helping to build a fairer and more prejudice-free society.

Finally, CaixaBank has created the ‘Road to Los Angeles 2028’ plan, which will produce high-quality content for multiple communication channels with the goal of increasing the visibility of Paralympic sports and athletes.

‘CaixaBank Paralympic Triathlon Promises Team’

In addition to its commitment to this new plan, CaixaBank continues to support ‘CaixaBank Paralympic Triathlon Promises Team’, promoted by the Spanish Paralympic Committee (CPE). As part of this sponsorship, which dates back to 2019, the financial institution reaffirms its commitment to the development team it created during the previous Paralympic cycle in collaboration with the Spanish Triathlon Federation.

The existence of these development teams helps ensure the continuity and professionalization of Spanish Paralympic sport. Through them, the number of athletes and coaches increases, specialization is encouraged, and a professional community is built that enables the identification of new talent across the country.

This agreement will allow for more professional preparation for all athletes aiming to join the ADOP Plan, as the program includes technical training, performance evaluation based on scientific research, the application of technology for monitoring and tracking progress, specialized training camps, national and international competitions, and medical insurance coverage.

Examples of this success include Marta Francés, Nil Riudavets, and Andrea Miguélez, standout athletes from the recent Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.

Commitment to diversity and inclusion in sport

For CaixaBank, sports sponsorship is a strategic communication tool that promotes values the institution shares with athletic practice, such as leadership, effort, perseverance, and teamwork. Through sponsorship, the financial institution fosters cultural, social, and economic progress, in line with its founding values of commitment to society.

For this reason, in 2016, the institution decided to support paralympic sport sponsorship to promote inclusion in sports and reaffirm its commitment to diversity. The first agreement was as the main sponsor of the Spanish Federation of Sports for People with Physical Disabilities (FEDDF), with the goal of promoting wheelchair basketball, both in the men’s and women’s categories. At the same time, CaixaBank became involved in wheelchair basketball school championships to reach all age groups in society.

Later, in 2019, CaixaBank became a new sponsor of the Spanish Paralympic Committee (CPE). Through this sponsorship, CaixaBank actively collaborates with the CPE via the ADOP program, providing scholarships directly aimed at supporting the training of Spanish Paralympic athletes.

Through its sponsorship of the CPE, the FEDDF, and the ski program for people with disabilities in Sierra Nevada, the financial institution expands its commitment to paralympic sport, fulfilling its main objectives, which include ensuring that athletes have access to the best possible resources to achieve their sporting success and to share with society the values they represent.

The sponsorship of the ski program for people with disabilities in Sierra Nevada promotes skiing and snowboarding for athletes with physical or intellectual disabilities.

Thanks to this agreement, nearly 2,000 participants enjoyed skiing activities during the 22/23 season. As part of this project, CaixaBank also sponsors the Sierra Nevada Trophy – ‘Premio CaixaBank’, one of the most important competitions held on the Granada ski slopes for athletes with disabilities. Two sponsored competition teams participate in this event: The “También” fundation and the “Club de Esquí Nazarí” (for visually impaired athletes).

Throughout this strategic sponsorship of paralympic sport, CaixaBank has added value to its collaboration by launching awareness campaigns aimed at promoting paralympic sport and its athletes, helping to raise awareness of their achievements and the values that define their every action.

As a result of these efforts, CaixaBank is considered the third most recognized brand in paralympic sport in Spain, according to the sports sponsorship barometer conducted by SPSG Consulting.