Atlético Foundation honours six social projects at inaugural ADN Rojiblanco gala

The Atlético de Madrid Foundation staged its inaugural ADN Rojiblanco awards gala at the Club Telefónica of the Riyadh Air Metropolitano on Wednesday 7 October, recognising six social projects connected to the club’s supporters’ clubs and directing a donation towards a new cancer care facility in Madrid.

Foundation ambassadors Carla Pereyra and Beatriz Espejel hosted the evening, with club president Enrique Cerezo welcoming project representatives and guests. Manager Diego Pablo Simeone attended alongside first-team players Koke, Johnny Cardoso and Alexander Sørloth, women’s team representatives Lola Gallardo and Rosa Otermín, and club legend Adelardo Rodríguez.

The six winning initiatives were drawn from two award categories. Under Coraje y Corazón, Ura Clan — presented by Peña Cheyenne — was recognised for promoting inclusion through rugby, while Dogpoint, presented by Peña Barrio del Pilar, trains and places assistance dogs with children on the autism spectrum. The Soñando en Rojiblanco category honoured Más allá del ruido, se escucha el sentimiento, a project by Peña Bendita Sordera that promotes Spanish Sign Language within the Atlético environment, and the planned Instituto Superior de Educación–El Congo, backed by Peña Barajas and Peña San Sebastián de los Reyes for its educational, healthcare and training goals in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Also recognised were La lucha de un unicornio, presented by Peña Atlética Adictos ATM P-13, which funds specialised therapies for a child named Aitana following serious physical and neurological complications, and Latido del Pádel Inclusivo, presented by Peña Los Últimos del Calderón, which uses adapted padel to foster social inclusion.

Beyond the awards, Atlético made a financial contribution to Fundación Aladina to support the construction of Casa Aladina in Madrid’s Hortaleza district. The planned facility is designed to serve as a day centre offering comprehensive support — including therapies and emotional wellbeing programmes — to children with cancer, their families, and survivors of childhood cancer.

The foundation described the initiative as a platform for surfacing work carried out by organisations tied to the club’s peñas network, with sport and education framed as instruments for broader social change.