Donosti Cup Foundation
The Donosti Cup Foundation was born with the aim of making possible that teams without means participate in the Donosti Cup helping them to finance all the expenses.
Every year, the Donosti Cup Foundation received numerous requests from developing areas that want to participate in the Donosti Cup but who does not have means for that.
After analysing all the requests, the Foundation selects the 4 projects that, in their opinion, have a major social value in the environment they are developed and in the society in general.
Thanks to this initiative, more than 50 teams from poor regions or very vulnerable, conflict areas, countries deprived of liberty or cities shaken by natural disasters have been able to participate in the Donosti Cup. To name a few countries we can outline Sierra Leone, Zambia, Mozambique, Ethiopia, Uganda, India, Nepal, Palestine, Iraq, Ukraine, Romania, Croatia, El Salvador, Peru, Honduras, Colombia or Bolivia.
In 2008, the Donosti Cup got the UNICEF National Award for its contribution to the infancy through the sport.
INVITED TEAMS AT 2019 DONOSTI CUP
Diamond Child (Sierra Leone):
"Diamond Child" is a NGO founded by the well-known musician from Sierra Leone “Seydu”, which helps more than 450 boys and girls, most of them orphans and who are educated in music, arts and culture mainly, although they also love playing football. The team was made of the best boys from families with few resources, most of them victims of the numerous civil wars that the country suffered. These boys trained with a lot of excitement along the year and they showed a huge level in the Donosti Cup, as they were seconds of the B14 category. Apart from their good sports level, this team characterized by their lively character and that they were always dancing, which made them very popular among teams participating in the tournament.
Al Bustan (Palestine):
The "Al Bustan" Sociocultural Centre participated in the 2019 Donosti Cup with a 13 years old boys team from the East Jerusalem, from the Silwan neighbourhood more precisely. In this neighbourhood located in the outskirts of the Old City most of the people are Arab, although in the last years a painful colonization process is carrying out by Israeli citizens. It is frequent that young Palestinians from this neighbourhood are arrested or suffer physical abuses, and the situation does not seem to improve. In this context the entity Al Bustan Centre develops a huge social labour, trying to make the life of young Palestinians from Silwan more bearable though sports and culture. We knew this project in the Foundation thanks to Jesús Arteche, a Basque collaborating very closely with this club the Palestinian cause.
Not to Forget Jenin Camp (Palestine):
Not to Forget Jenin Camp participated in the 2019 Donosti Cup with a 16 years old girls’ team living in the Jenin refugees camp, located in the north of Palestine. These girls belong to the Women Organization “Not to Forget Jenin Camp” whose mission is to give support to the women of the camp, develop their abilities to be able to participate in their community life, and improve their phycology, social and sanitary conditions in a difficult environment. They have a football team and they organise educational and leisure activities every week.
The camp has little attractions and that it is why the labour this Women organization, leaded by Farha, does is laudable. They lived many exciting moments, but they may never forget their meeting with Xabi Alonso, who wanted to have more details about the refugees’ camp.
Dragones de Lavapiés (Spain):
"Dragones de Lavapiés" is a neighbourhood initiative started up by a group of mothers and fathers from this humble neighbourhood in Madrid to be able to have their own football club, something that the Youngs of the neighbourhood wanted. Most of these teenagers spend a lot of time on their own, because their parents work all day long to live, and moreover, they have language difficulties what makes them hard to interact with others. The “Dragones de Lavapies” mission is to gather the Youngs, through sports, so that they feel like a big family with the engagement of instilling in them solidarity, respect, gender equality and multiculturalism values, providing the dialogue among people from very diverse cultures and coming from different nationalities. In the Donosti Cup, they participated with two boys’ teams of 10 and 11 years old from 28 different nationalities. One of the best experiences they lived during the tournament was to visit the Real Sociedad facilities and meeting the first team players.
INVITED TEAMS AT 2018 DONOSTI CUP
Scholar Home Academy (Nepal)
Scholar Home Academy participated in the tournament with a team of children of the B13 category and became to be the first Nepalese representative in the history of the tournament. The team belongs to a pioneering school in education in Bhaktapur's central zone, Katmandu, zone that a few years ago was affected by one of the most devastating earthquakes in which more than 1800 people dead and 4718 were injured. Golygol has been the NGO in charge to help, giving material, representing with staff and the one that put in touch with us for this project.
Mugu Team (Nepal)
Mugu Team or more known as Sunakali, is a feminine soccer team from Mugu's region, located at the north of Nepal, very near to the Himalayas mountain chain and close to the Lake Rare. It is considered to be one of the least developed regions of the western zone of Nepal and it is located at an area of very difficult access. The girls had to do an arduous and long trip on foot, light aircraft, plane and bus up to coming to San Sebastian. They participated in the 2018 Donosti Cup in the G14 category, and they came with huge desire and illusion of going out from their region for the first time and of enjoying this great opportunity.
Oscar Foundation (India)
Oscar Foundation (Organization for the Social Change, Conscience and Responsibility) is an organization without profit aims that, across the football, tries to inculcate the value of the education and to empower to disadvantaged children and young people with skills for life so that they assume the responsibility of the development of their community, with the mission of promoting the leadership, the teamwork and the educational support. In this 27 edition of the tournament, Oscar Foundation participated with a team of boys from India in the category B16. These children belong to the marginal neighborhoods of Mumbai's city, and football has happened to be the educational support and the way towards opportunities that they never thought to have.
City of Hope (Zambia)
City of Hope it was the fourth guest to the Donosti Cup 2018. A group of girls belonging to the Salesianos School located in Lusaka, Zambia. Red Deporte and Cooperation has been the link of union with these youngs, their aim consists, for more than 20 years now, on promoting the education, the health and the integration of the Zambian girls’ in risk through the sport. And in this case, they participated in the tournament with a team in G18 the category
