Iberdrola Supera 2024 Awards: 300,000 euros to promote real equality through sport
Iberdrola Spain has announced a new edition of the "Iberdrola Supera Awards" to promote gender equality through sport. With an endowment of 300,000 euros, the aim is to reward sports projects and initiatives that represent and promote women's sport.
As a novelty in this fifth edition, a singular recognition will be given to an activity that stands out for the promotion of sport among girls or women in municipalities with less than 5,000 inhabitants. This is the "Iberdrola Supera Impulso Rural".
There will be a total of six categories for the projects that will compete for 50,000 euros in each one. These are those related to the promotion of grassroots sport among girls up to 16 years of age (Supera Base); with the help to the incorporation of women in competition (Supera Competition); with the inclusion of women with special abilities in sport (Supera Inclusion).
Other awards will recognise the integration of women in society through sport (Supera Social); or the increase in the visibility of women's sport (Supera Dissemination).
Nominations can be submitted until 10 June. From that moment on, a Jury will select the winning projects. The winners will be made up of leading sports and media personalities, including the world champion coach of the Spanish national football team Vicente del Bosque and the best karate player of all time, Sandra Sánchez.
The details of the new edition were made public at a press conference held in the city of Seville, which was attended by the Iberdrola Spain delegate in Andalusia, Antonio Fernández; the company's Head of Sponsorship, Laura Gil; and the members of the Algeciras Rowing Club, winners of the Supera Social category in 2022, who explained how thanks to this award they were able to acquire the boat they need to practice the sport that helps them as a therapy against cancer.
World and Olympic weightlifting champion Lydia Valentín was also present. Iberdrola Spain's ambassador encouraged participation and the presentation of candidatures in this new edition. "It is essential to develop initiatives to promote the practice of sport by women and to make it possible for us to be a point of reference in society through sport. I am one, and I have reached the top in competitions, but without the support of Iberdrola Spain it would have been very difficult. Their support for women's sport meant, for example, that I could focus on training and competing".
More than 900 applications for 2023
More than 900 applications were submitted for the 2023 edition from associations, sports clubs and federations, schools, institutes and public or private entities. The winners were the projects presented by Club C.D Guretxoko (Basque Country), Club Balonmán Cañiza (Galicia), Fundación EMET (Andalusia), Patronato deportivo municipal de Siero (Asturias), Centro Buceo Norte Gran Canaria and Club Patín Gijón Solimar (Asturias).
The Iberdrola Supera Awards are aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for 2030, specifically with Goal 5 (Gender equality and empowerment of women) and, with this, Iberdrola Spain increases, edition after edition, the support it provides to sportswomen so that they can achieve their goals and advance in equality.
In addition, since 2016, the company has been the main promoter of women's sport in Spain. It already supports 32 National Federations, promoting more than 600,000 federated women, 2 out of every 3 federated women, and has more than 100 competitions with Iberdrola's own name, including 32 leagues.