Madrid, 18 June 2014.- Majorcan tennis player Rafa Nadal, the world number 1 player according to ATP rankings and recent winner of his ninth Roland Garros, will be Telefónica new global ambassador until 2020.
Nadal, considered the best Spanish athlete of all time, will be linked to Telefónica for the next six years. During this time he will represent both the institutional and commercial brands – Movistar, O2 and Vivo in Spain, United Kingdom, Germany and Latin American countries where the company operates.
The 28–year-old international star has transcended the sports world and gained millions of fans worldwide thanks to the values he represents: determination, the will to excel, modesty and talent. Telefónica identifies with these values, shares them and will promote them alongside the young Majorcan tennis player.
As ambassador, Rafa Nadal will accompany Telefónica to events for customers, employees and institutions in these countries; he will front some of Telefónica's promotion campaigns and, together with the brands, will develop apps, games and broadband content related to sport and technology.
Nadal will also add significant value to Movistar’s year-long and continuing strategic commitment in Spain - Movistar TV. Telefónica's television platform will follow Rafa around leading tournaments in which he competes and will count with the tennis player’s collaboration in producing sports programmes, creating videos and other digital content that can be watched on any screen —TV, computer, tablet or smartphone.
One of the most important initiatives that will be rolled out through this sponsorship is the “Rafa Nadal Academy By Movistar”, a tennis academy that the athlete will open in his native Majorca to promote the benefits of sport, and particularly tennis, among children.
Jointly the Academy, Fundación Rafa Nadal and Fundación Telefónica will implement disability and tennis support programmes as well as award annual Telefónica Grants to underprivileged young people, among other initiatives. Fundación Rafa Nadal was set up in 2008 to offer educational programmes to children and young people at risk of social exclusion or with developmental difficulties to grow and progress through sports. It currently provides support to more than 500 children in several projects across Spain and India.
Nadal will also support Telefónica's Podium programme, a recently announced scheme, which will award 80 grants to additional young athletes from various different sports fields aimed at helping to enhance their training and preparation for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
Rafa Nadal's achievements
• He has won at least 1 Grand Slam a year for 10 consecutive years; his latest, and very recent, is his ninth French Open.
• He holds the record for the number of Grand Slams won on Paris’s clay courts and the record Grand Slam championships with 9 Roland Garros titles.
• In 2013 he returned to competition after a seven-month absence due to injury and won 10 tournaments (14 finals) to end the year as number 1 for the third time in his career.
• He has matched Pete Sampras’ Grand Slam titles (14) and is the youngest tennis player ever to achieve the Career Grand Slam, with 4 Grand Slam tournaments.
• With 27 Masters 1000 victories, he is the player that has won the most titles in the most prestigious ATP tournaments. He has a total of 64 singles titles.
• He has won the Davis Cup with the Spanish team 4 times, the first aged 17.
• He is the only athlete in the history of the Laureus awards to receive 3 awards in 3 categories. In 2007 he received the Breakthrough of the Year award, in 2011 he received the Sportsman of the Year award and in 2013 the Comeback of the Year award.
• Outside of the world of sport, he won the Prince of Asturias Award for Sports in 2008, the Royal Order of Sports Merit Gold Medal, the Autonomous Community of Madrid Gold Medal in 2007, Hijo Predilecto de Manacor (Manacor's Favourite Son) in 2010, Hijo Adoptivo de la Ciudad de Madrid (City of Madrid's Adopted Son) in May, the Spanish National Sports Award in 2006 and 2008 and the Grand Prix de l'Académie des Sports, the French Academy of Sport's award for the finest sporting feat, in 2008.
#NadalenTelefonica
Nadal, considered the best Spanish athlete of all time, will be linked to Telefónica for the next six years. During this time he will represent both the institutional and commercial brands – Movistar, O2 and Vivo in Spain, United Kingdom, Germany and Latin American countries where the company operates.
The 28–year-old international star has transcended the sports world and gained millions of fans worldwide thanks to the values he represents: determination, the will to excel, modesty and talent. Telefónica identifies with these values, shares them and will promote them alongside the young Majorcan tennis player.
As ambassador, Rafa Nadal will accompany Telefónica to events for customers, employees and institutions in these countries; he will front some of Telefónica's promotion campaigns and, together with the brands, will develop apps, games and broadband content related to sport and technology.
Nadal will also add significant value to Movistar’s year-long and continuing strategic commitment in Spain - Movistar TV. Telefónica's television platform will follow Rafa around leading tournaments in which he competes and will count with the tennis player’s collaboration in producing sports programmes, creating videos and other digital content that can be watched on any screen —TV, computer, tablet or smartphone.
One of the most important initiatives that will be rolled out through this sponsorship is the “Rafa Nadal Academy By Movistar”, a tennis academy that the athlete will open in his native Majorca to promote the benefits of sport, and particularly tennis, among children.
Jointly the Academy, Fundación Rafa Nadal and Fundación Telefónica will implement disability and tennis support programmes as well as award annual Telefónica Grants to underprivileged young people, among other initiatives. Fundación Rafa Nadal was set up in 2008 to offer educational programmes to children and young people at risk of social exclusion or with developmental difficulties to grow and progress through sports. It currently provides support to more than 500 children in several projects across Spain and India.
Nadal will also support Telefónica's Podium programme, a recently announced scheme, which will award 80 grants to additional young athletes from various different sports fields aimed at helping to enhance their training and preparation for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
Rafa Nadal's achievements
• He has won at least 1 Grand Slam a year for 10 consecutive years; his latest, and very recent, is his ninth French Open.
• He holds the record for the number of Grand Slams won on Paris’s clay courts and the record Grand Slam championships with 9 Roland Garros titles.
• In 2013 he returned to competition after a seven-month absence due to injury and won 10 tournaments (14 finals) to end the year as number 1 for the third time in his career.
• He has matched Pete Sampras’ Grand Slam titles (14) and is the youngest tennis player ever to achieve the Career Grand Slam, with 4 Grand Slam tournaments.
• With 27 Masters 1000 victories, he is the player that has won the most titles in the most prestigious ATP tournaments. He has a total of 64 singles titles.
• He has won the Davis Cup with the Spanish team 4 times, the first aged 17.
• He is the only athlete in the history of the Laureus awards to receive 3 awards in 3 categories. In 2007 he received the Breakthrough of the Year award, in 2011 he received the Sportsman of the Year award and in 2013 the Comeback of the Year award.
• Outside of the world of sport, he won the Prince of Asturias Award for Sports in 2008, the Royal Order of Sports Merit Gold Medal, the Autonomous Community of Madrid Gold Medal in 2007, Hijo Predilecto de Manacor (Manacor's Favourite Son) in 2010, Hijo Adoptivo de la Ciudad de Madrid (City of Madrid's Adopted Son) in May, the Spanish National Sports Award in 2006 and 2008 and the Grand Prix de l'Académie des Sports, the French Academy of Sport's award for the finest sporting feat, in 2008.
#NadalenTelefonica