Football has the ability to excite, unite and transform realities. In every corner of the world, this sport is more than a game; It is a universal language that crosses the boundaries and challenges the barriers of society. In the Canary Islands, the team & I (illusion + inclusion) of the Audo Las Palmas represents that pure football: the one that is played with the soul, without exclusions or prejudices.
A team that has made its flag integration and that finds its main engine in the disappear project, a joint initiative of the UD Las Palmas Foundation and the Canary Club Deportivo Tenerife Foundation, a key alliance to guarantee its scope throughout the archipelago. With the economic support of the Government of the Canary Islands, the program managed to consolidate as a reference in the integration of people with intellectual disabilities through football, mobilizing resources, develop training programs and structure an inclusive competition at regional level.
With a strong commitment to training, diffusion and competition, Dysafío has become a model of inclusion in sport, showing that football does not understand the barriers and that, when they work in the team, the results transcend the sports field to transform life. A project that managed to bring football to hundreds of people with intellectual disabilities, showing that there are no limits on the grass, only opportunities.
For Miguel Ángel Ramírez, president of Aud Las Palmas, the R&I team is a tangible demonstration of how sport can be a real gearbox. “The R&I team is an example of how sport can transform life and we are proud to represent our shield with such commitment and passion,” he says. And that transformation does not occur only on the field, but in every training, in every speech in the changing rooms and in every event where these players show that football is much more than a result on the scoreboard.
The members of the R&ish team found a space in the Ud Las Palmas to grow, not only as athletes, but as people. In each side, they leave behind the stigmas and labels that the company has imposed on them, claiming their talent and their right to enjoy football for the same conditions. His presence in competitions such as Laliga Genuine Santander, in awareness events or in formations with coaches and technicians, strengthens a clear message: football must be for everyone.
Dysaf: a pioneering project in the Canary Islands
Behind this inclusive revolution there is the disifío project, an initiative of the UD Las Palmas Foundation which was born in the 2023/2024 season with the support of the government of the Canary Islands and which has been consolidated as a reference in inclusive football at national level. With three fundamental pillars – training, competition and diffusion -, the project has had an impact on more than 30,000 people, generating synergies with public and private institutions and reaching an unprecedented media impact.
One of the most important results of the project was the creation of the disifío league, the first official inclusive football competition in the Canary Islands. In its inaugural season, the championship brought 15 teams and more than 500 players, and for the next edition there are already 20 recorded teams and 322 confirmed athletes.
In 2025 the Dysafío League will be developed on an exciting tour of the archipelago, with a structure that contemplates provincial phases and a regional final. The competition will begin on March 22 with the provincial phase of Tenerife in La Palma, followed by Gran Canaria in Lanzarote on March 29, allowing the teams of each island to measure their forces in an inclusive and competitive environment. Subsequently, on May 3, Fuerteventura will host the regional phase, where the best classified of the previous rounds will fight for a large ending. Finally, on June 7, Tenerife will become the epicenter of inclusive football with the celebration of the regional final, which will culminate with a prize gala, an event designed not only to recognize the sports effort of the participants, but also to celebrate the spirit of overcoming, company and inclusion that defines this unique competition in the Canary Islands.
The calendar not only marks the dates of the meetings, but also the growth of a project that adds more and more followers and tries to consolidate inclusive football as a usual practice in regional competitions.
More than football: training and awareness
The success of the Dysafio League is not based exclusively on sport. In order for inclusive football to be a sustainable reality, it is essential that sport professionals have adequate tools and knowledge. Therefore, the UD Las Palmas Foundation has developed an ambitious training plan, which includes a pioneer -based pioneer platform, in which coaches, technicians and volunteers can acquire specific knowledge on how to work with athletes with intellectual disabilities. In addition, face -to -face facial sessions, streaming events and activities aimed at families, so that inclusion does not limit the field, but extends to all areas of players’ lives.
Víctor Rivero, coach of the R&I team Head of the Foundation’s inclusion project, is clear: “Every time we meet for a competition, the members of the R&I team demonstrate what sport can do for the club. We are not only talking about football, but about values, personal friendship and overcoming. It is incredible to see how they grow up in every game, how they feel something big.”
The awareness work has also been extended to society in general, with awareness campaigns in schools, audiovisual diffusion materials and a strong presence in social networks. Only in the last season, the project publications have generated over 38 million views and have reached over 25 million unique users, the proof that inclusion has a great impact when the right speaker is available.
The involvement of the club and the power of football
The commitment of the Aud Las Palmas with inclusion is not a marketing strategy or a symbolic gesture. It is a firm bet involving the entire club, from the board of directors to the first team. Manolo López, head of the foundation’s social projects, clearly explains it: “Our work is not limited to training and games of games. We want each of the team members to have a place in sport, which can be part of a team regardless of their condition. We only try to make good players, but better people”.
The impact of this commitment has transcended the local area, with the collaboration of the Canary Club Deportivo Tenerife Foundation, which allowed the project to extend throughout the archipelago, adding strength to ensure that more people with intellectual disabilities have access to football. The synergy between the two most representative clubs of the Canary Islands sends a powerful message: inclusion in sport is not only a matter of will, but a shared responsibility.
Paquito Ortiz, a former club player and responsible for innovation at the Foundation, summarizes him forcefully: “Football is changing and must continue to evolve. The inclusion is no longer an option, it is a necessity. In the Aud Las Palmas we understand it as an essential part of our identity. We want a person, regardless of their ability, we have the opportunity to live football as is a passion.
The I+I and the Dysaphío project have shown that inclusive football is not only possible, but necessary. In a world where competition usually leaves little room for diversity, the UD Las Palmas has found in inclusion a way to claim the most authentic values of sport: company, solidarity and equal opportunities.
With every game, with every speech in schools and with every shared experience, the R&I team continues to demonstrate that the real greatness of football is not in titles or in medals, but in its ability to transform life. In the 2024/2025 season, with the Dysafio League as Lancia, the message is clearer than ever: football is for everyone, without barriers or exclusions. And this year, once again, they will show him again on the grass.
