301 awards for Andalusian Olympic sport, with 517,160 euros

A total of 213 athletes, 37 coaches and 51 Andalusian clubs will receive aid this year from the Plan Andalucía Olímpica, which in its twenty-ninth edition distributes 301 awards with an overall endowment of 517,160 euros. The money is earmarked for preparing for the Los Angeles 2028 Games and the Alpes 2030 Winter Games, as well as other international events such as the European Games, the Youth Olympic Games and the European Youth Olympic Festival. By province, Sevilla accounts for 105 awards, followed by Cádiz (56), Granada (41), Málaga (32), Huelva (20), Córdoba (19), Almería (17) and Jaén (11). The distribution takes into account the province of birth or registration of individuals and the headquarters of the entities.

The awards are divided into six categories: PAO, Sub PAO, Future, Proyecta, Técnico and Club. The highest, the Premio PAO «Consejería de Cultura, Patrimonio Histórico y Deporte», reaches 5,400 euros and recognises 30 athletes for their results in world or European championships in the previous season. Among them are María Pérez and Maribel Pérez (athletics), Alfonso Cabello and Pablo Jaramillo (cycling), Fátima Gálvez and Carlos Alberto Linares (Olympic shooting), Ana Alonso (mountain sports) and Alisa Ozhogina (swimming). Another 60 athletes join this category by assessment of trajectory, up to a total of 90 awards. The Premio Sub PAO «Fundación Cruzcampo» reaches 3,240 euros and brings together seven athletes by technical criteria and 25 by trajectory. The Premio Future «Fundación Cajasol», with up to 2,700 euros, reaches 54 junior athletes. The Premio Proyecta «Coca-Cola Europacific Partners», of up to 2,160 euros, is aimed at 37 athletes from the two categories below junior. The 37 coaches receive the Premio Técnico «ONCE», with up to 1,080 euros, and the 51 clubs, up to 2,332 euros. By federations, athletics (38 awards), equestrian (32) and rowing (32) are the ones with the most award winners, followed by swimming (20). In total, the award winners belong to 30 Andalusian sports federations. The president of the Fundación Andalucía Olímpica and regional minister of Culture, Historical Heritage and Sport, Patricia del Pozo, has congratulated the award winners and encouraged those not selected to keep striving. «If our selection criteria remain each year and more and more athletes knock on the doors of the Plan Andalucía Olímpica, that is a sign that the level of our sport is rising», Del Pozo said. The plan's budget is funded by the contribution of the Consejería de Cultura, Patrimonio Histórico y Deporte of the Junta de Andalucía, the sponsorships of Fundación Cruzcampo, Fundación Cajasol, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners and ONCE, and the contributions of the Diputación de Jaén, the Diputación de Sevilla, the Ayuntamiento de Dos Hermanas and the Ayuntamiento de La Rinconada. The Foundation has as founders the Comité Olímpico Español and the Comité Paralímpico Español. With this edition, the plan reaches 29 years and accumulates 5,642 awards granted since 1998, with an investment in performance sport of 13.2 million euros.