Burgos
The Aula Magna of the Paraninfo of the University of Burgos has been the scene of the VII Edition of the Sports and Society Awards organized by Radio Castilla Cadena SER Burgos. An event that, once again, has recognized the work of entities, associations or athletes who, through the practice of sport, contribute to society many of the values that sports practice entails: integration, effort, solidarity, camaraderie, respect and teamwork.
Five awards have been given on this occasion to two clubs, two groups dedicated to sports practice and a retired athlete whose career throughout all his years active, and now retired, undoubtedly deserved recognition. This is the case of Juan Carlos Higuero.
These have been the five awards of this VII edition of the Radio Castilla Cadena SER Burgos Sports and Society Awards:
Juan Carlos Higuero Maté (Athletics): Juan Carlos Higuero started running in Aranda de Duero when he was only 8 years. He was international for Spain more than 30 times and among his countless successes stood out: a bronze in the 2008 World Indoor Championships in Valencia, a gold and three silvers in four European Indoor Championships, two bronzes in the 2006 European Outdoor Championships in Gothenburg (in 1,500 and 5,000 meters) and 11 Spanish champion titles.
He also competed in three Olympic Games, and in the 2008 Beijing Olympics he was fourth in the 1,500 meters final, coming 23 hundredths away from the bronze medal and 26 hundredths away from the silver medal. It is, without a doubt, its great thorn in the side.
In 2014, he promoted the Higuero Running Festival in Aranda de Duero, a race that has now been running for eleven years and was born with the aim of promoting the inclusion and participation of people with disabilities. In addition, training talks, nutrition talks, etc. are held around the race, and Juan Carlos Higuero himself and other renowned athletes teach some of the participants how to train.
CD Fenba by Apace Burgos: APACE Burgos is an organization dedicated to the comprehensive support of people with cerebral palsy, and together with CD FENBA it has developed training, recreation and sports training spaces that promote full inclusion through sport. For example, boccia, a Paralympic discipline designed for people with cerebral palsy and other conditions that affect mobility.
It is a precision sport similar to petanque that combines strategy, concentration and teamwork. It is practiced individually, in pairs or in teams, and its objective is to get the balls as close as possible to a white ball. Boccia represents a powerful tool for rehabilitation, autonomy and personal improvement, promoting values such as equal opportunities and respect.
11 people train in the CD FENBA boccia team and 6 of them are those who compete at the regional level. In addition, two of its players are part of the Castilla y León team, with which they compete in the Spanish Cup.
‘Jammu Xaleyi’ Football Academy: In January 2010, the África Camina association was founded in Burgos to promote education, training and health projects. Among these projects, in 2019 it joined forces with the company Oé Oé Marketing directed by Ignacio Solana from Burgos and with the Amycos association, to create a women’s soccer academy in a neighborhood in Senegal, Keur Massar, and thus help keep girls off the path to early and forced marriage.
Currently there are more than 50 girls between 12 and 18 years old who are part of the ‘Jammu Xaleyi’ Academy, in Spanish ‘Let’s save the girls’; and in this year 2025 África Camina got the involvement of the Regional Government of Castilla y León and the Burgos company Asercomex to finance the installation of a football field and the construction of changing rooms and a multipurpose room.
The young women, in addition to playing soccer, study, learn other languages and train in trades such as horticulture. Several of the girls have finished high school or have at least a high school diploma, and one has completed a Master’s degree at the University.
‘City of Burgos’ Football Trophy: It was born in 1987 with the objective of promoting healthy sports, coexistence and social development through amateur football. Since then, it has also promoted values such as health, equality, solidarity, integration and sports associations.
In this long journey it has created an association registered with the Junta de Castilla y León, which is the one that organizes the Trophy, and it has also adapted to the Sports Law of Castilla y León. In its 38 editions it has had the participation of 1,311 teams and 32,710 players.
Currently, 23 teams and 628 players with an average age of 27 years are competing in the City of Burgos Football Trophy. They all enjoy their weekends practicing the sport they like the most and in turn give social life to the various towns in Alfoz de Burgos where the matches are played.
Badminton Club Burgos: In 1995, the Belobad Báminton Club was promoted in Belorado, which would later give way to the current Burgos Badminton Club. He has been promoting this sport for 30 years and at the teaching level he has made it possible for badminton to be one of the sports disciplines that has grown the most in participants in the School Games.
Four years ago, the Badminton Club achieved promotion to the First Silver Division, in which it competes against clubs from all over Spain with a team made up entirely of youth players who have always managed to keep the club in the category.
Currently, it is the fourth club in Spain in the National Under’19 Ranking, it has players in the Top-25 of the Absolute National Ranking, and in recent years it has achieved numerous medals in Spanish and Castilla y León Championships in different categories.
The VII Sports and Society Awards of Radio Castilla Cadena SER Burgos have had the support of Ibercaja, Burgos City Council, University of Burgos, Burgos Provincial Council, Provincial Institute for Sports and Youth, CajaViva Caja Rural, El Marisquero Burgalés, College of Insurance Mediators, Casa por Casa Inmobiliaria, Campofrío Frescos, Burgos se Mueve, Sonrisalud and Mercado Sur Burgos.
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