Global Fútbol

Valencia CF, through the club’s Foundation, are working on a new initiative, one which strengthens the club’s image. The VCF Foundation and the INCLIVA Health Research Institute of the Hospital Clínico de València have joined forces to promote a research project into personalised physical exercise and how it can help with ageing.

This project, which will be developed throughout 2023, forms the basis of the Improvement Programme, an individualised physical activity programme for the over 70s that aims to reverse frailty and reduce the risk of falls. Club members and former Valencia CF players will participate in the project, thanks to collaboration with the VCF Footballers Association.

The VCF Foundation explained: “Since 2019/20, the VCF Foundation has been an honorary ambassador for INCLIVA, which is an international benchmark institute in the field of health research. Now, in the current season, we are taking another step forward with the launch of this project. The motivation for Valencia CF to participate, doing so through its Foundation together with INCLIVA, is the chance to provide special attention to the over 70s and to help with their frailty/dependence in order to improve their quality of life.”

This physical exercise programme is beginning with a research project, and it will be composed of a combination of endurance, strength, coordination, balance and flexibility exercises. It will be personalised with the help of the latest technologies in this field, all the while guaranteeing a practical applicability for any social and health context. Recruitment will initially be carried out among former Valencia CF players over 70 years of age and with a functional state of frailty or pre-frailty.

The research project will be led by doctors from the INCLIVA Research Group on Ageing and Physical Exercise and the INCLIVA Research Group on Exercise and Nutrition and Healthy Lifestyle, both of which form part of the FRESHAGE Group (Age and Exercise Research Group) of the University of Valencia, one dedicated to research on intervention strategies to ensure healthy ageing, and also by doctors from CIBERFES (Biomedical Research Centre Network on Frailty and Healthy Ageing) of the Carlos III Health Institute.

The Foundation added: “The ultimate objective, which is the next step, would be to extend the Improvement Programme to residential homes, care centres for the elderly and similar, with the collaboration of public and private entities.”

By working on this project, Valencia CF, together with the club’s Foundation, is demonstrating that it is a club committed to social good, helping to promote the brand and bring about improvements in people’s lives.