Leo Messi, 2026 Princess of Asturias Laureate for Sports, will meet with the educational community

2026 Princess of Asturias Laureate for Sports Leo Messi will meet with the educational community at 5:30pm on Thursday 22nd October at the “Palacio de los Deportes” Sports Centre in Oviedo. This event is aimed at an audience of children and young people.

The meeting is principally aimed at pupils from the schools that have participated in the “The Number 10 Game” activity, forming part of the “Taking the Floor” cultural programme. Furthermore, the general public will be able to register on the Foundation’s website to attend the meeting from 10:00am on Sunday 18th October 18th onwards.

“The Number 10 Game”

In this proposal, which revolved around the figure of Leo Messi, students had to imagine a new way of playing football at their school based on some of the Laureate’s statements. To do so, each class had to create a set of rules with ten fundamental points that would determine the rules of the game and that they had to put into practice for ten days. Based on the results obtained, these rules could be modified and the participants had to assess whether they should be maintained for the rest of the course. This activity aim to promote reflection and the practice of a more inclusive football, as well as to encourage values such as respect and empathy. 

As stated in Minutes of the Jury, the Princess of Asturias Award for Sports was granted to Leo Messi for “his dazzling talent, […] his exceptional sporting career and his formidable and continued charitable work to promote access to education and health care for the most disadvantaged children”. The Jury also highlighted his role as “the player who has won the most titles in the history of football”.

Awards Week

This event forms part of “Awards Week”, a cultural programme of free activities designed by the Foundation that is open to the public and includes the participation of the Princess of Asturias Laureates in a variety of events during the days leading up to the Awards Ceremony at the Campoamor Theatre in Oviedo. Since 1996, the Foundation has organized activities of this kind in diverse locations in Asturias aimed at making the Laureates and their contributions to the world of science, culture or any other field in which they work better known to society at large. 

The Foundation will announce the full programme of activities in the coming days, as well as the registration process to attend the different events.