- Fundación Xcalibur, in collaboration with the Provincial Council of Badajoz (Equality Department) and Sport Extremadura CD, begins the year with new activities under the ByEM programme (Women’s Wellbeing and Empowerment).
A gender-focused programme that promotes sports participation among girls and boys, while improving athletes’ personal and social wellbeing through activities such as talks in primary and secondary schools and other educational dynamics.
Sport Extremadura CD’s players—sporting and social role models—will encourage children across the province to take up sport at a time when girls’ drop-out rates remain a serious concern.
After securing promotion to Segunda RFEF last season, Sport Extremadura CD currently tops its group table, strengthening its position as a role model on and off the pitch.
Last Friday, the project presented additional new dynamics to the programme participants and Sport Extremadura CD players.
A key role for the Equality Department
The support of the Equality Department of the Provincial Council of Badajoz has been instrumental in consolidating and expanding the ByEM programme. Since joining the initiative, the project has strengthened its gender-equality focus, incorporating educational tools, resources and technical guidance that enable deeper interventions in schools, better aligned with the realities faced by children and young people across the province.
Thanks to this institutional partnership, ByEM has been able to broaden its reach across the territory, add new training activities and reinforce an equality-based approach in every dynamic led by Sport Extremadura CD’s players.
“This programme empowers women and girls through sport, fostering leadership and inspiring future generations across the province of Badajoz” says Lourdes Linares Matito, Equality Councillor at the Provincial Council of Badajoz.
From the dressing room to the classroom: new dynamics to reach more schools
ByEM(Women’s Wellbeing and Empowerment) is rolling out new activities across the province of Badajoz with the aim of expanding the programme’s educational reach through eight additional interventions in schools. In these sessions, Sport Extremadura CD’s players will bring values such as effort, equality, cooperation and self-care into the classroom, offering pupils a message that is both relatable and grounded in real experience.
The initiative builds on the players’ role as positive role models for children and teenagers at a crucial time: globally, 80% of adolescents aged 12 to 16 do not meet daily physical activity recommendations, and the picture is even more concerning for girls. In Spain, 49% of girls drop out of sport from the age of 12, and 83% do not practise sport regularly.
“This programme marks a before-and-after moment for Spanish sport. Working alongside Fundación Xcalibur, we want to make it accessible to every club that shares our values and is committed to supporting and empowering girls and women” adds Fernando Pons, President of Sport Extremadura CD.
ByEM III: new dynamics to reach more schools
This new phase of the project includes nine sessions—combining in-person workshops and webinars—alongside 44 coaching sessions. These will be delivered first with the team itself, to consolidate learning and strengthen cohesion, and will then be translated into the talks and activities delivered in schools.
The cycle began last Friday with an introductory session presenting the new dynamics to Sport Extremadura CD’s 22 players, officially launching this year’s programme calendar.
“These young women are not only sporting role models; they have also become role models in society” says María José Toro, President of Fundación Xcalibur.
A programme with measurable impact: results from the previous cycle
ByEM builds on the results of the previous cycle, during which the programme worked with 24 women (aged 16–32) from the first team and reached 150 students through socio-educational activities. On the training side, the second cycle delivered seven workshops, five webinars and 36 coaching sessions, focusing on key competencies such as communication, motivation, identity, equality and teamwork.