The historic Senate Palace in Madrid served as the venue for the 1st Conference on Children and Youth, Mental Health, and Sport, organized by the Fútbol Más España Foundation. The event gathered leading voices on child and adolescent well-being, psychology, and sports to discuss the role of sport in supporting mental health and emotional resilience among young people. 

A highlight of the day was the presentation of the Icehearts Europe project, an initiative funded by the European Commission that brought the proven Finnish Icehearts model to 5 piloting countries, among them Spain. This innovative approach uses long-term mentorship and sport as tools to support emotional well-being and social inclusion for vulnerable children. 

The Icehearts panel, moderated by Aitor Hernández of Fútbol Más España, featured key partners and experts: 

• Mrs Carmen Moreno (University of Seville), who supports the training of local mentors; 
• Diego López (Real Betis Balompié Foundation), who leads on-the-ground implementation;
• Iñaki Alonso (KUNINA Sports), a child protection specialist and mentor trainer;
• Alison Maassen (EuroHealthNet), who emphasized the importance of sharing and scaling effective practices across Europe. 

Panelists underlined the importance of structured, meaningful leisure time for youth development. They warned that unsupervised free time can lead to greater vulnerability among children and adolescents. Drawing on his field experience, Diego López described how football can serve  as a powerful educational tool to build values such as resilience, teamwork, and inclusion. 

Alison Maassen noted: "We can only be catalysts for joint action if we have actions to share; our job is to connect, disseminate, and ensure that good practices have a real impact in Europe." 

The conference marked a significant step in raising awareness of Icehearts Europe and its potential to transform the lives of young people through sport, mentorship, and community-based care. Learn more about Futbolmas, the methodology they use or activities they organise here: https://futbolmas.org/en/. 

 

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Health and Digital Executive Agency (HADEA). Neither the European Union nor HADEA can be held responsible for them.