Blaugrana Bracelets are here: a symbol of the Barça family’s support for seriously ill children and young people

To mark International Childhood Cancer Day, on Saturday 15th February, the Barça Foundation is launching the Blaugrana Bracelets project - which was inspired by the Pulseras Rojas (Red Bracelets) TV series. The Blaugrana bracelets replicate the laces worn by our sportspeople and symbolise the Azulgrana community’s solidarity with children and adolescents enduring serious and long-term illnesses.

The goal of the Blaugrana Bracelets project is to improve the emotional wellbeing of children and teenagers during their time in hospital, as well as that of their families, creating areas and surroundings that provide support during the period of illness, as well as promoting investigation into innovative therapies that complement conventional treatment methods and which may lead to improvements in the diseases’ evolution. The project is being carried out in conjunction with paediatric hospitals in Catalonia and across the world and can call on writer and director Albert Espinosa, the creator of Pulseras Rojas, as its main ambassador.

Aitana Bonmatí at the helm of project launch

FC Barcelona women’s first-team player Aitana Bonmatí has a leading role in the project’s launch alongside Èlia, a 15-year-old girl undergoing oncological treatment for a form of cancer that affects the lymph notes: Hodgkin lymphoma. Èlia is currently staying at the Casa dels Xuklis residence in Barcelona, a Barça Foundation partner organisation, which hosts children and adolescents with cancer, as well as their families, during their treatment. A passionate follower of Barça, and in particular their women’s football team, Èlia and her mother were invited to visit the Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper and the Estadi Johan Cruyff, where they were treated to a surprise meeting with Aitana Bonmatí.

Aitana took Èlia around the Johan Cruyff stadium, the pair clearly bonding while the two-time Ballon d’Or winner showed her fellow Culer around the dressing rooms, press conference room and other facilities. The duo ended the visit by posing for a photo with an Azulgrana shirt and raising their arms to show their Blaugrana bracelets, emulating the iconic “bracelets up” gesture from the Pulseras Rojas series.

The bracelet is now available for purchase for 9.99 Euros in official FC Barcelona stores, at sales points at both the Johan Cruyff and Olímpic Lluís Companys stadiums, as well as online via store.fcbarcelona.com

Awareness activities at women’s and men’s matches

To mark International Childhood Cancer Day, FC Barcelona - through its Foundation - has organised a number of activities to raise awareness about the Blaugrana Bracelets project. These will span Sunday’s Barça Femení clash with Madrid CFF at the Estadi Johan Cruyff and the men’s team’s meeting with Rayo Vallecano at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys on Monday.

Boys and girls who have been undergoing or who are recovering from oncological treatment, all wearing a Blaugrana bracelet and a commemorative shirt, will take the field prior to kick-off in both games, alongside the FC Barcelona players.

For the women’s game, children undergoing treatment at Barcelona’s Hospital de Sant Joan de Deu will also be able to mix virtually with the Azulgrana stars without needing to leave their rooms. This is thanks to Robot Joyce, who will be onsite at the Estadi Johan Cruyff.

Albert Espinosa, writer and creator of the Pulseras Rojas series, will attend both games, along with the Barça Foundation Director General Dr. Marta Segú. And for the Rayo Vallecano encounter, in addition to Espinosa, two of the actors involved in the emblematic TV series will also be in attendance: Mikel Iglesias and Igor Szpakowski.

Blaugrana Bracelets emerges as a cross-sectional project between FC Barcelona and the Foundation, where the Blaugrana bracelet symbolises a sense of belonging to a shared entity, as well as values that go beyond sport and represent “More than a club” around the world.