It is often said that Olot is a special club, different from the rest. He takes the social issue very much into account, being aware that football can serve as an integrative tool for different groups. That is why this Christmas, taking advantage of the sensibility of the time, it is showing its own more supportive version. Thursday itself Jonathan Risueño’s team will host Barça Atlètic (6:30 p.m.) on the occasion of the Cáritas Garrotxa charity match which had to be postponed to mid-August due to the downpours, but that’s not all. Among other initiatives, the workforce visited the grandparents of the La Caritat geriatric home, a talk was held at TEA Garrotxa (association of relatives of autistic people) to which they handed over the surplus obtained from the summer camp or today we took part in a new blood donation campaign at the Hospital d’Olot.
One of those in charge of carrying out the initiatives that go beyond football is theformer first team player and new director of the social area, Jordi Masó. The Fontcoberta one, which works in tandem with Nuri Fité, explains that “the intention is to carry out actions of this type because, apart from the sporting aspect, we defend football as an integrator”. “It must be for everyone”, he adds.
Masó, who has a past in teams such as Girona, Barcelona and Llagostera, returned to the club last November after taking leave in the summer of 2021 to be able to study a master’s degree in banking and finance at Pompeu Fabra University – he currently works as an investment analyst in Barcelona. Last season the midfielder signed for Banyoles in Primera Catalana, but this year has decided to hang up the boots for good. The source from Cobertí comments that he has not made any statement to announce it because “he preferred to go out the back door and without making any noise” and that “I don’t miss it after work”. The only exception was Olot: “When you go to the stadium and see the field in these conditions, I always get a little nostalgic and even feel a little jealous of the players. Sometimes I would like to jump in the field».
That’s why when the president, Joan Agustí, offered him to be part of the Board of Directors, he didn’t think twice. “I had played for many years at Olot and had always found it to be a different club in terms of what it represents. Sportingly, it can be a very competitive team, but it also gives a lot of value to the social cause”, says Masó.
With reference to Thursday’s game against the Blaugrana subsidiary, the new director of the social area assures that “everything raised at the box office will go to Cáritas”: “We want a lot of people to be able to come because it’s a cause solidarity I think that in the end doing it on December 29 is a good date because most of them are on vacation and there is usually nothing punctual on that day». At the same time, Masó acknowledges that “the intention is to carry out actions throughout the year to help as many groups as possible and it is also our obligation to encourage it so that it has repercussions and our model of understanding football is a benchmark” . Everyone wins, especially the disadvantaged groups: «So far, we have received excellent treatment and we hope that they have had as much fun as we have. We are by your side.”