Spanish Swimmer Advocates for Inclusion on a Global Scale

Spanish-born Maria Casas Carmona uses the power of sports to help unite countries around the world. It’s a calling influenced by the swimmer’s earlier education and cultural studies in France and Ireland and puts her sports management background to use every day. She has implemented sports projects in Honduras, Guatemala, Malawi, and Algeria, aiming to give dignity to and empower underprivileged populations.

All of her work contributes to her mission to promote inclusion and accessibility for populations who may lack the resources to start their own sports centers. In her current work in Spain, she helps coordinate a sports team that manages a large sports public center with over 50 staff members so that people can enjoy sports and their benefits. In Malawi, Maria managed a project that helped build basketball courts so that children and adults would have a safe place to play. She also ensured that every coach at the courts received proper training. And in Algeria, Maria managed sport programs for refugees.

Today, Maria strives to bring those practices to Spain, specifically to her hometown, Madrid. Maria’s personal goal is to give more opportunities for the disabled population to practice and play the sports that interest them. She believes that facilities lack accessibility and inclusion, so she wants to build programs that cater to their disabilities. During the GSMP, Maria hopes to learn how to build a marketing plan and improve her sports social skills so that she can help kickstart this idea.

Maria will be mentored by Dr. Jason Scott, Assistant Professor at the University of Tennessee.