Born in 1982, the Association Deportiva Universitaria Salvadorena (ADUSAL) is the national governing body for university sport in El Salvador. Since its conception, ADUSAL has 28 active universities overseeing more than 1,700 students across the nation. As current President of ADUSAL, Mr. Alex Funes spoke about current activities of the federation and the strategy moving forward.
“ADUSAL is the only association in El Salvador to be internationally recognized and is also an ally of FISU and FISU America,” Mr. Funes explained. “It also extends invitations and receives all universities that want to participate without inequality, as long as they meet all the requirements,” he mentioned.
Every year, national university tournaments are held in the country with the exception of the previous year due to COVID-19 pandemic. Mr. Funes spoke about how ADUSAL is planning for the return of university sport in El Salvador as a result.
“For this year after the pandemic situation experienced throughout the world, we plan to reactivate university sports by first establishing protocols and safety guidelines in accordance with our health department and national sports institutions to provide the best conditions for students and athletes so they can participate in their own competitions without being exposed to danger,” he explained.
ADUSAL is also focused on the development of university sport over the next five years, as they have committed to creating awareness throughout the community about the importance of various topics such as gender equality, cultural days and involving athletes in different ways.
“Without neglecting the development of our annual university games, we will be creating recreational-cultural days and will seek the inclusion of the entire university community, whether they are athletes or not,” said Mr. Funes, “We hope to count on a programme that creates opportunities for athletes to carry out their studies and continue their participation in sport, thus achieving growth in both fields and leading a double career. We also have a great commitment to the University Scholarship Project for outstanding athletes and create better conditions for professional and sports improvement,” he continued.
Speaking about gender equality in university sport, Mr. Funes also spoke about how inclusion for cultivating young Salvadoran talent is of importance.
“In each sport tournament as a group or individual, all universities in the country are given the opportunity to participate and are informed that they present women’s and men’s teams,” said Mr. Funes. “With this, we work on gender inclusion and already have ladies and gentlemen to compete outside of our country, who have gone to play an extraordinary role and have represented us in an exceptional way, obtaining medals and encouraging us to continue advancing and supporting Salvadoran university talent,” he explained further.
In addition, Mr. Funes mentioned that ADUSAL will always put the interests and well-being of students and athletes at the forefront and that the main focus is always oriented to create the best conditions in El Salvador for the practice of sport at the university level.
As ADUSAL looks ahead, their vision includes reaching more universities nationwide to join their current network and support for young Salvadoran talent provides a promising look into the future of university sport in El Salvador accessible to all.