The Minister for Education attends the 2023 and 2024 National Sports Awards ceremony with the King and Queen

Group photo from the 2023 and 2024 National Sports Awards ceremony

Their Majesties the King and Queen presided over the National Sports Awards ceremony at El Pardo Palace (Madrid), where the Government of Spain, through the Higher Council for Sports (CSD), annually recognises the individuals and organisations with the most notable achievements in sports competition or promotion.

Presented in the presence of the Minister for Education, Vocational Training and Sports, Milagros Tolón, and the President of the CSD, José Manuel Rodríguez Uribes, the National Sports Awards for 2023 and 2024 were presented to the footballers Rodrigo Hernández 'Rodri' and Aitana Bonmatí and the athletes Álvaro Martín and María Pérez, respectively, who won the King Felipe and Queen Letizia Awards as the best Spanish athletes in the male and female categories.

In 2023, Rodri won the Premier League, the Champions League, and the FA Cup with Manchester City and the Nations League with the Spanish national team. These titles earned him a Ballon d'Or nomination, which he won the following year.

Meanwhile, Aitana Bonmatí cemented her status as an undisputed international star in 2023 by winning the World Cup with the Spanish national team. With FC Barcelona, she added the Champions League, the Liga F, and the Copa de la Reina to her list of achievements, in addition to winning the first of her three Ballon d'Or awards that same year.

Álvaro Martín and María Pérez, for their part, made history in 2024 by winning Olympic gold together in the mixed relay at the Paris Games, where they also individually won a bronze and a silver medal, respectively, in the 20-kilometre race walk.

More than four decades of National Sports Awards

Established in 1982, the National Sports Awards have recognised athletes such as Blanca Fernández Ochoa, Arantxa Sánchez Vicario, Gemma Mengual, Sandra Sánchez, Alexia Putellas, and Susana Rodríguez in the women's category, and Miguel Indurain, Pau Gasol, Rafa Nadal, Marc Márquez, Saúl Craviotto, Jon Rahm, and Carlos Alcaraz in the men's category over the past four decades.

These awards recognise athletes, associations, organisations, and individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the promotion and development of physical activity and sport.

Along with the awards of the Royal Order of Sporting Merit (medals, plaques, and Grand Cross), they represent the highest state recognitions in the field of sport. They are granted by the Government of Spain through the Higher Council for Sports.

Non official translation