Football, the main talking point in an Alzheimer workshop
This Friday's weekly appointment at the DomusVi Ca N'Amell residence in Premià de Mar (Barcelona) hosted ten participants, the majority of whom were women, in a workshop that is being run by former Barcelona player Jordi Gonzalvo.
They are visited by a football legend, Carles Rexach, known to all. With the former footballer, they shared anecdotes of his career as a footballer and coach of Barça and they interact with him asking him to questions which he answered with the same sincerity that has always characterized him.
"People who are well-known can help in many areas of life. Recently I was with a person with Alzheimer's disease who could not speak and after talking for a while, understood me and began to cry. It's something that has an impact and makes you think," said Rexach after spending time with the patients.
The now-advisor to FC Barcelona president, Jordi Bartomeu, recommended "the youth" go to one of these centers to know "what life is". He, and other Spanish football legends, have shared exciting moments in different communities.
The participants in this workshop have a degree of cognitive impairment of 0-1 that causes their recent memory to fail them.
"Through football they activate both recent and old memory. The images of players from the past help them remember things from their childhood, youth and maturity," explains Jordi Gonzalvo.
Football is often the trigger of a memory that allows us to "get into their lives and activate their memories. Sometimes they remember a football player more than a member of their family," Gonzalvo explains.
The idea of these workshops was first created in Scotland thanks to the collaboration of the Scottish football museum Hampden Park and the Alzheimer Scotland association. In Spain it was taken on by the Federation of Veteran Footballers Associations (FEAFV).
The Agrupación Barça Jugadores is being carried out in different old people's homes in Catalonia by a team led by Jordi Gonzalvo in which former footballers such as Javi Delgado, Esther Torrecilla, Jordi López Felpeto and Xavi Guzmán also participate together with specialists from each centre.
Over two hours, the former footballers use games, photographs, videos, hymns or objects such as T-shirts, boots or balls, before and now, with the aim of recovering the memories.
The activities also help the participants to increase their self-esteem, as it makes them feel important, and to socialise as they create a relationship with the other residents who participate in the workshop.