Rafael Nadal's 'Study and Play' Project Aids Young Spanish Athletes to Obtain Sports Scholarships

Rafael Nadal's foundation has created a project aimed to benefit young Spanish athletes.

The "Study and Play" project will assist young athletes "obtain sports scholarships at U.S. universities and provide financial assistance for those who would be unable to cover the full cost of higher education in that country," Fox News Latino wrote.

The project is the latest addition to the four already existing programs of the Rafa Nadal Foundation, Fox News Latino added. The charity benefits youths in need in both Spain and India, and was implemented in collaboration with I-Con Sports. The university scholarships are given to the young Spaniards regardless of their chosen sport.

"At present, the U.S. university system is the only one that facilitates university studies with elite level sport," the foundation said in a statement quoted by the news outlet.

I-Con Sports aids in obtaining and managing sports scholarships for the foundation, Fox News Latino wrote. The charity also thanks the Spanish food supplement producer Drasanvi for its sponsorship, which helps in providing financial assistance.

"We've chosen to implement this new program since it incorporates three of the main pillars of the Rafa Nadal Foundation: education, sports and youth," the foundation's president and Nadal's mother, Ana Maria Parera, said, as reported by Fox News Latino.

During a press conference at the JW Marriott Hotel in Bangkok earlier this month, Nadal said that he started his foundation in 2007 and that he is happy that it's going really well.

"We need to teach our young children many things, and I want my foundation to work in areas where children don't get any opportunities," the 29-year-old tennis star said, as quoted by The Asian Age.

He continued, "That's why we chose the poor district of Anantpur, in Andhra Pradesh, for our first project. We opened this in 2010, in collaboration with Vicente Ferrer Foundation, and built a school as well as tennis courts. It's a combined project that covers both education and sport. The children study many things, including science, informatics and of course tennis, as we want to create many opportunities for them."

After the success of the Anantpur project, Nadal said that he set up his second foundation program in his homeland of Mallorca, adding that he wants to establish more projects globally, The Asian Age reported.

Novak Djokovic admitted that Nadal's foundation inspired him to start his own tennis charity. The tennis star said that his foundation is doing "a fantastic job" in his hometown of Serbia, the news outlet added.