Saturday 19 / April / 2025
Madrid: Paulo Dybala, the Argentine World Cup winner, has today been announced as a Laureus Ambassador. The 31-year-old initiated his new role with a visit to a Laureus Sport for Good programme in Rome and will be in attendance at the 25th anniversary Laureus World Sports Awards in Madrid on Monday.
Dybala won five Serie A titles with Juventus and the World Cup with Argentina in 2022. The Argentine star, who now plays for AS Roma, visited Calcio Insieme on Wednesday, a Rome-based project supported by the AS Roma Foundation, which uses football to help children with intellectual disabilities. More than 30 children and young adults were there to meet the new Laureus Ambassador.
Paulo Dybala said, as quoted by the Laureus Sports press release, "It is a huge honour to join Laureus as an Ambassador. I have been inspired to learn about the incredible work they do, and to see 'sport for good' in action during my visit to Calcio Insieme was a great experience. The Laureus mission, to use sport as a vehicle for societal change, is inspiring and I am looking forward to attending a special 25th anniversary Laureus Awards in Madrid in the company of many sporting legends."
Joining Dybala at this year's Awards show will be a host of champions, including Spanish sporting hero Rafael Nadal. Nadal brought his illustrious career to a close in 2024 after 22 Grand Slams (including 14 French Open titles), two Olympic gold medals, and 81 consecutive matches unbeaten on clay. Nadal has also completed a 'Laureus Slam' as the only athlete to win Breakthrough of the Year, Comeback of the Year, Sportsman of the Year and the Laureus Sport for Good Award.
This year's event will be hosted by ski legend Lindsey Vonn, who won the Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year Award in 2011 and picked up the Laureus Spirit of Sport Award eight years later. Vonn - who hosted the virtual Awards in Seville in 2022 - launched a daring comeback in December at the age of 40 and secured her first World Cup podium finish in Idaho last month.
Vonn, a Member of the Laureus World Sports Academy, the 69 sporting legends whose votes determine the winners of the Awards, said: "It is a huge thrill to host the Awards once again. I enjoyed the experience virtually three years ago in Seville, but this time it will be even more special with everyone actually in attendance. I've been on both sides of the coin; thankfully, I know what it's like to win a Laureus award, and I also know what it's like to vote. Having this perspective makes me appreciate Laureus even more. Looking forward to seeing everyone in Madrid! Vamos!"
Joining Nominees, Laureus Ambassadors, and Academy Members will be sports fans from the fashion, film, and entertainment industries. Those attending include:
Athletics: Mondo Duplantis, Nawal El Moutawakel, Tanni Grey-Thompson, Tegla Loroupe, Edwin Moses, Letsile Tebogo
Basketball: Rudy Fernandez
Cricket: Steve Waugh
Cycling: Mark Cavendish, Chris Hoy
Football: Thiago Alcantara, Kosovare Asllani, Cafu, Fabio Capello, Fernando Carro, Iker Casillas, Paulo Dybala, Luis de la Fuente, Luis Figo, Ruud Gullit, Robin Le Normand, Rafael Louzan
Gymnastics: Rebeca Andrade, Simone Biles, Nadia Comaneci, Li Xiaopeng
Hockey: Luciana Aymar
Kayaking: Saul Craviotto
Motor Racing: Zak Brown, Emerson Fittipaldi,
Para archery: Matt Stutzman
Para badminton: Qu Zi Mo
Para fencing: Bebe Vio
Para swimming: Daniel Dias, Teresa Perales, Jiang Yuyan
Rowing: Steve Redgrave
Rugby: Sean Fitzpatrick (Laureus Academy Chairman), Bryan Habana, Hugo Porta
Skiing: Lara Gut-Behrami, Eileen Gu, Maria Hofl-Riesch, Lindsey Vonn
Squash: Nicol David
Surfing: Kelly Slater
Swimming: Ariarne Titmus
Tennis: Carlos Alcaraz, Paula Badosa, Mansour Bahrami, Boris Becker, Belinda Bencic, Novak Djokovic, Garbine Muguruza, Rafael Nadal, Jasmine Paolini, Aryna Sabalenka, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Donna Vekic
Windsurfing: Robby Naish.
