Aitana Bonmatí
Aitana Bonmatí
As part of the partnership between FC Barcelona and UNHCR, FC Barcelona player Aitana Bonmatí met with the inclusive women's team of A.E. Ramassà.
Aitana Bonmatí holds a football hand-stitched in a refugee camp in Daadab, Kenya.
About Aitana
Aitana Bonmatí is a Spanish professional football player for FC Barcelona and a High-profile supporter of UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, since 2022.
Aitana's passion for sport began at just seven years old, when she joined her local football team. At 13, she was signed for FC Barcelona's youth team, eventually making her debut in the First Division in 2016, and her definitive promotion to FC Barcelona's first team the following season.
After years of progress and titles, and winning the first Champions League in 2021, where she was distinguished Best Player of the Final, Aitana's career reached new levels of recognition in 2023. Her outstanding performance in 2023, saw her being crowned the Women’s Ballon d’Or winner, making her the best player in the world. With FC Barcelona, she won La Liga, the Champions League and the Super Cup, being awarded the Champions League Player of the Season and the UEFA Player of the Year.
To top it all off, in August 2023 she lifted the FIFA Women's World Cup with the Spanish national team. Not only did her team win, but Aitana's skills earned her the prestigious title of Women's World Cup MVP.
Aitana’s dedication extends far beyond the football pitch. She has played an invaluable part in several UNHCR initiatives, utilising her platform to amplify the needs of refugees across the globe. Her commitment focuses especially on gender equality rights and the social integration of refugee women and girls through the power of sport.
In April 2023, Aitana joined Venezuelan singer and fellow UNHCR supporter Danny Ocean for an initiative to illustrate the power of sport for refugee children. Young refugees from Honduras and Ukraine had the opportunity to attend their first-ever match at the Spotify Camp Nou Stadium in Barcelona and speak with Aitana and Danny before the match.
Aitana also took the opportunity to talk about refugees and her support for UNHCR in June 2022 when she participated in a major Spanish talk show called “La Resistencia”, with more than 5 million viewers. She brought a football, designed by a young refugee as part of UNHCR’s Youth with Refugees Art Contest, as a gift for the presenter.
To mark the International Day of the Girl in October 2022, Aitana visited A.E. Ramassá, an inclusive women’s football team, with UNHCR and the FC Barcelona Foundation. Here she trained with women refugees and asylum seekers, sharing with them a message of encouragement and perseverance.
For these women, football reinforces their feeling of community and belonging – a feeling recognized by Aitana: “I know that all of you have had difficult paths. We are women and we have many adversities along the way, but we deserve the same rights and to lead the world”.
News and highlights
Find the latest news and key highlights about Aitana's work as a UNHCR high profile supporter.
Behind the scenes of @DannOcean and @AitanaBonmati taking refugee kids to their first @FCBarcelona game!
— UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency (@Refugees) April 25, 2023
Football and music are beautiful ways to bring people together 💙 @FundacioFCB @eACNUR pic.twitter.com/wo24NIHekm