Rafael Nadal to receive the Popular Award of Honor from Cadena COPE 

Rafael Nadal will receive the Popular Award of Honor from Cadena COPE this Monday in recognition of his glorious sporting career and the values he represents.

The 42nd edition of the COPE Popular Awards will be held at the Mallorcan restaurant Es Molí d'es Comte. It is scheduled to begin at 20:30 hours (GMT+1). The gala will be attended by the president of Cadena COPE -- Fernando Giménez Barriocanal; the Bishop of Mallorca -- Monsignor Sebastià Taltavull, and other dignitaries and distinguished members of Balearic civil society.

"This year, COPE awards will present its Honor Award to tennis player Rafael Nadal for his great career in the world of sport, as well as for his social work, through which he has always shown his values and his roots in Mallorca," an official statement from the Cadena COPE read.

This is only the third time the Popular Award of Honor is being awarded

This is not the first time Rafael Nadal has received an award from Cadena COPE. In 2005, he was awarded the Premi Popular. But as a distinction, Nadal will now receive the Premi Popular d'Honor (Popular Award of Honor) in recognition of the trajectory of his sporting career while maintaining a strong affiliation with Mallorcan society.

The translated report from Diario De Mallorca read:

"COPE now recognizes, with a Premi Popular d'Honor, the trajectory of Rafael Nadal Parera, who has consistently maintained his position as the top 10 of the best tennis players in the world.

The winner of 20 Grand Slams stands fourth when it comes to most number of singles titles in the Open Era. And it is that if something characterizes the Mallorcan, in addition to his capacity for constant improvement and his sacrifice, it is his human side."

As part of the #NuestraMejorVictoria (Our Best Victory) campaign, carried out through an initiative that formed part of the #CruzRojaResponde (Red Cross Responds) project, Nadal and Pau Gasol encouraged Spanish sportspersons to donate money to the fight against COVID-19.

Announcing the amount collected in June last year, Nadal said, “Between us all, we have managed to do something important and beautiful. Not only the money raised, which exceeded €14m, but also the solidarity and teamwork shown during difficult times."

After considerable damage due to floods in a town called Sant Llorenc des Cardassar in October 2018, Nadal spent hours helping volunteers to clean up the area and opened up rooms at the Rafa Nadal Academy by Movistar for those who needed refuge. The 35-year-old also provided a donation of €1,000,000 through the Rafa Nadal foundation.

Referring to these events, the report added:

"His great social gestures stand out, such as helping those affected in the middle of the pandemic together with his friend Pau Gasol and through the Red Cross, or helping his neighbors in Sant Llorenç in the middle of the mud after the torrent of 2018. For all this, it is an honor to be able to reward the career of one of the best athletes in the country and the greatest ambassador of this island.

It should be noted that, in the 42-year history of the Premis Populars, only two awards of honor have been awarded prior to this. To Her Majesty Queen Sofía, delivered to the Teatre Principal in Palma, and to the Mallorcan Cardinal Emmo. and Rvdmo. Mr. Luís Francisco Ladaría, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in the Holy See, in the Church of Montesión in Palma."