Feliciano López
ESS Feli López Academy
Former player, 7 ATP titles and 5 Davis Cups. Director of the ESS Feli López Academy.
About us
So that no one has to choose between their sport and their education
European School of Sports is the first multi-sport high-performance institution in Europe: five sports and an international academic education, all in Madrid.
Where we come from
2022ESS was founded in 2022 by Carlos López, starting from one observation: in Spain, a young athlete who wanted to compete at the highest level without giving up their studies had nowhere to do it. They either chose between the two, or they left, mostly for the United States.
The talent was there. What was missing was the structure: training, school or university and residence working as a single programme.
Today
- +50
athletes study and train with ESS on a dual career
- +200
students across the whole ESS ecosystem, including the ESS Athletics programmes
- +5
educational institutions whose sports programme is run by ESS
What drives us
Combining high performance and education does not fail for lack of talent, but for lack of structure.
European School of Sports is a model of education and sporting balance that is unique in Spain and in Europe. We set out to reflect the American model, which has delivered such good results for decades, developing academic and sporting profiles of the highest level.
What we believe
Sport opens the programme
Training hours are set first and the academic route, school or university, is built around them. Not the other way round.
Studies count just as much
Every student follows a route with an official qualification: Spanish system, International Baccalaureate, British curriculum, American High School Diploma or a university degree.
A single point of contact
Training, academic centre and residence, in Madrid and coordinated by ESS, instead of split between three places that never speak to each other.
No one is on their own
The ESS Tutor supports every student on all three levels of the programme, and the mentors bring the sports industry closer from the inside.
What stands behind it
There is no one-size-fits-all plan. Every student has their own, and four things hold it up.
Facilities
Each sport trains at a first-class centre, with its own gym and strength and conditioning.
- El Tejar de Somontes
- Golf Santander
- The Office by Pindown
- Ciudad de la Raqueta
Academic centres
Schools and universities that fit the timetable around training and prepare the step to university, in Spain or abroad.
Federations
We work with the federations and partner clubs so that every student competes at their level.
Community
We work hand in hand with families, and students do not just compete with each other: they support each other.
Who leads each programme
Each sport is led by someone who has competed or coached at the level being taught. This is not an advisory board: they set the methodology, choose the coaches and answer for the results.
Javier Beirán
ESS Basketball Program
Professional and ACB player, 2019 world champion and Spain 3x3 international. Pindown technical sessions.
Paquito Navarro
ESS Paquito Navarro Academy
Professional padel player and world No. 1 in 2019. Present at training and in the mentoring sessions.
Ángel Matallana
ESS Golf Program
Former European Tour and Challenge Tour player, and Golf Digest Instructor of the Year in Spain.
Víctor Cea
ESS Football Program
UEFA Pro coach and assistant coach at Real Madrid Castilla. He has led Espanyol B and the Qatar Under-19 national team.
Mentoring programme
Through personalised mentoring, athletes learn about different career paths — sports management, personal training, sports psychology, marketing, event organisation — and explore real careers within the industry.
Feliciano López
Former professional tennis player
Seven ATP titles, the 2016 Roland Garros doubles and the Davis Cup with Spain.
Nuria Martínez
Team Manager of the Spanish national football team
She has coordinated everything around the senior national team since 2022. Before that, institutional relations at Atlético de Madrid and the women's department at the players' union AFE. She brings sports management to students from the inside.
Kike Levy
Sports at Meta
He has led Meta's sports team for Southern Europe, working with clubs and competitions, and speaks at the World Football Summit. He explains the digital business of sport to students and how an audience is built.
Manolo Lama
Sports journalist
Thirty years at Cadena SER, now a commentator at COPE, and the voice of EA Sports football games for more than twenty years. He has covered World Cups and Olympic Games. He talks to students about communication and the media.
Javier Beirán
Former professional basketball player
World champion with Spain in 2019, Basketball Champions League winner in 2017 and almost twenty years in the Liga Endesa. He shares with students what life as a professional player is like.
Paquito Navarro
Professional padel player
World No. 1 in 2019 with Juan Lebrón, the first Spanish pair to get there. He runs the ESS Paquito Navarro Academy and shares with students what it takes to stay at the top of the tour.
What we already do
ESS is not just a programme for athletes. It is one project with five lines: we bring sport to schools and clubs, we export what we know how to do, we support brands and, through ESS Social, we offer scholarships and support to talented athletes.
ESS Athletics
We bring sport into schools
ESS Academics
We bring school to the club
ESS Consulting Hub
We export Spanish sporting know-how to projects around the world.
ESS Brands
We take sports brands into new markets and get them running on the ground.
ESS Social
ESS's social impact arm: scholarships and support for talented athletes.
Let's talk about your case
We'll reply within 24 hours with all the information you need.