Volleyball player Wilfredo León is co-owner of a club and founder of an academy

June 18, 2022

Wilfredo León, in addition to succeeding in volleyball and being recognized worldwide, also has success in a lesser-known facet: he is co-owner and founder of a volleyball club and creator of an academy.

Considered one of the best, if not the best player in the world, the Cuban naturalized Polish player was pleased on social media about the progress that, since its founding in 2021, the projects in which he has invested his efforts have experienced.

It is the Anioły UMK Toruń -the club Angels of Toruń- and the Wilfredo León Academy. In the case of the first one, "the abbreviation in the name speaks to the club's connection with the Nicolaus Copernicus University (Uniwersytet Mikołaja Kopernika) located in the city".

According to the club's website, the Cuban "is involved in building the sports division, preparing training plans for future senior and youth teams and, thanks to experience and observations from the world's best volleyball clubs, in creating the structures and vision of our organization".

The realization of this project comes from León's old dream of buying a club or creating one that "reaches the level of the Champions League".

According to a report from Sport Business Gaceta, León declared in 2021 that "the city has a long history and sports are very popular, but Torun lacks men's volleyball. Our goal is to build a strong center with a solid foundation. The conditions in the city are excellent, there are modern sports facilities and there is great sponsorship potential".

"León influences all aspects of the club, including the choice of coach and players, but will entrust operational management to others," the same site indicated.

Among those others were Karol Lejman, co-owner, and the player's wife, Małgorzata, who influenced the choice of Toruń as the headquarters of the club and academy, because she studied at the Academic Secondary School in Toruń.

Although the Cuban cannot be fully involved with all aspects of the club, he is a key figure from a marketing perspective, as a world volleyball star figure, with his presence in different activities.

"Yesterday we closed the first season of Anioły Toruń together with our dear sponsors. Thanks to them, we were able to create a stable and reliable club. Our ambition is to play at the highest level one day, but we go step by step. Thank you all for your cooperation and I hope our family of Angels continues to grow," wrote the player on his Facebook account, who is recovering from surgery.