LaLiga and Valencia reward fair play in sport

On the morning of their third day in Singapore, the Valencia CF expedition took some time out to visit two schools in the city, where they gave the pupils some advice and also pleasantly surprised a fan who recently taught the whole country a lesson in sportsmanship. They were accompanied by the Liga BBVA ambassadors David Albelda and Gaizka Mendieta, who are both former Valencia players, and Sergi Torrents, LaLiga's country manager for China.

The first stop was the Australian International School, where the players were given a rousing welcome, in particular Australia international Mathew Ryan. The goalkeeper had some words of advice for the students: "It's important for you to enjoy the moment and not grow up too fast, and to keep learning and pursuing your dreams," Ryan urged.

In a packed lecture hall, the five Valencia squad members – who were joined on stage by Albelda, Mendieta and Los Che sporting director Jesus Garcia Pitarch – had the chance to answer the pupils' questions and to emphasise the importance of values such as respect, professionalism, hard work and dedication. Plenty of fun was also had when the Liga BBVA stars played a match with students out on the school's artificial-turf pitch.

The excitement and emotions were ramped up further at the party's second destination, the Raffles Institution. Valencia decided to do their bit to promote and reward fair play by surprising Jonathan Chua En Zhe, an 18-year-old who admitted to diving to win a penalty in an important game and urged the referee to reverse the decision to award the spot-kick. "We've come here to say thank you for setting an example of professionalism and fair play," said Los Che striker Paco Alcacer. 

Young Jonathan and his classmates were left stunned when the Valencia players walked into the classroom. Alcacer did the honours of presenting the man of the hour with an autographed Valencia shirt. "I'm really grateful for this surprise. It makes me proud that they've come here to recognise what I did," a clearly moved Jonathan gushed.