LaLiga Brings Olympic Champion Carolina Marin to Fuzhou

LaLiga brings a well-known female Spanish badminton athlete, Carolina Marin, to Fuzhou Foreign Language School as part of its ongoing effort to boost the visibility and profile of Spanish sports around the world. Carolina Marin initiated an exhilarating football interaction with the Chinese students, which exhibited the vibrant sports culture in Spain.

Today, Carolina Marin conducted a football training session to share the passion and Spanish sports spirit to students in Fuzhou Foreign Language School, as well as inspire and encourage more Chinese students to play football.

As the main character of this event, Carolina Marin shared her knowledge and opinion of her sports career. “Football is the most popular sports in Spain, as a representative of Spanish badminton athlete, promoting Spanish sports culture is my duty. Today, from the passion these students have for football, I also see great potential of football in China.”

 “We thank the effort the institution of the Chinese Ministry of Education made with LaLiga, which gave our kids an opportunity to engage in world class football education. We hope to see more Chinese students benefit from LaLiga’s initiative. Let’s develop Chinese football together.” LiHua Yang, deputy secretary and vice-principal of Fuzhou Foreign Language School shared his appreciation.

This is not the first effort of LaLiga to boost the visibility and profile of football in China. In 2015, the Chinese government released an ambitious reform plan for Sport in China, with a particular focus on football. Within this framework, LaLiga and CEAIE (institution of the Chinese Ministry of Education which is mentoring the implementation of the football reform in the national educative system) made an agreement in 2015 by which LaLiga joins this football reform program in the educational area from the onset.

In this way, LaLiga contributed the first school year 2015/2016 with 40 coaches distributed in 10 different cities, reaching over 52,000 children, while the second year 2016/2017, more LaLiga coaches joined the program (52 during the whole year), with presence in 25 different cities and reaching, again, more than 50,000 children.

Carlos Casal, who was already based in China as a football coach, is here today under the support of LaLiga. Carlos Casal first arrived in Lanzhou, China in November 2015. In 2016 his contract in Lanzhou ended and LaLiga offered him a coaching position in the City of Fuzhou. In Fuzhou he continues his work in the collaboration with the schools and the education bureau, different actions to promote football: training of coaches, methodological advice and days of cultural exchange with foreign students . It’s in this city where he goes one step further and begins to direct the trainings in Chinese, one of the experiences in which he has felt most accomplished.

LaLiga is not only recognized in the world as the best football competition but also an important organization promoting football. Both LaLiga and Carolina Marin are two outstanding ambassadors of the Brand Spain. One year ago, LaLiga has taken a step further in its drive to help Spanish sport by signing a sponsorship deal with the badminton player Carolina Marin. The world champion is flying the flag for Spanish football all over the world, as part of LaLiga's efforts to boost the visibility and profile of Spanish sport, helping to expand the LaLiga brand in places where he is even more popular than LaLiga clubs.

 “As one of the world elite professional football association, LaLiga is warmly welcomed by Chinese football fans. In this trip to Fuzhou, LaLiga seeks to engage in potential in-depth cooperation and assist the development of Chinese football while boost the profile of Spanish sports.” said Sergi Torrents, Country Manager of LaLiga in Greater China.

This football project in Fuzhou is the first result of the football reform program led by LaLiga and the institution of the Chinese Ministry of Education. The visit of LaLiga’s ambassador, Carolina Marin, further reflects the importance which LaLiga places on this collaboration. The football training session conducted by Carlos provides a unique and exhilarating experience for the students of Fuzhou Foreign Language School and shows the success of the football reform program in the educational sector, thereby taking Chinese young athletes a step closer in entering the world arena.