Official Statement
VIE 24.01.2020
Mumbai, January 22, 2020 – LaLiga SmartBank club, Cadiz CF, has been scouting talent in the country since the past year for a scholarship opportunity. Young aspiring footballers from India have been selected to visit Spain and to receive football training from top coaches. Over a period of four weeks, from 18th January to 16th February 2020, Cadiz CF will conduct trials in 22 cities across India to select students for this scholarship.
Following the success of the last two trials, attended by more than 300 students, Cadiz CF has organized these trials for the third time in India. The trials, being organized in tier-I and tier-II cities, will have participation from over 2500 students. Four coaches from Cadiz CF – Pablo Grandes, Francisco Arias, Alex Almeida and Joss Junckler along with Quique Gonzalez, Director of Grassroots Football will be holding the trials. From the students who participated across three age categories (Age Groups: 11-14, 15-17 and 18-23), some of them will be selected to visit Cadiz, Spain.
Today, Cadiz CF also announced an association with the All India Football Federation (AIFF) to launch the AIFF Masters, which will provide students with experiential learning opportunities on aspects of football in India and globally. The program will be set across Mumbai, New Delhi and Cadiz. It will allow students to participate in activities such as live tournament exposure, match staging and learn more about clubs and team management, leadership, sponsorship, marketing and more to improve their football knowledge.
Founded in 1910, Cadiz Club de Futbol, S.A.D., is a professional football club which plays in the league’s second division, LaLiga SmartBank. The club is based in Cadiz, Andalusia, Spain and legendary players like Magico Gonzalez and Kiko Narvaez have played in it. Cadiz CF has been investing in talent in India since last year and sees tremendous potential in the talent in the country. Grassroots development has been an important mission for LaLiga and its clubs in India and several key projects like LaLiga Football Schools, Cadiz CF’s trials and more have been undertaken to achieve that.
Jose Antonio Cachaza, Managing Director, LaLiga India said, “India has tremendous potential and it has always been very clear to us. In all the activations and engagements we have done over the past three years, we have seen the talent and following for the sport grow in the country. Our commitment towards developing football and LaLiga not only in Spain but across the globe remains unwavering. A Spanish club with a strong history like Cadiz CF has recognizing this shows us their commitment and we are very happy to work with them towards this.”
“We are delighted to be back in India in search of talent for our club. The country has a lot of potential and following the incredible response we have got in the past, we decided to expand this project and bring our grassroots coaches to visit more cities,” said Kike Pérez, Corporate and Business Director, Cadiz CF. “This project is very important to us, at Cadiz CF, as such initiatives are key to the development of professional football in any country.”
About LaLiga
LaLiga is a global, innovative and socially responsible organization, a leader in the leisure and entertainment sector. It is a private sports association composed of the 20 teams in LaLiga Santander and 22 in LaLiga SmartBank, responsible for the organization of these national professional football competitions. In the 2018/2019 season, LaLiga reached more than 2.7 billion people globally. With headquarters in Madrid (Spain), it is present in 55 countries through 9 offices and 46 delegates. The association carries out its social action through its Foundation and is the world's first professional football league with a league for intellectually challenged footballers: LaLiga Genuine Santander.
About Cadiz CF
Cadiz Club de Futbol is the main team of the southern city of Cadiz, the oldest city in Europe with more than 3,000 years of history. Founded in 1910, it stands out for its hobby, which has been awarded several times as the best in Spain. Its colors are yellow and blue, for two of its characteristic features: the sun and the sea.
The club organizes the Ramón de Carranza Trophy, one of the most important pre-season tournaments in the world, played every summer in its stadium, and in which the best teams in football history have participated.
Currently its first team plays in LaLiga SmartBank, having been very close to achieving the promotion to LaLiga Santander in the last three seasons.
Cádiz CF is nicknamed the ‘yellow submarine’ because, despite being a humble club, it managed to be in LaLiga for eleven seasons since their debut in the top tier division in the 77/78 season.
© LALIGA - 2020