Valencia City Hall throws its doors open to LaLiga

Valencia City Hall's Salon de Cristal this Saturday played host to the presentation ceremony held to launch the Premios LaLiga Gala, which is to be staged on Monday 24 October at the city's Palacio de Congresos (Conference Centre). The ceremony was presided over by the deputy mayoress of Valencia, Sandra Gomez and LaLiga's corporate managing director, Javier Gomez.

Valencia CF were represented at the event by the club's chairwoman, Lay Hoon Chan and executive director, Anil Murthy; whilst Levante UD board members, Ramon Vilar and Victor Martinez and head of the Granotes' Foundation, Jose Manuel Fuertes were on hand to represent their club. Also in attendance were Villarreal CF's chief executive, Fernando Roig Negueroles, whilst FC Barcelona vice-president, Jordi Mestre and board member, Josep Ramon Vila-Abarca completed the lineup of club representatives.

Also present were the director of Valencia's Palacio de Congresos, Sylvia Andres; head of the Municipal Sports Foundation, Jose Vicente Berlanga; and members of the Valencian Football Federation and local authorities.

In her address, Sandra Gomez sought to thank LaLiga for having chosen Valencia as the host city for Monday's Premios LaLiga Gala. "It's an honour for us that you've chosen our city and our Palacio de Congresos, which in 2012 was voted the best conference centre in the world. This event will carry the name of Valencia and that of the best league on the planet right across the globe." The deputy mayoress went on to highlight the parallels between LaLiga's work and the city's international marketing efforts to promote itself as a long-haul holiday destination. "Just like LaLiga, as a city, Valencia is interested in exploiting the Asian market, as was evidenced by the support we offered Valencia CF in Singapore and India." Finally, Gomez noted just how significant it is for the city to be hosting major events like Monday's gala. "Valencia is hosting international events and conferences, which help to create jobs and sees the city make an impact on the international stage."

Javier Gomez offered his apologies for the absence of LaLiga's president, Javier Tebas, who is currently away in China where he is involved in work to promote the organisation. "It's a pleasure for all of us involved at LaLiga to be staging our gala in Valencia, which is also my home city. We want to show what we're capable of and what our objectives are," commented Gomez, who used the opportunity to give thanks to the clubs and all of the institutions in attendance for their efforts, "in not surrendering on the path towards excellence, displaying a strong determination to be role models in the transformation of the game and a continued commitment to the values of fair play and sacrifice in sport."

The ceremony was rounded off with attendees toasting to a successful Premios LaLiga Gala with a glass of the local horchata drink (a beverage made from tiger nuts).