The Qatar office of Spanish Chamber of Commerce recently held a ceremony to recognize Spanish sport stars Valero Rivera and Félix Sánchez for their achievements in their respective fields of volleyball and football. Both the top players are serving as coach to the Qatar national teams of volleyball and football respectively.
The spectacular event held at Hotel St. Regis was attended by Ambassador of Spain HE Belen Alfaro, Chairman, Chamber of Commerce of Spain, Qatar Chapter, Jose Vicente, Kamel Badawy, Business Development & Intelligence Director, Aspire Foundation, Nizar Bakht of LIGA Global Network, Xavi Pedrero, founder of Pádel Qatar, and a large number of members of the Spanish Chamber in Qatar.
In her address on the occasion, the Spanish envoy said it filled her heart with a sense of pride to see a number of Spaniards contributing to enhancing Qatar’s capabilities in various areas of sports through their involvement with Aspire Academy and Aspetar. She said that Spain was ready to extend full support and cooperation to Qatar in the arena of sports, especially in view of the oncoming 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Talking to “Qatar Tribune” on the sidelines of the event, Alfaro said that the 2022 World Cup in Doha will usher in a new phase of development in Qatar, will give more visibility to Qatar and draw global attention to the country. The World Cup will also be a major step towards realising Qatar’s National Vision 2030. It will serve as a lasting legacy for Qatar in terms of sports culture, economic diversification and growth, as well as preservation of environment, the envoy added.
Jose Vicente, Chairman Chamber of Commerce, Qatar Chapter, said that Qatar’s national soccer and handball teams have transmitted to the world, especially to the young people, a renewed enthusiasm for sports. Both Valero and Felix are living examples of how far they can carry the desire to encourage team spirit and commitment to the values of sport.
“A silver medal for Qatar in the world championship, the gold medal for the national handball team at the Asian Championship in 2016 and winning of the football’s Asian Championship in 2019 testify to the coaching skills and expertise of the two Spaniards, Valero Rivera and Felix Sanchez, who have helped Qatar punch above its weight in the sports arena.”
He said that Rivera’s achievements for Spain and Qatar in the handball has made him by far the most successful handball coach in history. Rivera has an unrivalled record of 75 titles at European and national level.
Lauding the performance and great contributions of Sanchez to the sport of football, Vacente said that the Qatar National Team coach is the person everybody talks about. “He is the man who has brought Qatar’s national football team through the academy over the past decade and guided it to the victory in the Asian Football Championship 2019. He is the one who has laid the foundations for producing a team that can compete at international level and win.”
Both Valero and Felix are extremely inspiring and because of them Qatar and Spain are inspiring as well, Vacente added.
Kamel Badawy talked about Qatar Sports Technology, the first acceleration programme of its kind in Qatar that aims to attract the most promising SportsTech startups from around the world and help them grow their product and business. Nizar Bakhat of LIGA Global Network Qatar referred to La Liga and its presence in Qatar and Xavi Pedrero, Founder of Pádel Qatar, explained the challenges of introducing a new sport such as Padel and how it is now a successful business in the Peninsula.
The event was held in collaboration with Chamber of Commerce of Spain, Qatar Chapter, and Embassy of Spain and sponsored by Sacyr, Licuas, Sek International School and Encircle Business Solutions.
