ABANCA Balaídos hosted the first edition of the National Sports Journalism and Sport Conferences on 5 and 6 October, organised by the Galician Association of Sports Journalists (AGAXORDE). Over the course of two days, the Celta stadium brought together representatives from the worlds of sport, journalism, institutions and sports management.
The programme began with a tribute to Galician Olympians, featuring Ricardo Leiva Román, Director of Sports at the Spanish Olympic Committee, and continued with the panel “The importance of a professional club like Celta for a city like Vigo”, with Abel Caballero, Mayor of Vigo; Javier Tebas, President of LaLiga; and Marián Mouriño, President of Celta. The day concluded with a discussion on women in sports journalism, featuring Cristina Cubero, Ana Guantes, Mercedes Moralejo and Lucía Dávila, moderated by Mila Alonso.
The second day addressed a range of issues related to professional sport. The panel on sports tourism featured Manel Fernández, Vigo’s Councillor for Sports; Carlos Cao, Celta’s Director of Infrastructure and Institutional Relations; David Suárez Martínez, CEO of Diesemm; and a representative of Galitur, with Terio Carrera as moderator.
Next, Luis García, journalist for Cuatro and COPE; Richard Barral, President of the Spanish Association of Sports Directors; Miguel Méndez, head coach of the Spanish women’s national basketball team; and José Carlos Bastos, Celta’s Head of Press, took part in the panel on the relationship between the media and professional sport, moderated by Armando Álvarez.
The programme also included a session on preventing violence in grassroots sport, led by Beatriz Gelpi Ferreira, who holds a Master’s degree in Continuing Education in Sports Law from the University of Valencia and is co-founder of Juntos Invulnerables.
The conferences concluded with “Celta’s Great Moment”, a conversation with Claudio Giráldez, first-team head coach; Iago Aspas, Celta captain; Fredi Álvarez, Fortuna head coach; and Pablo Meixús, reserve-team captain, moderated by Víctor López and featuring former players joining via videoconference.
The event was also attended by several representatives of Club Celta Empresas, who supported the conferences held at the ABANCA Balaídos facilities. Events of this kind generate interest among the companies that collaborate with the club and also showcase the possibilities offered by ABANCA Balaídos as a venue for hosting professional activities beyond match days.
