Raul: "LaLiga Promises is a festival of football and a wonderful experience for the kids"

The 25th PAMESA LaLiga Promises National Tournament got up and running on Thursday with a grand ceremony that was attended by LaLiga president Javier Tebas and Villarreal CF president Fernando Roig, plus the 20 participating teams and six former players, who got the ball rolling in a very real sense.

"What's most important is for fair play to be present throughout every match because you children can show the way for adults," Tebas told the teams. The LaLiga president also expressed his gratitude to Villarreal for providing a "great reception for the second straight year," as well as thanking the event's sponsors and the El Larguero Foundation. 

After the opening ceremony, six LaLiga legends served up some football alongside 20 youngsters in the All-Star game. "It's fantastic to be here for the opening of this tournament. It's a great festival of football and a wonderful experience for the kids," said Raul Gonzalez, LaLiga's country manager for the United States. "They're brimming with enthusiasm and go into the tournament raring to do well and to make a good impression. What's on show here is football in its purest form and it's a privilege to get to see it," he added.

 

Liga BBVA ambassador Carles Puyol, who also featured in this exhibition match, echoed Raul's words: "It's amazing. The kids have got to enjoy it because it's a great occasion both for them and for us, as we're lucky enough to be involved too." The ex-FC Barcelona defender also admitted that he would have loved to "have had the chance to play in a tournament like this one" when he was starting out in the game. 

There was a rousing atmosphere for the curtain-raiser and Marcos Senna and Fernando Morientes both revelled in it. "The crowd and the facilities are spectacular. It's wonderful for the kids to participate in something like this," noted Morientes. Senna stated that "it's not only the kids who are thrilled," because he and his fellow LaLiga legends "are really pleased to get to play a part in the tournament."

All Star game of #LaLigaPromises, in : https://t.co/sKuOiJhHfB pic.twitter.com/SEV4Jy1cvk

— LaLiga (@LaLigaEN) June 2, 2016

 

Julen Guerrero and Gica Craioveanu were the other former players who savoured this football-filled evening together with the Under-12s starlets. "It's fantastic, congratulations to everyone involved in organising all this," said Craioveanu, while Guerrero stressed that, "What's most important is for the kids to have fun and continue their development."