The miracle of La Cartuja

Only seven weeks ago that UEFA confirmed Seville as the venue for the European Championship, April 23th. Seven years, since 2014, Bilbao had had to organize a championship that, due to politics and the coronavirus, has traveled to the other end of the peninsula. In record time, La Cartuja has managed to prepare for the biggest sporting event held here since the 1999 World Athletics Championships, with which the facility was inaugurated.

In front is the 'sports' brain of José María Arrabal, one of Javier Imbroda's right hands, Councilor for Education and Sports of the Board. Arrabal (Málaga, 1975) has been Andalusian Sports Secretary for two and a half years after a career that despite his youth has allowed him to work for Málaga, Madrid, LaLiga and even the NBA. “We already had the organizational capacity. But finish this on time It has made us grow a lot. I have heard the word “miracle” from UEFA people several times, Arrabal says to Ace between enthusiasm and relief.

“The challenge was to prepare the stadium, which although it is magnificent, needed a tremendous update. After having organized the final of the Super Cup and the two of the Copa del Rey, in addition to other matches of the National Team, there were things advanced in level of access, security … But UEFA calls for a very high standard, above all because of the experience of the fans and the athletes themselves. The great difficulty was doing many things at the same time. There have been many days without rest on the part of the UEFA, stadium and RFEF staff. Oh and I have to say it because it is like this: none of this would have been possible without the support of the Board's resources “, adds the malagueño.

The effort, also economical, will bring a lot in image and also in tourism. This is what Arrabal believes and thus argues: “I have been able to feel very positive comments from the tourism sector, not only in the province of Seville. Many establishments in Huelva are going to fill up during the Eurocup. There are spectators from outside who say: there are several days of matches in La Cartuja, so I am going to visit Andalusia “.