Author Archive

Rayo Vallecano

I have to admit that I am embarrassed that I missed this story last season. It is too good not to be shared.

I have always had a soft spot for Rayo Vallecano. They are a proudly working class club with a strong community ethic. The club is based in the gritty Vallecas district just south of the Madrid city centre. It is maybe a cross between West Ham and Millwall in English terms. Most neutrals would quite like West Ham to do well and most fans who support one of the glamour clubs or those with Top Six aspirations are happy for them to do well ….except when they are not playing their club!

What I had not picked up was the concept behind their kit. A percentage of the sales’ revenue goes to a number of charities. What caught my eye was an attractive black shirt with a pink ribbon to highlight the fight against cancer. They are also a fiercely inclusive club where all fans are welcome regardless of their colour, creed, race or sexual orientation. They have zero tolerance for domestic violence and fans with physical disabilities are encouraged to integrate.

For a club that is in the shadows of its illustrious neighbours, they are teaching a lesson to Real Madrid and Atletico in terms of integration. Respect!

The full story is here in Spanish. Sadly and ironically, their website is not yet in English.

Inaugural World Afro Day endorsed by United Nations

World Afro Day (WAD) is now endorsed by the UN’s Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. This follows increasing international support from academics, the London Mayor’s office, natural hair influencers, Miss USA 2016 Deshauna Barber and celebrity hair stylists Felicia Leatherwood and Charlotte Mensah. World Afro Day has an affinity with the UN’s International Decade for People of African Descent programme, which works towards tackling the challenges of over 200 million people globally, who identify themselves as of African descent.

This group often suffers discrimination based on their heritage and World Afro Day aims to tackle the issue of bias against afro hair which has been previously overlooked. The inaugural World Afro Day, which takes place on Friday 15 September 2017, aims to celebrate the value and beauty of natural hair. This is an opportunity to change the often-negative perceptions that exist around afro hair with an event that people of all backgrounds and hair types can enjoy.

The WAD team will be attempting a RecordSetter World Record for the ‘Largest Hair Education Lesson’ at the event in London, England. Five hundred children of all backgrounds will take part in the world record, which will also be live streamed across the world via social media.

WAD Founder, Michelle De Leon, believes education is key to changing the way people view afro hair and this starts with young people. “Their mental well-being and self-esteem are a top priority,” says Michelle “It’s in all our interests to promote self-love and make young people, no matter what their hair type: curly, straight, wavy or coily, feel great about themselves.”

“We want everyone to be free to wear their natural hair and for society to treat it equally.” continues Michelle. “No limitations should be placed on a person of African descent because of their original hair type; whether they choose to be a ballerina, sit on the board or run for Prime Minister.”

Alongside their world record attempt, the World Afro Day team will be hosting a public debate to discuss how various industries can support the inclusion and appreciation of afro hair in the workplace. The esteemed panel includes model and mumpreneur, Keisha Omilana, Berkley Professor and Campaigner, Angela Onwuachi-Willig, and internationally acclaimed hair stylist, Vernon Francois.

Tickets for this event can be purchased on the official World Afro Day website, www.worldafroday.com

100 Days for 10,000 Euros

On the 21st of September 2017, Steve Hall will start off on a 100 day virtual tour of Spain.

Yes, a digital tour where he will be viewing the four corners of Spain through the eyes of local hosts and writers. It will be a virtual tour of Spain which should be of interest to thousands already here in Spain and those thinking of coming. He will be shown what is the very best of Spain and what makes Spain unique. He will be “staying in” favourite but modest hostels in Calatayud and Barcelona and magnificent hotels in Madrid and Ronda. He will take a look at some of the most exquisite properties on sale as well as the most stunning sunsets and mountainscapes through words, images and video. He will “mingle” with the tourists in Benalmádena and the locals in Zaragoza. He will “catch” trains and boats and planes and, no doubt, a few ALSA buses.

His company along the way will be the ladies of Costa Women who are “partners” for the tour and the members of www.myexpatsworld.com who will be sponsors. Notionally, he will be “driving” in the car kindly supplied by Coys of Torrevieja for the journey. Steve is famed for his staple diet of pizza (the food of the gods) and coffee (the drink of the gods) so I know that Lauren Aloise and her team at Devour Tours will, no doubt, help him to understand the finer points of Spanish cuisine.

The Virtual Tour

The journey will start on the twenty-first of September in Madrid.In fact it will start in the very epi-centre of Madrid. No, not at the Moncloa or the Plaza Mayor but at his favourite bar in Spain, the Gastrobar Ópalo where the owners and staff are offering superb support. For a an who survives on pizza and coffee, he has become a huge supporter of their vegetarian food and alcohol free beer. The good news is that they serve GREAT meat and fantastic cocktails too!

It will move north to Bilbao and then west to Galicia. After visiting Santiago de la Compostela at the end of the “Camino” he will go inland through the west of Spain down to Andalucia and Gibraltar before taking the ferry to the Canaries. A few days later he will return to the mainland, visit Granada, Almeria and Cartagena and then spend time with his friend Keith Nicol in Torrevieja where Steve lived for many years. He will be at the Expat Spain Exhibition in the Salt City on the 11th/13th November before he goes to the Balearics. On his return to the Levante he will amble up the coast to Denia, Jávea and Calpe before he arrives at Spain’s third city, Valencia. After a few days in a favourite part of Spain, he’s off to finish the tour in Barcelona.

The highlights of this virtual/digital tour will be ironically some “in real life” visits …. in Madrid where he will attend an ACN International Event, the Torrevieja Exhibition and at and the Writers and Bloggers about Spain Annual Retreat in November. See you on the way?

So, what is this journey? Why is he doing it?

At least half a dozen reasons, I am told.

#Something of a homage to Spain. A pilgrimage to Spain, if you like. He has lived here 15+ years and is embarrassed that there are still provinces in the north that he does not “know” despite spending a lot of these years “on the road.”

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#He aims to raise 10,000 euros (100 euros per day) for the AECC (Spanish Cancer Charity) via Rock Against Cancer Charity

#Equally over this period, he has had contact with hundreds of ebuddies who he would love to meet. (I wonder how many know how deaf he is!) He is active in a writers’ group and he would like to spotlight their work. One of his friend’s is Jorge Varo from Regus and Steve will be visiting every Regus in Spain …..and Gibraltar!

#He is a passionate “Remainer” and is fascinated by people’s hopes and fears of Brexit. He will be looking for reactions.

#He is also planning to walk the Camino del Norte once an injury clears, so this will be great preparation.

#Most of all, he hopes that you, the reader, enjoy this 100 day tour of the Kingdom of Spain.

#The route is going to take in a lot of Spanish football grounds …..watch this space!

Please follow him as he travels his journey through Spain. The journey will be charted on www.thisisspain.info, www.HotCosta.com and will be shared on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, G+, Pinterest, Instagram, EmpireKred and many other social media channels. At the end of the journey he will produce an e-Book which will be sent to every single supporter. Obviously, this makes it a great opportunity for Tourist Information Centres, town councils, travel companies and even commercial entities to become involved. Please, shout if you have any suggestions.

In 2010 Steve did a similar journey but this time on a cycle and “In Real Life” as he cycled around the United Kingdom to raise awareness for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. That was a journey of four months and 5000 kilometers. Then in 2015 he did a 90 Day Virtual Tour of Spain that was very successful on every level. This latest tour of Spain with more supporters and more focus on the Charity fundraising looks a little easier!

2017 Shirts

The new season is upon us and most clubs seem to have new shirt designs and/or sponsors’ logos.

Some are simply reinventing the wheel and I fear many are “launched” more with an eye to empty the fans’ pockets rather than that there is anything inherently wrong with the 2016/2017 design! Among those that I have seen I like the Brentford shirts and over the next few days, I will add some of the more interesting shirts I see on my travels.

Andreas Hugo Hoelgebaum Pereira

Andreas Pereira, the Manchester United player, on loan at Valencia in their 2017/2018 strip. He will be pleased to know that even their casual wear is sponsored now by NP Makarthy, the Spanish fashion business.

Diego Maradona

I got a very interesting email from my friends at Copa today. What a small world it is!

“Last weekend we were pleasantly surprised to see the one and only Diego Maradona wearing our Argentina Capitano T-shirt in the new Bavaria Beer commercial.

El Diego, of course one of our ultimate childhood heroes, wore the shirt in a promotion inspired by the famous van Basten-video by Bavaria, shot almost 25 years ago.

The Argentina Capitano T-shirt and other Argentinian retro shirts can be found on copafootball.com and via selected retailers and online resellers.”

Coolligan

I was strolling around Madrid yesterday when I came across the Coolligan store in the very centre of the city. Oh, happy day! It’s a veritable treasure trove of quality football memorabilia. Like my friends Copa in Amsterdam it is part display and part museum. For somebody like me, an Alladin’s cave.

There is a huge selection of football shirts (current and retro) but these are not replica kits to wear for 5-a-side or to kit out an amatuer side. These are high quality leisure wear. I was delighted to see so many of many favourite shirts including many of the classics from the 60s and 70s…..fashionable but without the omnipresent sponsors’ logos!

A couple I really liked are the Zaire shirt from 1974 and the 1900 Scotland shirt (above)

If you are in Madrid, please pop in. Otherwise, they run a mail order service. Incidentally, they have stores in Málaga and Galicia too. Please visit their website www.Coolligan.com

Unión Adarve

This week I have come across possibly one of the most interesting football stories I have read in many a year. It deals with a Madrid club who play literally walking distance from the Real
Madrid Santiago Bernabéu stadium but who are a million miles away.

The club is Unión Adarve and their presidente is the charismatic Luis Gómez whose team has just been promoted to Segunda B, the third level of Spanish football. There is nothing unusual about a promotion story but when you look into the background it is an amazing (fairy-)tale.

The club is just 25 years’ old and is what is called a “barrio” club. These traditionally gets their players and supporters from one local district or neighbourhood of a city. Often these clubs have kids teams from 4/5 years all the way through to adults and often there is a ladies team, a 5-a-side team and a seniors’ team too. If anybody watched the TV series “Pelotas”, you will know what I mean. Generally these adult teams have no massive ambitions but they are a vital social function of the area. Unión Adarve have done it slightly differently though! With the lowest budget in their Tercera division and after a poor start they got through the league and the playoffs to reach the dizzy heights of 2B! Note also that they do NOT charge for admission …..ever! This season too they have stated again that they will not charge for admissiom. In English terms they are playing at the same level as Portsmouth, Bradford City, Wigan and Charlton ….but their capacity is just eight hundred!

Luis Gómez used a recent article in AS, the national Spanish sports’ paper to make his thoughts very clear about the amateur nature of the lower leagues in Spanish football. It is frankly eye-opening! This week I am looking to make an appointment to see whether we can create some sort of support for the club à la Peña Internacional Malaguista at Málaga CF or, more likely FC Torrevieja with its famous Torry Army.

Whatever happens, I wish them every success.

(PS The season got off to a good start with a 1-1 away draw at Valladolid B)

La Liga 2017/2018

Marca have produced a nice guide to the shirts worn by all the La Liga teams for this season. Click on the start page and you go through each club one at a time where you will see there shirt for the season and the squad numbers.

If you want to learn more about this season’s La Liga, Marca has also posted a team by team review where it is clear that Real Madrid are the clear favourite’s for the season just about to begin. They kick off with a potential banana skin at Deportivo Coruña but what will the next 37 games bring? See here for expert analysis in English.

Commemorative shirt worn against Betis in honour of the victims of the Catalonia atrocities.

Barcelona in Mourning

Within 24 hours terrorists launched two atrocities in Catalonia. More than a dozen innocent people were slaughtered in the centre of Barcelona and a few hours later another band of terrorists struck in Cambrils to the south of the capital.

The immediate decision of the Barcelona board was to honour the dead and injured by taking the players’ name off the shirts for this weekend’s game against Betis.

#Respect

Goalsoul

I was delighted to find Goalsoul this week. The Sheffield-based company say,”we create visually stunning and unique football t-shirts infused with spirit, style and quality.

Our original designs celebrate the iconic players, teams and memorable incidents in football’s rich and diverse history. The goalsoul collection of artwork, graphic tees and associated apparel, is an eclectic mix. We pay tribute to the cultural vitality of the most beautiful game of all.”

On that basis, it would be rude for me not to highlight them! Please check their beaitifully designed website.