Gold Medal for Sports Merit of the Barcelona City Council for Joaquim Maria Puyal

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Joaquim Maria Puyal has received the Gold Medal for Sports Merit of the Barcelona City Council for his professional career of more than 50 years with the sport, especially for his role as a pioneer in the radio broadcasts of soccer matches in Catalan, since 1976 and always following FC Barcelona.

Puyal, recognised by Mayor Ada Colau as a “referent of journalism in the city”, thanked the acknowledgment at an event held at the Hall of Cent of Barcelona City Council, in which has pronounced a few words in support of the political prisoner Quim Forn, one of the followers of the journalist who wrote a letter full of feeling when he retired from the transmissions last summer.

In the photo with Josep Vives,  who, like me, has been a member of the football broadcasting team in Catalunya Ràdio and admires Puyal. In fact, for all the people that have been part of his team he always will be the master.

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#Iwasthere: women soccer breaks the world record in attendance

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March 17, 2019. Atletico de Madrid, a club that has one of the most unconditional supporters I have known, has achieved the goal: 66 thousand tickets sold for its duel with the other team Top of the women football league: FC Barcelona. With Laura Alsina, defender of women’s sport in all its forms, Cris Savall, who began in sports journalism and is also proud of the success of women’s football, and Àngels Torras, Delegate of  Culture of the Catalonia Government, we have the honor to be part of this historic day. The match at the Wanda Metropolitano ends with a 0-3 that points down to 6 points the distance between Barça and the leader. But today the number that matters is that of the 60717 people who have taken the side of women’s soccer by establishing a new world record in attendance at club competitions. The photo is our particular way of saying #Iwasthere

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In the TV3 Marató on behalf of the political prisoners

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Today I have answering the phone in the TV3 ( Catalan public TV) Marató, a solidarity event that once more has broken records. In the edition of 2018, dedicated again to research against cancer, almost 11 million euros have been contributed. In the photo with Laura Borràs, member of the Catalan Government.

This year, my presence has been on behalf of the political prisoners on hunger strike for the violation of their rights by the TC. For you Josep Rull, Jordi Turull, Quim Forn and Jordi Sánchez.

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“Blaugrana Optimistics “

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I feel very honored to have received, along with Eduard Boet, the prize of the Peñas del Barça “Optimista Blaugrana”. Yes, in football the results are not always good, as in life, but one must be optimistic by nature. I do not know a better way for things to go well than to believe in positive results! In addition, I am a founding member of the “Peña Blaugrana Dracs Units” which, through the values of sport and football in particular, helps the children of Chinese communities to integrate in Catalonia around the love for Barça. In the photo with the Vice President of Barça Jordi Cardoner, always defender of the wonderful network of complicities that form the fan clubs.

Eduard Boet is a journalist whom I have always admired and who preceded me in the football transmissions in Catalan with Joaquim Maria Puyal. I want to thank him very much for the words said at the award ceremony in defense of women in sports journalism, remembering that when I started, at the beginning of the 80s, it was an absolutely male chauvinism environment. Fortunately, the situation has changed … although there is still a long way to go!

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Tribute to Puyal in the College of Journalists of Catalonia

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The College of Journalists of Catalonia turned a round table on the business of football and its globalizing effect, which I had the honor of moderating, in a tribute to the communication master Joaquim Maria Puyal, who has been broadcasting Barça matches for 50 years, the last decades in Catalunya Ràdio.

We know that we will continue to enjoy his capacity as a communicator, but we will miss him when Barça plays!

In the photo with Christian Escribà’s cake, a gift from Neus Bonet, Dean of the College of Journalists of Catalonia.

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Women’s football, empowerment and peace tool

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Meet Fatuma Adan, Kenya, Founder and Executive Director of HODI (Horn of Africa Development Initiative) and Khalida Popal, Former Captain of the Afghan Football Women’s Team and Founder and Director of the Girl Power Organization, was one of the best moments of the WFS (World Football Summit). Their vital example, how they have made football become a tool to build peace or to give power to women are exciting. Find more information about them because their stories will not leave you indifferent.

 

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In the Gamescom, “the Heart of the Game”, in Cologne

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We have attended, representing Esportia Consultancy, the Gamescom fair that, in its tenth anniversary, has reached 370,000 visitors, 15 thousand more than in its previous edition. One of the attendees was José Guirao, Minister of Culture and Sports, as Spain has been the guest country.

Gamescom is the most important videogame event in Europe and one of the most important in the world, next to the E3 in Los Angeles or the Tokyo Games Show. This year’s motto, “Diversity wins”, has had as an example the closing figures with visitors from more than 114 countries, of which 30,000 have been professionals in the gaming business.

“The Heart of Gaming” has been pounding and has become like every year a tide of young people, eager to try the industry news.

Doing business, playing, buying merchandising of your favorite videogames and letting yourself be carried away by the visual experience of the big screens have been the subject of four days full of bits that will be repeated from August 20, 2019. Save the date!

 

 

 

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In the first “IOC E-Sports Forum”

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The  IOC, International Olympic Comitee, and the GAISF, the association of international sports federations, organized their first “Esports Forum” last July. An event which took place in the Olympic Museum of Lausanne, which brought together the highlights of Olympic sport and e-sports and that will change the history of the relationship between traditional and electronic sports. We have been present representing Esportia Consultancy and the FeSC, Catalan Federation of e-Sports, together with Josep Escoda, International Relations and Responsible for Innovation of the CAR and General Secretary of the International Association of High Performance Centers for Sport, sharing, along with just over 100 attendees, an interesting debate about what both worlds can contribute to each other and how to fit the electronic sports into the Olympic movement.

In the picture with Josep Escoda del CAR and Thomas Bach, president del IOC.

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Invited in the debate about E-Sport, Sport and Global Economy

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We have been invited to participate in the debate about “eSport, Sport and Global Economy” debate table, organized by Tribuna Sant Cugat Empresarial and that has wanted to focus its attention on the potential of electronic sports at the time to energize and strengthen traditional sports clubs, sports leagues and brands that wish to improve their “engagement” with young people.

The debate, held in the ring of the Center for High Performance Sports of Sant Cugat, has been moderated by the journalist Jofre Llombart and has counted, in addition to the representative of the Esportia consultancy, with Alberto Eljarrat, CEO of Sportium Sports Betting, one of the main sponsors of La Liga and Manel Arroyo, Vice President of FC Barcelona and General Director of Dorna Sports.

Joan Franquesa, president of Sant Cugat Empresarial, has opened the event in which has been spoken about the modification of the audiovisual content consumption habits, and more specifically of the sports ones, and the strong entry of e-sports as a new competitor of the traditional leisure. All present have agreed that we must promote collaboration between the two worlds: that of traditional sports and that of electronic sports. That idea has been highlighted in his words by the Secretary General of Sports of the Generalitat de Catalunya, Gerard M. Figueras.

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