28 teams from security forces and agencies in Germany, England, Switzerland, Poland, Romania, Italy and Spain will compete in the tournament to be held at the Maspalomas Sports City from December 11 to 14
The municipality of San Bartolomé de Tirajana will host the 2nd World 7-a-side Football Tournament for law enforcement agencies, organized by the International Police Association (IPA) Canarias. The sporting event will take place at the Maspalomas Sports Complex from December 11th to 14th.
The tournament, which combines competitiveness and institutional structure with human values such as friendship, respect, professional and cultural cooperation, and solidarity, will feature a total of 28 teams this year, 12 more than last year. Fran Gutiérrez Bueno, the National Police officer who organized the championship, revealed that holding the IPA tournament in Maspalomas in December “has been a success, because expectations have been exceeded. There could have been 32 teams, but that wasn't possible due to a lack of availability, as it's peak season and everything is booked,” he noted.
The participating police teams come internationally from Poznan and Kielce (Poland), Cluj and Sibiu (Romania), Ticino (Switzerland), Sardinia and Cesena Romagna (Italy), Munich Airport Border Police (Germany), and the London Metropolitan Police (England). Nationally, this championship features representatives from virtually all Spanish police and security forces, including the Navarre Regional Police, the Basque Country Police, and the Tarragona and Barcelona Municipal Police forces, which include Mossos d'Esquadra (Catalan police). The National Police will be represented by teams from Mallorca, Alicante-Elche, Madrid, Las Palmas, and a team from the Maspalomas Police Station. The local police squads competing in this year's championship come from Almendralejo (Extremadura), Vigo and Pontevedra (Galicia), Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Telde, and a combined team of local officers from San Bartolomé de Tirajana, Santa Lucía, Agüimes, and Gáldar. The lineup is completed by the Civil Guard from Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, the Canary Islands Police Force, officers from Juan Grande prison, and an 'All Star' team made up of individual players from Senegal, Portugal, and Frankfurt, as well as Civil Guard officers from Extremadura, Madrid, and León who wanted to participate but didn't have their own teams. Although initially scheduled to participate, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police will ultimately not be competing in this tournament.
This edition will also see the debut of a woman, who will play for the National Police team of Mallorca. Regarding this, the championship organizers are considering "organizing a women's tournament in the near future, as several countries have already expressed interest."
The presentation of the tournament, held at the Mirador de Las Dunas de Maspalomas, was attended by the mayor of San Bartolomé de Tirajana, Marco Aurelio Pérez Sánchez; the councilor for Sports, Ramón Suárez Ojeda; the tourism councilor of the Gran Canaria Island Council, Carlos Álamo Cabrera; the chief commissioner of the National Police of the Maspalomas Police Station, Pablo Fernández Sala; the president of the Canary Foundation Pequeño Valiente, José Juan Pérez Castro; and the main sponsor, Domingo Espino, of Vista Flor Hotels.
National Police officer Fran Gutiérrez Bueno, the event organizer, expressed his gratitude for the collaboration provided to this championship by various public and private institutions such as the Island Sports Institute and the Tourism Board of the Gran Canaria Island Council, and especially the Sports Department of the San Bartolomé de Tirajana City Council and the main sponsor of the event, Vistaflor Hotels, among others.
The Tourism Councillor highlighted the tourism and solidarity aspects of this championship, which features 10 different flags, but above all, “its safety component. If a tourist destination isn't safe, few tourists would be willing to visit it. And this safety in our tourist destination isn't free; it's the result of the anonymous work of the members of the security forces. This championship can be a tribute to all those people who are out on the streets watching over the safety of residents and visitors,” he stated.
Importance of connectivity
Mayor Marco Aurelio Pérez closed the tournament presentation with a reflection on the consolidation, strength, and resilience of the International Police Association, a non-profit organization founded in January 1959 (with the Esperanto motto 'Service through Friendship') that unites police forces from around the world. The Association has representation in international bodies, holds special consultative status with the UN Economic and Social Council, and is also represented by the Organization of American States (OAS) and UNESCO. Regarding the tournament, which is expected to draw around 600 people, the mayor of San Bartolomé de Tirajana also emphasized the importance of connectivity for this tourist destination, in addition to its beaches, sunshine, favorable climate, and the infrastructure and services available here. “We must continue to invest in and fight for connectivity. We are where we are, and people come here because it is easy, convenient, and affordable to get here from other destinations. It is this connectivity that allows many people to continue choosing to come to our land to enjoy what it has to offer,” he stated.
This sporting, institutional, and charitable event will kick off on Thursday the 11th at the foot of the Maspalomas Lighthouse. Matches will be played on Friday and Saturday. The closing ceremony and awards presentation will take place on Saturday afternoon. Throughout the tournament, various prizes donated by Unión Deportiva Las Palmas and Club Baloncesto Gran Canaria will be raffled off, with proceeds going to the Pequeño Valiente Foundation, which fights childhood cancer.
