La Voz de Galicia – January 10, 2020 →
The truth is that I am not much interested in sports. It’s not that I am proud of it, it’s just that life didn’t take me down that path.The thing is that in these last few months, I have had my eye on the Super Cup. Since it was announced in the fall that they would take it to Saudi Arabia, I thought that it wouldn’t be possible, that some international organization would make them understand that money can’t buy everything. But it was not so. Everything moved apace, and Luis Rubiales, the president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (the Real Federación Española de Fútbol or RFEF), was able to argue his decision and make it a reality. I remember the statements by the great Galician soccer player, Vero Boquete, where she qualified the RFEF’s decision as «a grave mistake», and I believe I decided to follow the thread because of her.
If it were not because there is a woman like Boquete making her way in the world and speaking openly about the situation, I would probably not be interested in the news (ah, the power of representation!). Naturally, I look for social and cultural news in the same way that my father went straight to the obituaries. Saudi Arabia’s macro-plan «Vision 2030» includes reforms in economic, administrative, and social areas and, according to their web, intends «to create a prosperous country in which all citizens can fulfill their dreams, hopes, and ambitions».
They know that sports, just like the arts, are essential tools to put this message out into the world. And they know that money also buys forgetfulness, that it makes the news coming out of the country no longer be about human rights and injustices, but of soccer and macro concerts. And regrettably, my sector is making exactly the same «grave mistake»…
