Spanish football giants, Real Madrid, in collaboration with Atlantic LNG and the Ron La Forest Football Academy officially launched the Atlantic Real Madrid Foundation Social Sports School at Jaffa at the Oval restaurant at Queen’s Park Oval, St Clair, on Saturday.
The event was attended by former Real Madrid great Emilio Butragueno, Spanish ambassador to T&T, Joaquin de Arisregui Laborde, Minister of Sport Anil Roberts and Atlantic LNG head of sustainability and corporate communications Caroline Sirju-Ramnarine.
The school, which has operations in 35 other countries, will be based at St Dominic’s Home in Belmont. According to Sirju-Ramnarine, who gave the feature address, the foundation is part of an initiative to establish opportunities for underprivileged children between the ages of eight and 14 years, partly to become acquainted with the sport but also to “build values and good citizenship.”
Ramnarine gave a history of how the foundation started, noting that over a year ago, Atlantic met with Ambassador Aristegui to discuss a social programme using football. She said it was the dream of the company’s former CEO, Oscar Prieto, to create a football program with an international football club.
She said Aristegui suggested the creation of the school would create a link between Atlantic, T&T and Spain. Minister Roberts commended Atlantic for forging the relationship with the Real Madrid Foundation.
“To find this sort of team... this sort of partnership brings a blessing to our country [and] with all its expertise, it goes without saying that the Atlantic company, the unit that was in charge of putting this program together, organising and launching this, really deserves a hearty round of applause.”
Butragueno, who was one of the most lethal strikers in Europe in the ’80s, and is currently director of institutional relations at Real Madrid, expressed thanks for the warmth with which he was received in T&T: He said: “I would like to underline the pleasure we feel for being here and allowing us to be partners of this amazing project.
I would like to thank Atlantic and the Ron La Forest Soccer Academy for their great effort in making the Real Madrid soccer foundation able to open in Trinidad and Tobago.
“We understand the values of the Foundation and we want to make them available to as many people, to give back as much as you receive with an open head and mind.”
La Forest pleased with Atlantic deal.
T&T Newsday Reports.
RON LA FOREST, head of the Ron La Forest Soccer Academy, is pleased with the fact that his institute has been contracted by Atlantic LNG Company of Trinidad and Tobago to be involved with the Atlantic Real Madrid Foundation Social Sports School.
La Forest, the former Trinidad and Tobago striker and youth team coach, was speaking after the Social Sports School’s launch at Jaffa at the Oval, Queen’s Park Oval, Port-of-Spain on Saturday.
Asked about his feelings of being involved with the arrangement, La Forest replied, “the feeling is unbelievable.
“This is something that the country needed, this is something that I needed, this is something that the kids needed ,” he added. “I can’t express how I felt but it’s a warmness coming from deep inside.”
La Forest noted that there may be an exchange of talent in the near future.
“What we will do, after a couple years in sync with Real Madrid, is (send some) of the kids up to Spain as well as they’ll be sending their scouts down here to take a look at how the programme is being ran,” he explained.
La Forest stated that the project will run for “a lengthy period of time” but the children at his school have warmly accepted Real Madrid’s involvement in the venture.
There may also be the chance that national youth players can benefit from this initiative.
“With the connection that we’ve built here, I think it should open some doors for our national youth players also,” La Forest said.