JORGE BRIONES
The arrival of Carlos González to the presidential chair of the Mexican Tennis Federation was involved in a dispute with the opposition group headed by Mario Chávez and the ignorance of the National Commission for Physical Culture and Sports.
After a series of Assemblies where he ended up obtaining the majority of the votes, the Jalisco executive finally assumed the reins of the FMT in December 2020. A year later, the differences remain and although he has tried to dialogue with Ana Gabriela Guevara, the head of the Conade has refused to assist him and grant them financial aid.
Despite administrative difficulties, the Covid-19 also affected the first months of his mandate, although now he seems to be seeing the light at the end of the tunnel from the hand of the International Tennis Federation.
Carlos González spoke with the Diario de los Deportistas about his first year as President of the FMT, the challenges it has meant and the goal that has been set with his Council in all three years missing from your Administration.
-How was your first year at the helm of the FMT?
CG: “It has been a year of many challenges, first due to the issue of the pandemic, all sport in Mexico was stopped and we did not know what the reaction of the tennis family was going to be. The biggest challenge is bringing the tournaments that our youngsters need, and in that sense, it has been the best tennis year at the youth level in the entire history of the country ”.
-Assuming the Federation in the middle of the political grid, what was the biggest challenge?
CG: “At the Council we had an idea of what to expect. Was going to be a year with a great challengeIt was clear that the pandemic was going to be a much bigger impact, the fact that tennis was one of the first sports to be opened reassured us a lot ”.
-How much did the Covid-19 pandemic affect you economically?
CG: “The past administration left a solid base, without debt, which was the most important thing. They paid a tax debt of more than 6 million pesos and that allowed us to work freely for the future. Even without having the support of Conade in the economic part, we have worked to carry out different projects and together with the ITF, we have healthy finances ”.
-The Conade still does not recognize his group as the one in charge of the FMT
CG: “We have asked to have an audience with Ana Gabriela (Guevara), but we haven’t done it. He has sent us with other people, with whom we have had talks. There we agreed to do everything necessary to correct the relationship, and after a difficult year, with many Assemblies, we looked for a way to work, but to date they still have not given us an audience. We come to do sport and not so much political problems. With or without the support of Conade, we will do what we will have to do to make the sport move ”.
-In your administration you have placed a lot of emphasis on the development of young people, is there the problem in Mexican tennis?
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CG: “The professional part in Mexico has a backwardness, where in all the administrations each one has had their projects. The most important thing is the bases, to guide our youth to professionalism or college scholarships. You have to walk with children from the age of four. Our project is to organize a strong Federation, starting from the base, which are the coaches ”.
-What does it take for Mexico to once again have a tennis player within the Top-100?
CG: “Why don’t we have a player among the first in the world? The infrastructure of world tennis is very difficult, and more than a person with aspirations can reach that high. It is not because of qualities, in Mexico we have them, they are conditions that we lack. If our young people have to travel to EuropeTo play 40 tournaments annually, the cost is very high. In Europe they have more than 400 youth tournaments, here only 5. We want to raise the tournament base in the country. Because of the infrastructure that has been made of tennis, that’s why we don’t have a player there. It is what we are fighting for. As a Federation we are laying some historical bases, so that there is a radical change ”.
-What is the objective that you have set for yourself in the remaining three years of your tenure at the command of the FMT?
CG: “The main objective is to establish a strong and self-sustaining Federation. That we turn Mexico into the tennis center of Latin America; consolidate our tournaments so that we bring high-performance schools to the country, and with this we support our young people stronger ”.
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