The event was presented this Tuesday, April 12, by the Sports Councilor, Álvaro Valdés, who was accompanied by the General Director of Sports, Fran Sánchez, the tournament director, David González, the president of the Student Basketball Club Cartagena, José María Guillén, as well as representatives of the organizing company QL Sport.
This tournament “will bring to Cartagena some 1,100 athletes from the world of basketball, in its different categories,” explained the Councilor for Sports, Álvaro Valdés. The mayor recalled that this competition, which is committed to grassroots sports and contributes to promoting tourism in the municipality, is one of the events that are part of the extensive calendar that will take place in Cartagena in 2022, the year in which the municipality It holds the distinction of European City of Sport.
Specifically, in the championship “74 teams will participate, of which 17 of them are from the Region of Murcia and will receive scholarships”, underlined the director of the competition, David González. In this way, during the 179 games, of different categories, “there will be six autonomous communities represented and we will have the participation of a French team in the sub-12 category”, highlighted the head of the organization of the championship.
During the four days in which the event takes place, those interested will be able to enjoy the games, free of charge, on eight courts of various sports facilities in the municipality: Palacio de Deportes, central pavilion, Cabezo Beaza pavilion, Urban Pavilion, Los Dolores and pavilion of the Marist school. The IES Jiménez de la Espada will also host some meetings on the last day of the competition.
8,000 OVERNIGHT STAYS
In addition to promoting sport, the tournament will help boost tourism in the area, since, as the tournament director has pointed out, “some 8,000 overnight stays are expected in Cartagena and La Manga, and we estimate that some 2,500 people will visit the municipality thanks to the championship”, said González.
Likewise, the General Director of Sports, Fran Sánchez, has pointed out that the championship is an example of what is intended to be achieved with the Regional Government’s Sports Tourism Plan, which “will promote more than 117 relevant events in the Region, most of which will be held of these in Cartagena”. All these competitions that the Autonomous Community will host “will have an economic impact of 21 million euros”, Sánchez recalled.
The complete calendar with all the meetings will be available on the tournament official website. In addition, it is planned that the matches will also be broadcast in streaming.
