Jesús Francisco Zapatera Herrero, widely known as Zapa, leads the Zasport sports club in Ávila, organizing local competitions after a lifetime spent on the city’s football pitches and indoor courts, according to Diario de Ávila.
The Zapatera family name is deeply woven into local sport. Relatives including Esteban, Rafa, Chino, and Agapito—whom Zapa highlights as a key reference in local refereeing—have all left their mark on regional football, Diario de Ávila reported.
Zapa’s own playing days began early with Recreativo Abulense under president Javier Ranilla. Work commitments eventually interrupted his playing career, but he soon returned to the sport through Miguel and Casa Social Católica, coaching across nearly every club in Ávila.
During his years coaching teams like Diocesanos, Milan Academy Ávila, and Real Ávila, Zapa viewed his role as extending far beyond tactics. He often acted as a father figure to young players.
Coaches in his era focused primarily on education, values, emotions, and teaching youngsters how to build friendships through team sports. He notes that paid coaches are replacing volunteer parents and external pressures are making youth sports more difficult.
Stepping away from the touchlines, Zapa launched Club Deportivo Zasport in 2010 to run popular 7-a-side football leagues during the format’s regional peak. When enthusiasm for those Sunday leagues cooled, he pivoted to indoor football.
Organizing competitions requires daily administrative work, from managing insurance and schedules to updating match results and league websites. Zapa stresses that running the non-profit league is a labor of love rather than a livelihood, operating strictly on a break-even basis.
Away from sports, Zapa spent more than three decades working at the local Nissan factory. He helped lead the Plataforma +17 group during a difficult period of layoffs, fighting successfully for workers to return to the plant.
Now approaching retirement from manufacturing, Zapa continues to advocate for better indoor sports facilities in Ávila, arguing that local athletes need more municipal pavilions regardless of the discipline.
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