Alicia Garrido: "The Solheim Cup has received zero aid from the Government"

"I am very proud to be 'guilty' of having it in Spain"

MADRID, 7 Sep. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The President of Sport

"Today, zero aid from the Government. The politicians in Andalusia fought a lot for this Solheim, but the Government did not do or provide anything. The guarantee was provided by Sport

Following the news that the Spanish Government would support Barcelona's candidacy to host the Ryder Cup in 2031 with 96 million euros, Garrido assured that "the roots" of his project were removed, knowing that there was and is not, At the moment, aid for the Solheim Cup, which takes place this month.

"The help that the Ryder would have for the Solheim Cup has still not arrived. As long as there is a government in office, there is no subsidy," lamented the leader, who explained that the Higher Sports Council (CSD) commented that the Solheim would receive some 1.7 million euros --"they would be welcome--", but this figure was not approved by the Council of Ministers.

In any case, Garrido believes that the Solheim Cup in Malaga will be a success and that it will help the growth of women's golf in Spain. "As long as women's golf continues to improve in quality, it will continue to go up. If we give visibility to women's golf and this is a good product, it will continue to improve. We all have to go together. And it is not a question of parity," he noted.

And Alicia Garrido is one of the alleged 'culprits' of the best women's golf arriving, via the Solheim Cup 2023, in Spain. "There are many culprits in this. There is a great, huge team behind it. We have been trying for many years for the Solheim to be held in our country and we have finally achieved it. Very proud to be guilty of having the Solheim Cup in Spain," she acknowledged.

"Years ago we attended a Solheim for the first time, in Chicago, and we thought that this event could not be missed by Spain. We tried to have a candidacy, at that time the Costa del Sol had the Spanish Open and we forged a first option ", but we did not arrive in time, for 2011 (Ireland took it). At Gleneagles (Scotland, in 2019) we were negotiating for the Solheim Cup to arrive in Spain and we found the key for them to finally come, in tough negotiations," stressed.

And with the Solheim Cup already secured and Garrido's "dream" fulfilled, she assured that they are close to hanging the 'no tickets' sign. "We have already surpassed 90,000 tickets sold. I firmly believe that we will eventually hang the 'no tickets' sign, which would be a historic milestone for women's sports," she noted.

Of course, the Spanish fan has to wait. "It seems that the Spanish fans are getting a little more excited, because until now we had 80 percent foreigners. In these two weeks I hope that the Spaniards will get excited, because experiencing Solheim in first person is very exciting and you get excited. hair on end, really," he described.

The Finca Cortesín, headquarters of the competition, will do "magic" to welcome golfers and amateurs in the best possible way. "The transformation of Finca Cortesín is something magical, a city is being created there. Entering through the walkway of Hole 1 is very imposing, you imagine it full of people and it is going to be something that will look beautiful on television but experiencing it in person will be a I remember that will not be forgotten in life," he remarked.

"We are working hard so that all spectators have the best possible experience. We have tried to bring the Andalusian way of life to the Solheim Cup. Here we are great specialists in hospitality and it has to be noticed. And here you live at the outdoors, we have created a multitude of plazas with varied gastronomic offerings from our country so that you can try squid, for example. And there will be a flamenco workshop, with live music," he highlighted. "Many tourists will find their favorite destination thanks to the Solheim Cup," he assured.

On the other hand, he explained that the global impact of the Solheim Cup in Malaga will be 500 million euros. "It is a fairly reliable projection, and it includes the entire Solheim Cup project, such as the Andalucía Costa del Sol Open in Spain, which becomes the last event of the European circuit and has double the prizes compared to what it had when it was launched. signed," he argued.

In addition, he believes that the global sports focus will be in Malaga, first, and then will continue on golf with the Ryder Cup, the men's competition, in Rome, the following week. "The fact of being 'opening act' for the Ryder Cup. For two weeks in a row the focus of world sport is going to be on golf. And before the Ryder, we are going to show the benefits of women's golf and then compare who want to compare with what happens in Rome. I think Finca Cortesín is a better venue than the Ryder Cup," he said.

On a sporting level, the European team, captained by Suzann Pettersen, will have Carlota Ciganda (number 33 in the world) as the only Spaniard. Garrido believes that Azahara Muñoz or Ana Peláez could have entered, but he defended Pettersen.

"I want to break a flag in favor of the European captain, who wants the best for the team. There should be no pressure to choose a Spanish woman because she is playing in Spain. The captain's choices have been very thoughtful and on a sporting level, always ", he valued.

And, as for his forecast for the Solheim Cup, he predicted a third consecutive victory for Europe over the United States. "With my heart, I say that my ideal finish is the 18th hole, the last match, and Carlota Ciganda makes Europe beat the United States by half a point. We are making history on all sides," he concluded.