Rubiales declares himself convinced that the World Cup will "leave a legacy" in Qatar

The RFEF adheres to the UN initiative 'Football for the Goals' within its sustainability policy and to promote the SDGs

MADRID, 15 Nov. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), Luis Rubiales, declared this Tuesday "convinced" that the next Qatar 2020 World Cup, from November 20 to December 18, "will leave a legacy" in the Arab country and expressed his satisfaction for joining the UN's 'Football for the Goals' initiative to promote compliance with the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

"It is difficult to please everyone, but the important thing is to move forward, not remain immobile. Faced with a situation of social inequality, you can turn your back on it or try to collaborate while benefiting," he said at the presentation of the agreement in the Luis Aragonés Hall of the RFEF Soccer City in Las Rozas (Madrid).

The event was also attended, among other authorities, by the Deputy Director General for Women and Sports of the Higher Sports Council (CSD), Bárbara Fuertes; and the person in charge of relations with NGOs of the UN Department of Public Information, Felipe Queipo.

Luis Rubiales recalled that thanks to the 40 million euros from the Spanish Super Cup in Saudi Arabia, "social policies" can be implemented, fundamentally to promote the insertion of women in society. "In the federation we think that you have to go to the places and leave a legacy, and I am convinced that the World Cup will leave a legacy in Qatar," he said.

For Rubiales, there are "many people who talk without knowing the places." "There will be a legacy because football helps to build," he said before announcing that the Spanish team, and the rest of the World Cup teams, will wear a patch on the sleeve of their shirt with the motto of the FIFA campaign 'Football Unites the World'.

Regarding the signing of the agreement with the UN to promote compliance with the SDGs, Rubiales explained that the RFEF is "following in the footsteps of UEFA" because it wants to be linked to those great Sustainable Development Goals, including the fight against racism, the inclusion of women in society and sports, and that there is no discrimination based on sexual condition.

"We wanted to cover the biggest of the sustainable challenges. The reason was to keep moving forward because we have a sustainable Sports City and from the 44,000 women's licenses it has gone to almost 100,000 in recent years. We want to benefit society using football as a motor" , he stressed.

Rubiales announced that this commitment to the SDGs will be on the 'back' of the RFEF's social networks, but not only in Qatar 2022 but also in the Spanish Super Cup in Saudi Arabia. "This means that everyone has a place and that there is no exclusion for any reason. In UEFA there is a bracelet that bears the motto 'Respect' that tries to unite all these values," he said.

For the head of Women and Sport of the CSD Bárbara Fuertes, football plays a key catalytic role in promoting the values ​​of the SDGs. "Many times we forget that sport is not just competition. Sport and soccer have the capacity to permeate and mobilize awareness at a global level," she stressed.

Along these lines, UN member Felipe Queipo expressed his desire for the world of sports to be a "visible platform" for the 17 SDGs. "The idea is, beyond talking about the objectives, to implement them. What the UN is looking for is support to give visibility to an agenda. What the world of football itself is is foreign to us. The UN does not get involved in this type of assessment", Queipo pointed out in reference to the convenience or not of playing the World Cup in Qatar.