Courtesy: Fox News Latino

September 06, 2016

The FIFA Futsal World Cup 2016 being held in Colombia from Sept. 10-Oct. 1 will allow Medellin, one of the cities hosting the event, to demonstrate its experience in holding big sports contests.

"We're making ourselves into a world sports capital because we're committed and we're following through in this city," Medellin Mayor Federico Gutierrez told EFE.

The city, which along with Cali and Bucaramanga will host 24 soccer matches, has been the site for important sports events in the past, including the 2010 South American Games, the elimination matches for the 2010 South African World Cup, the Sub-20 2011 World Cup for FIFA Colombia and the 2016 World UCI BMX Championship, among others.

With the official inauguration of the Ivan de Bedout Sports Coliseum, a venue that can hold 6,337 people and cost 8.2 billion pesos (about $2.8 million), Medellin finished its preparations to welcome the teams and athletes, including key figures like Brazil's Falcão, Portugal's Ricardinho and Spain's Fernandao.

"We're ready to welcome the World Cup. FIFA greatly believes in Medellin and it's going to shine once again," said Gutierrez.

Medellin, the capital of Antioquia province, will be the headquarters for Group B, comprised of Russia, Egypt, Thailand and Cuba, and Group F, consisting of Spain, Iran, Morocco and Azerbaijan.

In addition, it will host the matchups between Portugal and Uzbekistan in Group A and Kazakhstan's contest with the Solomon Islands in Group E.

"We're welcoming delegations that probably are in Latin America for the first time, as is the case with Iran, Egypt and Azerbaijan. The challenge is to make them fall in love with Medellin so that they return to this city and tour the continent," said Medellin Convention and Visitors Bureau manager Ana Maria Gallego Martinez.

The matches will kick off for the first time in the Ivan de Bedout Sports Coliseum with the game between Cuba and Egypt on Sept. 10, and that same day Thailand will go up against Russia.

Meanwhile, Medellin's assistant secretary of tourism, Juliana Cardona Quiros, told EFE that the aim is to "strengthen" the city's attractions, although it already enjoys a strong reputation as a host due to the "quality of its people" and its sports venues.

"We're looking toward how we can dream of (hosting) other sports events," said Cardona Quiros, adding that Colombia's second-largest city aspires to become "a world-class tourism destination."

Besides being the site this year of the Central American Bowling Championship and the South American Bridge Championship, Medellin is also hosting the 2017 Mr. Olympia Amateur competition.

The city in 2018 will also be the site of the Americas Powerlifting Championship.

According to Medellin's Convention and Visitors Bureau, landing big events such as these has meant a hike in tourism for the city, as occurred last May during the international BMX competition, which brought 750 foreigners - most of them from the United States, The Netherlands, Venezuela and France - here.

Meanwhile, the Medellin and Antioquia System of Tourism Indicators, or Situr, said that there were 58 percent more tourist arrivals in the city during the first half of 2016 compared with the same period last year.


Posted by Luca Ranocchiari --> luca.ranocchiari@futsalplanet.com