MANILA, MAY 23, 2023 – The Philippines will have a representative in LaLiga Academy for the first time during the 2023/24 season. Rafael Garcia, a 16-year-old Filipino defender from Manila, will participate in this exclusive training programme at the ESC LaLiga & NBA Centre in Madrid.
The prestigious LaLiga Academy project, aimed at athletes between the ages of 13 and 18, is designed to enhance the development of their abilities, focusing on excellence and the integral development of their performance in both the academic and sporting spheres, studying at a school integrated into the Centre and training under the LaLiga Methodology for a whole season.
Rafael Garcia can play at centre-back and right-back, and during his career he trained at Makati FC, GOM Fotball Center of Excellence, Southampton Academy and Stallion Laguna FC.
In an interview with LaLiga, Garcia revealed how football has shaped his life.
“I love football because it teaches me how to work hard, how to work as part of a team and, above all, about the passion of the game. It has a lot of values that I can transfer to my daily life. Football is a way of life. Everything you learn on the pitch you need off the pitch,” reflected the Filipino player, who was able to train at the ESC LaLiga & NBA Centre during a few immersion days in April.
This unique complex now has a residence with a capacity of 450 people, two football fields, a gymnasium, a clinic and an international school equipped with a library, laboratory and study rooms. In this first season - 2022/23 - 36 players of 24 different nationalities joined the programme.
For Garcia, this opportunity would expound his horizons.
“What I like most about the ESC LaLiga & NBA Centre is probably the football pitch: it's where the magic of football happens,” said Rafael García.
He added: “At LaLiga Academy I will be able to enjoy meeting new teammates from different countries. I will discover new cultures. I'm looking forward to playing football and studying with them."
Developing football in Southeast Asia
Garcia's arrival to the academy is a sign that LaLiga is further stamping their mark in developing the football scene in Southeast Asia. With their involvement comes an opportunity for players to be discovered and potentially showcase their talents in other regions.
However this could also allow players to further hone their skills, something that Juan Florit, Head of LaLiga Football Department discussed.
"The development of interest in football in Southeast Asia is evolving exponentially, especially in the Philippines, helping to reach new profiles of young players from all over the world," he started.
"It is therefore a privilege for LaLiga Academy to have Rafael, who has shown great promise and we hope that next season we can help him develop a series of skills and values through a unique sporting and educational experience," reflected the Head of LaLiga Football Department.
LaLiga Academy was the first annual programme launched by LaLiga in Spain, and joins the more than 550 grassroots football sports projects in more than 43 countries that have been implemented since 2015, brought together within LaLiga Grassroots, the project launched in 2021 to promote global grassroots football.
LaLiga is a pioneer among the major competitions in that it has created a network of permanent academies based on its own training system, which is especially valued at international level, forged from the wealth of knowledge accumulated in Spanish grassroots football.
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