Football-themed event held to enhance China-Uruguay friendship
"You have to control the football, then turn around like this." On the football field of Guangdong Experimental High School, Leonardo Jara, a football coach from Uruguay, was teaching football skills to students in fluent Chinese while running under the scorching sun.
On June 12, the Promotion Meeting of Uruguayan book "Football Dream Journey" was held at the Guangdong Experimental High School to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Uruguay. More than 100 students participated in the event and played a friendly football match with Leonardo Jara and Facundo Fernandez Guerra, Acting Consul General of Uruguay in Guangzhou.
Chen Guangjun, vice president of the Guangdong People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, attended the event and delivered a speech. "Football is one of the most popular sports in the world. The spirit of fair competition, striving for excellence and teamwork that it embodies has attracted an increasing number of people worldwide to learn and engage in this sport. It has become an important channel for promoting international exchange, cultural communication and enhancing mutual understanding and friendship among people from different countries."
He expressed the hope that through this event, more teenagers in Guangdong will be inspired to love and participate in football, gain deeper understanding of Uruguay's culture and customs, and become messengers of China-Uruguay friendship.
Football is one of the most popular sports in Uruguay. The nation was the first country to host the FIFA World Cup, and its national football team has won four World Cup championships. On the evening of June 11, local time, the final of the 2023 FIFA U-20 Men's Football World Cup was held in Argentina where Uruguay won the championship.
Facundo Fernandez Guerra shared this news at the event. He said that football plays a vital role in bilateral cooperation between Uruguay and China. He believes the book—"Football Dream Journey"—will become a bridge to strengthen sports exchanges and will be conducive to the future establishment of long-term sports partnerships between the two sides.
Facundo Fernandez Guerra presented a Uruguay commemorative jersey to Quan Hanyan, Principal of Guangdong Experimental High School, to express his gratitude.
Renee Ferraro, author of "Football Dream Journey" and CEO of Uruguay Regional Publishing House, also attended the activity and interacted with students. She hopes that the book can assist young people from the two countries in exchanging football skills with each other.
Chen Guangjun added that in addition to the book promotion event, a Uruguayan literature reading activity will be held at the Sun Yat-sen Library of Guangdong Province from July 11 to 20. All residents are welcome to come in and browse.
The event was co-organized by the Guangdong People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, the Consulate General of Uruguay in Guangzhou, Guangdong Experimental High School, and the Zona Editorial Uruguay.