L’Hospitalet de Llobregat is the second most populous city in Catalonia, with almost 270,000 inhabitants which is concentrated in 12.4 km. squares. A challenge for municipal managers, and especially for its mayor, Núria Marín, who this Thursday visited the MD newsroom.
In recent years, the city has stood out for its commitment to popular sports as a means of promoting good health habits, with municipal policies influencing that economic resources do not stop anyone to practice sports.
In this sense, Marín highlights some data: “we have almost 46,000 subscribers to courses and sports activities in the municipality. There are also 11,300 people registered in different sports modalities in 105 entities. School sports accommodate 6,087 boys and girls. In addition, women’s sports training is encouraged, which in 2022 will be 34% of the total. Assistance has been given to clubs and entities to promote sport among women and that, in quotes, positive discrimination has an effect. It shows in football, in basketball, in artistic gymnastics…”.
The Sports Council of the town hall has a budget of more than 15 million and at the end of the year, about 80 sports were organized.. Among the 110 municipal sports facilities there are 8 sports centers, two sports complexes, 11 soccer fields, 31 physical activity areas, 13 open-air sports courts and 19 petanque courts, in addition to the municipal soccer stadium, the rugby field (where now summer, artificial grass will be placed here), the baseball court and a Cruyff Court.
Marín assures that the challenge of his command is “that everyone has access to do sports and renovation of sports facilities because time passes and some are outdated, as well as the construction of new ones as planned in the neighborhood of Santa Eulalia”.
L’Hospitalet does not forget great sports such as football and basketball. However, there is a handicap in elite football, as the mayoress explained: “In football, it is difficult for Hospi to get hooked because we are very close to Barça and Espanyol, who play on their home ground in Cornellà. In addition, we have many soccer clubs in the neighborhood, which focus a lot of activities, especially on children’s teams. That’s what makes Hospi so difficult”. CE L’Hospitalet, the historic Hospi, now plays in the RFEF Third Division but has played in Second Division A and for many years has been the benchmark in Second B.
In basketball, CB L’Hospitalet is fighting to stay in LEB Plata, something that can be proven this Saturday against Talavera playing at home. A club that founded the ACB League and produced notable players such as Serge Ibaka.
In summary, Núria Marín is clear about this: “Our goal is to promote the base and everyone has access to the sport, and if you reach the elite and a Jordi Alba comes out, even better. To have an elite there must be a base”. Now he will fight in the municipal elections to win his fifth term in the L’Hospitalet City Council while he heads the Diputació de Barcelona
Source: La Verdad
I am Shawn Partain, a journalist and content creator working for the Today Times Live. I specialize in sports journalism, writing articles that cover major sporting events and news stories. With a passion for storytelling and an eye for detail, I strive to be accurate and insightful in my work.
