The San Ginés festivities have concluded this weekend after the celebration of the sporting events. Among them, the final of the San Ginés Football Tournament, which during this 2025 has celebrated its 56th edition.
The capital's consistory has come out in a press release to the statement of the PSOE in which the party in the opposition denounced that the Popular Party, which controls the Department of Sports of Arrecife, spent 30,000 euros on a gala dinner after the celebration of the tournament.
Celebration of the San Ginés tournament
The City Council has indicated that the sporting events held during the patron saint festivities have had the support and collaboration of the Department of Sports, led by the PP councilor spokesperson, Eli Merino. Among these sporting events held last week, the 56th edition of the San Ginés Football Tournament was held, under the direct organization of the Sports Area of the City Council.
In this sense, the consistory has defended that this type of dinner was already held last year "and is common at the level of Spain in similar football tournaments". Likewise, it has assured that it was a way to "treat" about 400 people who represented the sports clubs that participated in the tournament, who came from inside the island, from other parts of the archipelago and from the rest of the country.
In this tournament, UD Lanzarote was proclaimed the winner and had the teams Orientación Marítima, Inter Playa Honda and CD Tinajo, in the women's triangular, and UD San Sebastián de los Reyes, Xerez, Tenerife “B” and UD Lanzarote playing the tournament in the renovated grass field of the Lanzarote Sports City.
The consistory has reported that "this gift" was offered in a hotel facility in the city of Arrecife and that several councilors of the Arrecife Government group were present, including, in addition to the Councilor for Sports, the second Deputy Mayor, Roberto Herbón, the Councilor for Security and Emergencies, Kevin Cortés, and the Island Councilor for Sports, Juan Monzón. The mayor Yonathan de León was out of the island that day.
Intervention of Eli Merino
The Councilor for Sports, Eli Merino, received on Friday night, during the awards ceremony, held in this tribute to the clubs and organization teams, a great ovation in her speech where she reflected that "some people do not see sport as something clean and participatory, they see it as a weapon, if you allow me the simile, type Hooligan, to attack and destroy".
Eli Merino stated that the new dates of the tournament have allowed to have air and accommodation places to accommodate the teams that have moved outside Lanzarote, during the month of August that, according to reports, has registered a full occupancy in hotels, which she attributes to the events and parties.
The Councilor for Sports thanked, during her speech, the close collaboration of the managers and technical bodies of the clubs that have accepted our invitation to participate in this historic San Ginés Football tournament.
An acknowledgment that also highlighted the Interinsular Football Federation of Las Palmas, the Uco Arrocha Seminary, UD Lanzarote, the Referees Committee, the Island Sports Service, the Tourist Centers, the Island Sports Councilor, Juan Monzón, and the Lanzarote Foreign Promotion Society, and its CEO Héctor Fernández, who have supported this celebration of the San Ginés Tournament.
Tribute to Guayo Rodríguez
During this meeting, which started on Friday night after 10:30 p.m., Antonio Brito, representative of the Uco Arrocha Seminary had a special memory, which was also joined by the City Council of Arrecife, to the recently deceased Guayo Rodríguez Caraballo, a close collaborator of the sports clubs.
His family, present in this room, received a great ovation from all those present, and some memories to the memory of Guayo Rodríguez granted by the City Council of Arrecife, the Uco Arrocha Seminary and UD Lanzarote.