Aces Europe declares Manresa 'European City of Sport 2024'

The Association of European Capitals and Cities of Sports (Aces Europe) made it official this Monday that Manresa will be a European City of Sports in 2024. Among the reasons, the Brussels-based institution that grants these recognitions puts the Manresa candidacy as an example of “ promotion of sport for all” and highlights the city's ability to position sport “as a means to improve health, promote social integration, facilitate education and promote respect.”

Likewise, he emphasizes that Manresa "has demonstrated an exemplary sports policy" and that it has "good sports facilities, well-structured programs and a wide range of activities." The award ceremony will be held on December 7 at the European Parliament.

The mayor of Manresa, Marc Aloy Guardia, and the Councilor for Sports, Anjo Valentí Moll, were very satisfied with the distinction. Aloy has highlighted the fact that Aces Europe has recognized “the good work that has been done historically in sports, which should serve as an impetus to continue working in sports as a tool for social cohesion, health, values and projection of the city". In turn, Valentí has assured that this is a recognition "that must be shared with the group of sports entities and clubs in the city, with its athletes, technicians, coaches and managers, the true engines of the sporting essence that we enjoy in “Manresa.”

As already explained, last week the city received a visit from representatives of Aces Europe, who evaluated the Manresa candidacy on the spot. At that time, the general secretary of Aces Europe, Hugo Alonso, already stated that Manresa was “a very powerful candidacy” and that they were facing a city “with a very important sporting legacy”, with “a percentage of citizens that they practice sports that are 12 points above the average” and whose policies had special attention “to parity.”

With the recognition, the Manresa City Council now begins the work of preparing the activities and relevant sporting events that the city will host in 2024. One of the events that is being negotiated is the departure of the Women's Tour of Catalonia, which This year it will gain greater importance with a new three-day format.

Accessions are still open

The campaign to add support to the candidacy is still open. This is a city project and, therefore, we want to obtain as much support as possible. To disseminate the events and proposal, the Manresa City Council has launched a specific website that collects the basic information of the project, and which is also the reference platform for the adhesions of citizens and sports entities. At the moment, the support of more than 580 individuals and more than fifty entities has already been obtained.