Discover the Donosti Cup in depth: The effort and dedication behind the success of the tournament
Although the Donosti Cup has a duration of one week, in order to carry out a tournament of these dimensions, the work is started since the end of the previous edition. Therefore, it is important to know the difficulty of a preparation of such a caliber and the great work behind the curtain.
In the Donosti Cup, as in all events and tournaments, there is a preparation period that is key so that, once everything is underway, there are no problems. The Donosti Cup is an international tournament in which, in this thirty-first edition, 865 teams and nearly 13,000 players will participate. All this makes the Donosti Cup an attractive tournament for both foreign and local teams. In addition, it is a great attraction for tourism in Donostia and surrounding towns, since 50 of the 53 venues of the tournament are located in Gipuzkoa.
As nice and simple as it may seem, it is not easy to organize a tournament of these characteristics and dimensions. 2,150 matches in 80 different fields, some of them at the same time and a lot of movement from field to field. That is why, since the 2022 edition was closed, the workers of the Donosti Cup have not stopped to make the tournament better and more ambitious year after year. A whole year of work for a week of tournament, it seems exaggerated, but for everything to go perfectly, it is necessary to work on all the details.
Workers from different areas are incorporated progressively, depending on the needs of each section. The latest to join are the team guides and field delegates, a group of about five hundred people who help the teams, especially foreigners, to make their stay at the Donosti Cup more enjoyable. "Our objective is to give indications and help all the teams, although it is true that we focus more on the foreign teams, which are the ones that usually need more help", says Pablo Barea, a great connoisseur of the tournament, former player and champion of the Donosti Cup. This year he will be one of the field delegates. "In addition to our small contribution, the work that is done throughout the year to make the Donosti Cup as good as possible is amazing", says Pablo.
In addition, with the help of the City Council of San Sebastian, several schools and public institutions become accommodation for many teams. Thanks to the work of all the organizers, assistants and workers, all participants get to take a pleasant memory of both the stay and the tournament, a week of competition that goes far beyond soccer, because for many, it is and will be an indelible memory.
