SEVILLA FC HOSTS ANNUAL JOURNALISM AWARDS

Once again, the presidential box at the Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán was the chosen venue for the ceremony of the Sevilla FC journalism awards. The event saw the fourteenth edition of the SFC José Antonio Blázquez Prizes while the SFC Manuel Ruesga Bono was handed out for the eleventh time. Proceedings began with a tribute in memory of the esteemed Pepe Domingo Castaño, a prize-winner in 2020, who sadly passed away only weeks ago. This was followed by awards being allocated, starting with the photography prize to Manuel Gómez, who collected the Manuel Ruesga Bono Prize for the second time. This time, Gómez shared the stage with Father Indalecio, and took the opportunity to say a few words: "I would like to thank the club for its recognition and dedicate this award to Raúl 'Rasama' and Javier Mérida, to whom I send my love. Congratulations to all the winners tonight and to those at ABC Sevilla, which is my home. This prize belongs to everyone in the department. To Mr Ruesga Bono, I promised I would be back and I couldn't be more proud. Thank you to my family for their patience and finally to someone very close to my heart, who always strives to make the world a better place and whose birthday is today. Happy birthday and much love to my brother."

Moving onto the Blázquez awards, the second prize was afforded to Samuel Silva and Alonso Rivero for their interview on Relevo with Pablo Alfaro and Javi Navarro, who were also rewarded. Upon collecting his award, Rivero gave his appreciation for the recognition: "This prize provides new impetus to everyone on board with the Relevo project. We chose Pablo and Javi during a tough moment sporting-wise. We believed they embodied the core values that made the Eindhoven dream possible, and made it even more special than we thought possible. Personally, I would like to thank my parents who allowed me to make my dream come true and also my wife, Ángela." Samuel Silva proceeded to look back on the previous year: "Last year the president welcomed us as new members of the media and this year we've taken a step forward." Lastly, Óscar Campillo, director of Relevo, eulogised over the relationship between the club and the media: "It's very unusual for a club to properly recognise the work of the press as although there are good times there are also moments of high tension. The fact that the club has done so in such a genuine manner and for so long deserves praise. The press department at Sevilla FC operate at a very high level and every time I come here I'm well looked after. I was here with Marca, I'm here now and I hope to return in the future because this sort of relationship is extremely hard to come by and I want to make the most of it." 

Manu Gómez: "I told Manolo Ruesga that I'd be back and I couldn't be more proud"

The next prize was awarded to a certain Jaume Naveira who made himself loved by all Sevilla fans with his commentary of En-Nesyri's crucial goal at Old Trafford in the Multi Europa League programme aired on Movistar Plus: "This is the first award of my career. As there's no telling whether I'll ever win one again, I will cherish this moment forever. When I realised I wasn't going to become a footballer, my dream swtiched to becoming a commentator. This is what I've dedicated myself to over the years and there have been low moments and decisions that make you doubt yourself. A year ago I was going through a tough time so I'm delighted to be here now as it shows it's always possible to turn things around. This message resonates with much of the commentary that has brought me here today. That game could have been 4-0 but the team got over the line with a 2-1 win and from that point on you know how it's going to end. I'm a big believer in the importance of club heritage in football, and in the Europa League there is none greater than that of Sevilla FC. If I could explain rationally that piece of commentary, I'd just say that it came down to instinct and inspiration. I'm not a Sevilla fan, but I always try to be honest and I wanted to get the enormity of that moment across. The next day I recieved a lot of calls and messages, and given Sevilla ended up winning the trophy it became even more memorable. In August the club called me to let me know about the award and I was incredibly proud. I'm grateful to Axel Torres, to whom I owe my career as a journalist, to my family, to Mediapro, to my colleagues at Multi and to Sevilla FC."

Lastly, Canal Sur Radio were the recipients of a special prize for their coverage of the final in Budapest, with Manolo Martín, Jesús Márquez and Antonio Caamaño awarded for their work in that game. Martín admitted that "when one receives a prize they must say thank you as it represents the culmination of something that has come from the soul. We wanted to do something special in the final. It's important to recognise the huge effort that Canal Sur Radio put in to cover the game from every possible angle. We had to integrate Sevilla-based content throughout the coverage and this blend was orchestrated by Jesús Márquez and Antonio Caamaño, but also by the members of the team who aren't here today: Nuria Gaciño, Javier Pardo, Quico Canterla, Javier Reyes and Antonio Barroso. Thank you to the Press and Logistics Departments of the club." Márquez followed with a speech of his own: "This recognition is for those of us who were there and to the technical engineers, the commentators, the collaborators and the social media team... without them it simply wouldn't have been possible. To those in charge, Juanmi Vega knew the amount of hard work that was required... When you start out, you dream of telling fairytale endings of lifting trophies. I have been able to do this from my home at Canal Sur Radio. Thank you to Sevilla for this success story and these prizes." Antonio Caamaño followed with a few brief words: "I was able to experience the first in Eindhoven but not the following five. In Budapest, I felt once again the power of being there in the flesh. Thank you to Sevilla FC and to Canal Sur."

Jaume Naveira: "I'm not a Sevilla fan, but I wanted to get the enormity of that moment across to the listeners"

The usual photos of prize-winners and their families ensued before lunch capped off the annual club event on a day that once again highlighted the unwavering strength of the relationship between Sevilla FC and the press.