March 01, 2021
By Corin Robertson *
Today, the first of March, is Saint David’s Day, the patron saint of Wales. This constituent nation of the United Kingdom is located on a peninsula to the west of the island of Great Britain and is characterized by its mountainous areas and its national parks. In addition, it is the town with the largest number of castles in the world: around 600!
50% of people who travel by air do so on aircraft with components made in Wales, as it is home to global companies such as Airbus and GE. “For more than 30 years, South Wales has been home to a growing number of academic and commercial organizations offering end-to-end solutions to global supply chains, making it the world’s first composite semiconductor cluster.
Wales has world-renowned universities such as Swansea University, Cardiff University and Bangor University, attracting students from all regions. It is also the cradle of the Hay Festival, which has managed to transcend cities around the world (including Querétaro) and world-renowned figures such as the writer Roald Dahl, the actor Sir Anthony Hopkins, the singer Marina Diamandis and the illustrator Ketnipz.
Although rugby is part of their national identity, it is also the land of footballers, such as Ryan Giggs and Gareth Bale, who currently plays for Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League. We hope to see the latter in the friendly match that the Mexican Soccer Team will play against Wales on March 27, at Cardiff City Stadium. Once again, soccer unites our countries!
Speaking of the English Premier League, since its inception in February 1992 it has been one of the most followed sports tournaments in the world: its matches are broadcast to nearly 880 million households in 188 countries.
Throughout its history, there are ten Mexican players who have participated in it: the first was Jared Borgetti, playing with the Bolton Wanderers in 2005. Giovani dos Santos, Carlos Vela, Nery Castillo, Miguel Layún and Carlos Salcido have also had action in the Premier League.
West Ham FC is the team that has bet the most on Mexican figures: Guillermo “Guille” Franco (2009-10), Pablo Barrera (2010-11) and, of course, Javier Hernández (2017-19). Since his arrival at Manchester United in 2010, Chicharito has been the most prominent Mexican in the Premier League: with two league titles (2010-2011) (2012-2013) and a good average of goals and even a Champions League final. in 2011.
Another Mexican who is also emerging to break barriers is Raúl Jiménez. Since his debut with the Wolverhampton Wanderers in 2018, he has not only equaled Chicharito’s 13-goal mark in his debut season, but broke it in July 2020 with 17 goals. In addition, with this feat, he equaled a record within the ‘Wolves’, set in the 1975-76 season by John Richards.
Raúl Jiménez is one of the two Mexicans (along with dancer Isaac Hernández) to be part of the GREAT campaign (country brand of the United Kingdom), and his image appears on a billboard inside the British Emblematic Station UMX Auditorium of the City of Mexico. I was also very pleased to see the Mexican Wolf on the cover of the Premier League Panini Album, alongside great figures such as Sergio Agüero and Trent Alexander-Arnold. Jiménez returned to training last week after his injury in late November. We already want him back on the court!
While March 27 arrives to see the game between the Mexican National Team and the Welsh squad, I await your comments through my Twitter account (@CorinRobertson) or through the mail [email protected].
¡Happy St David’s Day! ¡Feliz día de San David!
* Ambassador of the United Kingdom in Mexico
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