São Paulo – The city of Sorocaba, in the state of São Paulo, is preparing to receive the Algerian national football team, which will stay in the city during the FIFA World Cup. The Algerian ambassador in Brasília, Djamel Bennaoum, travelled to Sorocaba early this week to pay a visit to the facilities of the local football team Clube Atlético Sorocaba, and to attend meetings with government officials.
“I went to their training centre, saw ongoing construction works, and discussed the Algerian team’s stay with the directors,” says Bennaoum. The agreement for the stay has not been signed yet; the signing is expected to take place within ten days.
“Sorocaba is a peaceful city, the traffic flows better. This can make the Algerian team’s stay easier,” says Bennaoum, upon comparing the city with the state capital São Paulo.
The city of Sorocaba will provide a base for the Algerian team in Brazil, but their actual matches will be played in other states. The first game will be against Belgium, on June 17th in Belo Horizonte (state of Minas Gerais). The second match is against South Korea, on June 22nd in Porto Alegre (Rio Grande do Sul), and the last one is against Russia, on June 26th in Curitiba (Paraná).
According to Bennaoum, the Algerian team will arrive in Brazil in the first week of June. As for the fans, he explains that the government of his country has entrusted a travel agency with arranging travel packages, comprising air tickets, lodging and transportation. “We will have 2,000 to 3,000 fans,” he says. The Algerian national team will travel accompanied by the Arab country’s minister of Sports.
Alderman Jessé Loures (PV party), a representative of the Sorocaba Pro-World Cup Committee, explains that a delegation from the Algerian Football Federation has requested a few modifications to Clube Atlético Sorocaba’s training centre. “They asked us to adapt the kitchen facilities, the gym room and to replace the grass,” he says, adding that the work is already underway, and due for completion on the 20th this month.
Political meetings
In addition to visiting the local team’s headquarters, Bennaoum attended meetings with government officials in Sorocaba. On Tuesday (31st) he met with mayor Antonio Carlos Pannunzio (PSDB party). “They discussed the establishment of closer ties in culture, tourism and trade,” says Loures, who attended the meeting.
He also says the ambassador invited the mayor to organize a mission of businessmen from Sorocaba to Algeria, and claimed his country is open to products made in the municipality, especially pharmaceuticals, foodstuffs, auto parts and tractors.
On Tuesday (1st), Bennaoum attended a dinner with 300 guests, including Pannunzio and 14 mayors from local cities, plus aldermen and delegates from the Sorocaba chapter of the Centre for Industries of the State of São Paulo (Ciesp, in the Portuguese acronym).
“I gave an overview of the Algerian economy, and spoke on the possibilities for trade relations, partnership and technology transfer,” the ambassador says. “The auto and pharma industries in the Sorocaba area are rather interesting. There is a potential for cooperation,” he says. Regarding the invitation he extended to the mayor for a business mission, Bennaoum said he is counting on support from the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce to bring it to fruition.
The ambassador’s appointments in Sorocaba included a visit to the city’s technology park, to an artisanal brewery, and a lecture to students at the University of Sorocaba.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
