“Official press release from the FEP on the decision of certain players not to participate in the competition.

Regarding the decision of some players not to participate in the competition, the Spanish Federation of padel would like to state the following due to the decision of many registered players not to participate in the XXXVII Spanish Championship of padel :

First of all, the FEP regrets the discomfort of the athletes and respects the position they have decided to adopt. This is what the president, Ramón Morcillo, made known directly during the meeting he held last Wednesday, October 20 in Cordoba with a large representation of the players. During this meeting, the head of the federation listened live to all the observations of the sportswomen and underlined the commitment of the Spanish Federation to padel in favor of egalitarian sport.

In this sense, the VET is an institution which promotes the development and the practice of a sport of equality. This is a basic principle that concerns without exception all its fields of action, including, of course, the competitions which enjoy equal treatment in their male and female aspects: distribution of prizes, schedules, facilities , playing conditions, logistics… This exercise of equity responds to a question of institutional responsibility, commitment to equality, respect and justice; and therefore, it is transferable to all entities that organize official competitions of the Spanish Federation of Padel.

Regarding the Spanish championships, the FEP has defined equal treatment between men's and women's competitions. For example, the 2020 edition of the event had the same prices (30 euros for each of the two categories), the same sites for men and women, equal use of the two main courts, a distribution equal broadcast time and the same media coverage by the Spanish Federation of padel with individual chronicles of each day of competition.

All this is programmed in the same way for this edition of the CEP 2021 by imperative of the EFF.

The complaints of the group of players are limited to an initiative born within the organizing company of the Spanish Championships of padel, Urban Event, aimed at “encouraging” the participation of certain players through private economic contributions. This is a fact which is absolutely unrelated to VET and which was perceived by a group of players as a comparative grievance calling into question the aforementioned principle of equality in sport which prevails in the actions of the federation and, in particular, in its official competitions.

While it is true that this sort of thing happens in unofficial competitions in many sporting disciplines, the payment of economic rewards to certain players to promote their presence in an official VET competition is an inappropriate practice. The Spanish Federation and its responsibility as an institution are above the participation of any athlete, regardless of their level, nationality and prestige.

Of course, registration for the Spanish Championships of padel does not require any economic incentive. It is one of the main events of the FEP competition calendar and it is open to the participation of athletes who qualify to be able to take part. It is up to each player to decide for himself his presence at the event according to the consideration he has of it and what it represents for him.

As soon as the Spanish Federation of Padel became aware of this circumstance and the conflict caused, President Ramón Morcillo contacted the organizing entity and the group of players to inform them of the institutional position regarding this fact, mentioned above, and to initiate a process of dialogue between the two parties for the sole purpose of rectifying the situation and facilitating the holding of the competition under the conditions provided for.

In this sense, the players received the President in Cordoba three days ago during a meeting in which they expressed their intention to put to the vote their participation in the Spanish Championships of padel.

At the same time, the highest representative of the FEP informed the company organizing the event of his unease with this initiative and the rejection of such practices within the federating body. Urban Event accepted the mistake, apologized and began discussions with the players to redress the situation.

The FEP attended this dialogue with the desire, at all times, to facilitate an agreement satisfactory to the actors and acceptable to the company, a task which has been maintained until the last moment today.

The Spanish Federation of padel will act in accordance with the regulations in force and, given that not all registered couples have given up their participation, will proceed to a new drawing of lots for women.

VET, as part of its institutional commitment to promote padel in equality, maintains the celebration of the Spanish Championship of padel as defined: distribution of 60 euros in equal parts between the male and female draws, equal distribution of playing time and places, dedication of the same broadcasting time to both modalities and, in general, a scrupulously respectful treatment with the fulfillment of the principles which support a sport on equal terms between men and women. ”

fep official press release

From his names, we can guess his Spanish and Italian origins. Lorenzo is a multilingual passionate about sports: journalism by vocation and events by worship are his two legs. He is the international gentleman of Padel Magazine. You will often see it on the various international competitions, but also on the major French events. @eyeofpadel on Instagram to see his best photos of padel !

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