President Alberto Fernández said this Saturday that “what is needed is to unite Argentina” and pointed out that “when we all unite in a team we can achieve better results”, when leading the inauguration of the Diego Armando Maradona stadium in the Buenos Aires town of Zarate.
“We have to put aside any hatred and think of a fairer and more equitable society that includes us all,” said the head of state at the event in which the Secretary of Sports of the Nation, Inés Arrondo, the mayor de Zárate, Osvaldo Cáffaro, and members of the Argentine soccer team champion in Mexico ’86.
In his speech, the President called for “revaluing solidarity and putting an end to the time of individualism” and stated that “it is time for us all to understand that we are on the same boat and that no one is saved alone”, that “everyone we must row and put all our maximum effort”.
“Today we are celebrating and honoring Diego, along with four more significant people than me in an event like this, four gladiators who filled us with happiness many times,” he said.
Likewise, he maintained that “this place is historic and magnificent”, not only because “it bears an emblematic name”, but also because, “they turned the ruins into something wonderful, where it will be filled with sports, competition, joy, of boys and girls.”
In this framework, he stated that “when we all become a team we can achieve better results and these four players know that results are achieved as a team and when each one does what he has to do on the field of play”.
Paraphrasing Pope Francis, the President remarked that “we are all here to tear down walls and what we have to build is bridges, get closer again, value solidarity and end the time of individualism.”
In another part of his statement, the head of state called for Argentina to continue standing up, so that “once and for all we can live in a more just society, in a more balanced society.”
At the ceremony, the head of state and the mayor presented commemorative medals to former members of the ’86 soccer team, Héctor Enrique, Sergio Goicoechea, Carlos Tapia and Sergio Batista, who witnessed the ceremony from the front row stalls.
For his part, Mayor Cáffaro affirmed that “cities are not viable or unviable. We, those of us who govern and the institutions, make them viable” and stated that “we have to set that horizon in order to transform reality.”
The Diego Armando Maradona sports center has a total area of 3,300 square meters and the capacity to hold 2,500 spectators.
There you can hold basketball, tennis, volleyball, handball, futsal matches, among other activities.
In 2019, the municipality decided to start the work, to value the property donated by the company Saport SA, it was officially reported.
The works included a metal structure to support the existing one, the 130-year-old building was sandblasted and then the columns were lined with concrete to provide greater security in the shows.
