Patrons

Guillem Balague

Guillem Balague is a renowned football journalist, author and presenter who appears regularly both on Sky Sports live match coverage and on the weekly round-up show Revista de La Liga. He is also the UK Correspondent for AS, the Madrid-based Spanish sports newspaper and Onda Cero, a Spanish national radio.

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His work appears regularly in The Telegraph, Bleacher Report and in Champions magazine. In 2013, Guillem wrote the first authorised portrait of Leo Messi, full of insight and conversations with coaches, players, teachers and his family. The book, ‘Messi’ was shortlisted for the Football book award in the UK in 2014.

Guillem heard about FBB’s Legacy Projects in the favelas of Salvador during the World Cup and was immediately attracted to FBB’s ethos and vision. Guillem kindly contacted us and offered to donate the proceeds of his ebook “Guillem Balague’s World Cup diary” to FBB. We got talking, and when he spoke to us about his own desire to do good with football, it soon became clear that we had common goals and passions. We invited Guillem to be our patron, and we are extremely proud that he accepted.

Santi Cazorla

Santiago (Santi) Cazorla Gonzalez is a midfielder for Arsenal and Spain. He was introduced to Football Beyond Borders by his friend and fellow FBB patron, Guillem Balague.

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A versatile and ambidextrous attacking player, Cazorla is noted for his speed, shooting accuracy, capacity to change the rhythm of gameplay and excellent close control, and is know for always playing with a smile on his face.

Born in Llanera, Asturias, Cazorla started playing club football for local team Real Oviedo, before being acquired by Villarreal CF six months before turning 18, as his previous club ran in to severe financial difficulties

He spent most of the first half of his professional career with Villarreal, amassing La Liga totals of 253 games and 39 goals over the course of nine seasons. He then moved to Recreativo, where he won the Spanish Footballer of the Year award for the 2006–07 campaign. This resulted in him returning to Villareal the next season, followed by a move to Málaga in 2011. In 2012, he signed for Arsenal from Málaga, where he has won 2 FA Cups, and helped the club consistently qualify for the Champions League.

Cazorla represented Spain at Euro 2008 and Euro 2012, winning both tournaments, and has gained more than 70 caps. He also played for ‘La Roja’ at the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.