“In football, Spain comes to mind”

Dagmawit Girmay Berhane, President of the Ethiopian Olympic Committee and IOC member, was honored in Barcelona and visited Marcet, where her son, Kaleb Michael Tekie, is developing in the academy.

Dagmawit Girmay Berhane is a sports enthusiast. From a young age in her native Ethiopia, she practiced running, basketball, and martial arts. As she grew up and had to choose a vocation, she quickly realized that she wanted to stay connected to sports: “I understood that if I wasn’t going to be a professional, I had to be a sports leader, and that’s how I started,” she explains. She adds, “Sports are a means to bring people together, fill them with passion, and allow them to see the world from a different perspective.”

The President of the Ethiopian Olympic Committee and International Olympic Committee member since 2013 visited Barcelona as she received the International Award for Women and Sport from the Union of Catalan Sports Federations (UFEC). This award recognizes her global career and contributions to women’s sports development. “We cannot inspire others without inspiring ourselves first, and these kinds of celebrations have a significant impact on that inspiration,” Berhane stated upon receiving the award.

While in Barcelona, the sports leader visited her son, Kaleb Michael Tekie, who aspires to become a professional footballer at the Marcet Academy. She explains, “I have close friends who are Catalans, and they recommended Marcet. He has the desire to become a professional footballer.”

The approval of her friends wasn’t the only factor in her decision. Berhane understands that Barcelona is currently one of the football meccas: “When you think of players, those inspiring figures, you can’t help but think of Spain or Barcelona as your home.” She concludes, “My son decided that his second home would be Barcelona.”