Benidorm will name the new football fields of Ciudad Deportiva after Nerea Pérez and the Martínez Munuera brothers

Benidorm City Council will name the football fields of ‘Guillermo Amor’ Sports City after three prominent local sportsmen, to recognise the “achievements and successes they have achieved during their respective sporting careers” and for being “an example of dedication, effort and perseverance for the youth of Benidorm”. This was announced this Friday by the mayor of the city, Toni Pérez, who will submit a motion to the next plenary session of the municipal Corporation to approve the new name of these sports facilities.

The proposal of the first mayor, which has already been incorporated into the information commissions that will be held next Tuesday, proposes that the current municipal football field known as the “annexe” to ‘Guillermo Amor Municipal Stadium be renamed ‘Nerea Pérez Machado Football Field’ in recognition of this young footballer from the city, while the two new 11-a-side football fields (four 8-a-side football field) be called ‘Juan and Miguel Martínez Munuera Football Fields’, referees from the First Division.

“We believe that it is a deserved recognition for these three athletes who have taken and continue to take the name of Benidorm to the top in their respective disciplines,” said Toni Pérez. He also believed that “it was only fair that Nerea and the brothers Juan and Miguel  had sports facilities with their name in our city, just like other great athletes such as Guillermo Amor, Antonio López, Liliana Steiner or Raúl Mesa,” and Mayor is confident that, once the plenary approves this motion, “these recognitions will be made effective shortly, according to their respective agendas.”

Born in Benidorm in January 1994, Nerea Pérez Machado began to play all kinds of sports from a very young age, finally opting for football at a time when the practice of this modality was still basically associated with the male gender. Nerea persevered in her desire to play this sport, and Vicente Mir, former coach of Valencia Mestalla, Elche Ilicitano and Hércules CF, among others, allowed her to join Benidorm CD, where she played from the Benjamin category.

When the regulations of the Valencian Football Federation did not allow her to play with boys, Nerea became part of Valencia Féminas in the 1st Regional, where, after having a brilliant first campaign, she was signed by Hércules Femenino, a team that played in Group IV of the First National Division.

In the 2012/2013 season, she leapt professional football, wearing the Levante UD women's team jersey. There she played in the Women's First National Division, later moving on to Santa Teresa de Badajoz until reaching Villareal, the team she currently plays for.

During her sporting career, she has been part of the Valencian Women's Football Team and has been a player for the Spanish National Team. With the national team, she was called up for the final phase of the U-17 World Cup, held in Trinidad and Tobago, in which the national team achieved third place, as well as for the final phase of the UEFA Women's European Under-19 Championship in Turkey, where they won second place. In addition to her long career in these clubs as well as in different categories of the Spanish national team, Nerea has also been a regional first-division referee.

Likewise, with a career linked to football but with a very different vocation are the Martínez Munuera brothers, Juan and Miguel.

Juan was born in Benidorm in July 1982. From a very early age, he was linked to football and refereeing, being selected as a referee in 2011 by the UEFA Young Talent Programme. At the beginning of the 2013-2014 season, after three campaigns in the second division, on 19 August 2013, he made his debut as a referee in the First Division and has now refereed more than 209 matches in this category.

Juan has been an international referee since 1 January 2015 and is currently one of the best referees in the VAR function. In 2015 he was also awarded the "Golden Whistle" of the First Division, an award given annually by the National Committee of Referees. Previously, in 2013, he was awarded the "Vicente Acebedo" Trophy awarded by the Royal Spanish Football Federation (REF). For his part, Miguel Martínez Munuera, born in Benidorm in April 1986, Juan's younger brother, has worked as an assistant referee, making his debut in the Spanish First Division on 13 September 2009.

Since 1 January 2015, he has worked as an international assistant referee, highlighting his extensive resume of matches including Copa del Rey, the Spanish Super Cup, the Conference League, the Europa League and the Champions League, as well as 25 international matches for national teams.

The mayor's motion highlights that "both brothers have spent 32 and 25 years, respectively, dedicated to their passion, football, proudly carrying, like Nerea Pérez Machado, the name of Benidorm wherever their vocation and profession takes them, being an example of dedication, effort and perseverance for the youth of Benidorm."