Uniting to plant trees and to beautify a soccer field at Primaria Ramón López Velarde in Playas de Tijuana, players from San Diego FC and Tijuana (Xolos) came together Wednesday afternoon ahead of the Baja Cup matchup on Tuesday, Sept. 16.
SDFC’s goalkeeper Pablo Sisniega, defenders Franco Negri, and Aiden Harangi joined Xolos forward Vitinho, goalkeeper Jesús Corona, and defender Aarón Mejía Montoya in Tijuana on Wednesday as part of both club’s shared commitment to the bi-national region.
The event kicked off with opening remarks from Playas de Tijuana Delegate Alejandro Ibarra and members of each club.
Primaria Ramón López Velarde Director Rosalba Pérez Adames encouraged everyone in attendance to cheer for each to get the community event started. With loud cheering, Harangi kicked the opening soccer ball past Xolos’ mascot to indicate that it was time to start planting trees.
All six players walked over to the designated planting area, took a pick and shovel to begin planting.
“We’re doing good to nature so that our planet remains cleaner and more beautiful in the future,” shared Vitinho in Spanish.
Fans and staff from both organizations surrounded the players as they planted the trees. With smiles on their faces, students approached the athletes and asked them for autographs and photos to commemorate the historic moment.
“Planting trees, improving in some way the area that is already leveled, and now we give it a little more life with this tree planting.” said Pérez Adames in Spanish.
Mexican Native Sisniega shared how special this moment was for him to be a part of.
“Whenever I can come to Mexico and help, it's always a great pleasure,” Sisniega said in Spanish. “I'm very happy to be here and to be able to help the Mexican community in any way I can.”
Xolos and SDFC have a five-year partnership that features an annual friendly match that celebrates the football culture in the region – the Baja Cup. As a part of this partnership, the first-ever Baja Cup will be played at Snapdragon Stadium to unite fans in celebrating the region’s binational identity.
“It's a great match (Baja Cup) and I think the international match is going to be good for both teams and I hope it's a great game,” said Vitinho.
The community event in Tijuana brought both clubs together to kick off the week leading up to the historic match between the two at Snapdragon Stadium.
“It's a very beautiful union and I think it's going to be very special to have that connection with our brothers from the border,”Sisniega added. “In the end, San Diego and Tijuana are very connected in many ways.”
Join us for the first-ever Baja Cup on Tuesday, September 16 and purchase your tickets here. Fans can also purchase the Xolos Ticket Bundle which includes a ticket to the match and a limited-edition Xolos and SDFC branded Scarf. Get yours today before they sell out here.
To learn more about what San Diego FC is doing in the community and to get involved, visit our website here.
