Madrid, 27 July 2009 – Madrid 2016 had a high profile presence at the Spanish debut of Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema over the weekend. In the lead-up to the Peace Cup match with Saudi side Al-Ittihad on Sunday, the ‘white team’ took to the field with a banner supporting the Madrid 2016 Olympic bid.

“This display really demonstrates the commitment of Real Madrid, one of our most high-profile supporters, to achieving our Olympic dream. Especially now there are just over two months remaining before the final decision is taken on which city will host the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2016,” said Mercedes Coghen, Madrid 2016 CEO.

“We are also very happy to be working with the Peace Cup in raising its profile and welcome the Saudi team Al-Ittihad to the tournament and to Spain,” Coghen added.

The Peace Cup is one of the main tournaments on the world stage. Since its launch in 2003 it has become a main fixture in the world football calendar for the major clubs on each continent.

This year the tournament is being held for the first time in Spain (and not South Korea as before) with matches taking place in Madrid, Seville, Malaga, Huelva and Jerez. Divided into four groups of three teams, the champions from each group will go through to the semi-finals. The final will be contested in Seville on 2nd August.

The participating teams in this year’s tournament are Seville (Spain), Juventus (Italy), Seongnam (South Korea), Real Madrid (Spain), Al-Ittihad (Saudi Arabia), Liga de Quito (Ecuador), Malaga (Spain), Aston Villa (England), Atlante (Mexico), Olympique de Lyon (France), Besiktas (Turkey) and Oporto (Portugal).

Spain’s summer of top level sport was further boosted by international success with Alberto Contador winning the Tour de France yesterday. After winning the event Contador thanked the many people in Spain and around the world who had supported him. Born in Madrid, Contador is another high profile supporter of his home city’s bid to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2016.

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