South Korean carmaker Kia and Rafa Nadal Academy have announced a further strengthening of partnership. The duo has entered the Middle East. To be more precise, there’s now a Rafa Nadal Academy located in Kuwait. Come to think of it, the new facility is also the first of its kind in the United Arab Emirates. If you’ve been following this development, you’d know that the academy’s inauguration was in February last year.
The academy in Kuwait is a massive one. It incorporates 15 indoor and outdoor tennis courts, a fully-equipped gym and two squash courts. Not just that, it also houses one outdoor stadium with a seating capacity of 1,500, one pedal court, a member’s lounge, a sports café, and a Pro Shop.
Here’s what Rafael Nadal said about this development in a press release:
“Kia and I share a special journey. Our partnership was founded through our united vision, which is to inspire individuals to meet their goals and unleash their inner champion. Kia has been supportive of the Rafa Nadal Academy since its inception, and I am honoured to see our relationship go from strength to strength.”
Through collaboration, Kia Al-Mutawa has become the official transport partner of the Rafa Nadal Academy in Kuwait, located at Sheikh Jaber Al Abdullah Al Jaber Al Sabah International Tennis Complex, right next to Mall 360. According to the official release, the transport partner will provide two vehicles for the VIP shuttle – Telluride and Carnival.
The first Rafa Nadal Academy came up in the tennis player’s hometown – Mallorca, Spain. After that, the vision of nurturing young talent spread to other locations. The carmaker says that the Nadal-Kia partnership is set to go beyond the 20-year milestone, as it first sponsored the tennis legend in 2004. In fact, Rafael Nadal has been Kia’s global ambassador since he was 19 years old.