Madrid, 24 Mar Spaniard Iñaki Bea, who earlier this month became coach of the Dominican Republic, works in Santo Domingo to “design a plan and professionalize all structures at all levels” of the country's federation (FEDOFUTBOL) and grow “a team that has potential”. “Football in the Dominican Republic must still evolve, we must not forget that baseball is the national sport. But little by little it is gaining strength in certain areas of the country. We are in the learning and growth phase, but I think it is a team that has potential, without forgetting that more and more children are starting to play football,” he said. Bea, who this week is concentrating with his new team at the Pinatar Arena facilities (Murcia), explained in a conversation with the Association of Spanish Footballers (AFE) what his first days of work with a group of football players playing in different countries are like. “It is an important and very nice challenge, that they feel happy and loved, we want to give them all kinds of facilities to achieve it,” he said, waiting for players such as Peter Federico (Real Madrid Castilla), Edgar Pujol (Juvenil B Real Madrid) or Álex Balde (Barcelona B) to decide whether to opt for the Dominican or Spanish team, in addition to Mariano (Real Madrid) and Junior Firpo (Leeds). With others established in Spain in the group, such as Johan Guzmán (Guijuelo), Álex Jiménez (Sant Andreu), Joao Urbáez (Alcorcón), Rafael Núñez (Almeria), Carlos Ventura (Mazarrón) and Nowend Lorenzo (Osasuna), Bea indicated that “with all these players in the team one could aspire to qualify for a World”. “It is important to make those players see that they are doing things well, which would help them to take the step forward. I look very much at Canada and Curaçao, who have managed to attract players in a similar situation and who have finally decided to play with those teams. In the case of Canada, very close to qualifying for the World Cup in Qatar,” he said. With extensive experience as a player in Spain, Austria and Germany and also as an assistant to José Luis Mendilibar in Levante and Eibar, Bea (Álava, 1978) insisted that his role is “to try to instill a more European training and playing methodology”. “We have all the players who are likely to be selected all over the world, thanks to the great work of the federation. There are many and I think that if we can count on the majority, we would form a team perfectly prepared to compete,” he said. Bea also considered it important to work and reside in the country, something that previous coaches have not done, with the challenge also of having their national team qualify for a Gold Cup (the most important international football tournament in North America, Central America and the Caribbean) and have a good result in the Nations League of CONCACAF 2022-23. “It's important to be there because I want to meet the local football player and organize small cycles of work with the guys that I think can be interesting for the future. I'm talking about players between 18 and 23 years old. Besides, I like daily work in the field,” he concluded. CHIEF WMO/GMO