Famous across the sporting world for its excellence, Spain's La Manga Club is ready to set a new first this month when it hosts the biggest sports event in its prestigious 44-year history – the 2016 Mundiavocat, football's World Cup for lawyers.

Exclusively for the world's legal profession, the global event will feature a record number of countries, entries and competitors, with more than 100 teams of lawyers from 38 nations and five continents taking part in the 10-day football extravaganza from May 13-22.

Sides from as far afield as China, Panama, Indonesia, Mongolia, Thailand and the Democratic Republic of Congo have all registered for the tournament, which kicks off at La Manga Club this weekend, with the number of countries for the 18th edition of the event comfortably beating the previous best record of 35 set in 2008.

More than 2,000 players will have the chance to experience the same world-class football facilities used by a host of football's biggest names including FC Barcelona, Real Madrid, Borussia Dortmund and, most recently, Newcastle United last month.

The event, which was first held in Morocco in 1983, will be divided into four tournaments: the Classic Tournament, with teams with no age limits; the Master Tournament, featuring players aged over 35, the Legend Tournament, which is open to players aged 45-plus, and a new Five-a-Side Tournament, making its championship debut and available to players of all ages.

Each team will play five to seven games, with all matches supervised by Spanish and international referees, with competitors also enjoying accommodation in La Manga Club's array of four and five-star accommodation, opening and closing ceremonies, a cocktail party and festive events throughout the competition.

Jose Asenjo, CEO of La Manga Club, said: “It is a huge honour for everyone at the resort to have been chosen as the venue for an event of such impact and scope. La Manga Club lives and breathes sport and it has been our passion from the very start.

“We support and identify with the values it promotes, striving to improve and bettering ourselves every day. This sporting spirit combined with the excellent facilities, professional training and unique environment puts this resort in a class of its own and the best choice for both professional and amateur athletes alike, plus a holiday with a difference for family and friends.”

With extensive facilities including eight FIFA-approved grass pitches, La Manga Club has made a name for itself as a first-choice destination for a football training break, while the resort is famous worldwide for entertaining some of the world's top sportsmen and women including David Beckham, Luke Donald and British tennis number ones Andy Murray and Johanna Konta.

Set in 1,400 acres, the resort is the official overseas training base of the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) and boasts unrivalled facilities as a sports and leisure destination including three 18-hole golf courses, a 28-court tennis centre and a 2,000sqm spa and fitness centre. It also offers the choice of a five-star hotel, four-star serviced apartments and townhouses and more than 20 bars and restaurants.

For more information about the 2016 Mundiavocat, please visit www.mundiavocat.com 

For further details about La Manga Club, visit www.lamangaclub.com. 

ENDS

Information for journalists

Press release written and distributed on behalf of La Manga Club by the Azalea Group.

La Manga Club
La Manga Club – www.lamangaclub.com – is an unrivalled sports and leisure paradise which sits between the low hills that separate the Mediterranean from the Mar Menor Sea, just 20 minutes from Murcia airport and an hour from Alicante.

Set out over an area of some 560 hectares (approx. 1,400 acres), it enjoys a mild year-round Mediterranean climate and offers visitors a prestigious five-star hotel, luxury vacation apartments and extensive sports facilities, including three championship golf courses, a new Leadbetter Golf Academy – the only one in mainland Spain – a 28-court tennis centre and eight grass sports pitches. The resort is also home to innumerable leisure facilities, such as the 2,000m2 Spa La Manga Club with its 13 luxurious treatment rooms, comprehensive fitness centre and 25m indoor swimming pool; meeting, banqueting and incentive facilities, and more than 20 restaurants and bars.

As well as hosting both Davis and Fed Cup tennis matches, La Manga Club has signed a long-term deal to be the overseas training resort of the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) until 2016. It has also staged the Spanish Open golf championship and regularly attracts professional and international football teams to the first-class year-round training facilities which are also used by rugby and cricket sides.

As a result of more than 40 years of continued investment, innovation and commitment to excellence, La Manga Club is widely recognised as Spain's flagship resort and as one of the finest sports and lifestyle destinations in the world. Evidence of this is provided by its numerous awards and accolades.

La Manga Club was the proud recipient of a 2013 Certificate of Excellence from TripAdvisor, the world's largest travel website, for the facilities and service on offer at its five-star Hotel Principe Felipe. The resort has been voted 'Best Golf Hotel/Resort in Spain' by UK readers of Today's Golfer magazine for the last four years and was named 'Best Golf Hotel in Spain' at the 2014 and 2015 World Golf Awards. La Manga Club has long been a staunch supporter of women's golf, being the official overseas resort partner of the English Women's Golf Association for three years as well as hosting the Ladies European Tour (LET) Qualifying School from 2009-12. La Manga Club is also the venue for the Ladies Murcia Open, an LET Access Series event, and regularly hosts top women's amateur events and teams.

• High-resolution images of La Manga Club may be downloaded for editorial purposes from https://goo.gl/oi837y 

For more information on La Manga Club contact Pete Simm on 01730 711920 or email petes@theazaleagroup.com