The appointment of Venezuelan Antonio Sotillo as official surfing coach in El Salvador It represents another step in the Surf City El Salvador project that President Nayib Bukele is carrying out and that aims to revolutionize sport in the country both at a tourism level and at a national development level.

Regarding the last point, as Sotillo details in this interview, the former president of PASA, ALAS and the Venezuelan federation, proposed a four-year plan that goes from seedbeds to high performance, which even involves “surfing” in areas without waves, with SUP racing in lakes.

Sotillo will be moving to El Salvador next week and will begin this work process with the government and the country's federation.

In the following paragraphs he shares part of what happened in his life with the nomination and what he plans to do in El Salvador.

How do you feel about the denomination?
I am obviously very happy, extremely happy that I have achieved this nomination. It is a very nice responsibility and I am completely sure that I will play an excellent role thanks to all the experience I have.

It is also a very beautiful project. I have a country where surfing is a national brand, decreed by the authorities. El Salvador is full of very good waves, it has very good surfers, a government that is giving us support and a president who is definitely doing things very well and that fills me with pride and happiness; knowing that you are working with people who are intelligent, people who are going to contribute, who are going to understand any logical request that you make so that El Salvador has the position it deserves so that this sport can progress as the country is progressing.

How did you get the job?
Following an initial request from the president of the Salvadoran surfing federation, Mr. Jaime Delgado, who asked me about the possibility of working with them, I obviously immediately accepted. There were several people who had been consulted and they chose to offer mine to the National Institute of Sport among several resumes and obviously it was approved. After studying my resume for more than two months and the importance of what they wanted to do, they considered that my profile was ideal to carry out and project the objectives that both the institute and the federation are setting.

What can you say about the level and chances of them qualifying for Tokyo 2020?
This is the most important World Cup and perhaps the most anticipated World Cup in the entire institutional history of the ISA because of what it means to be in Tokyo and play for the last spots.

The World Cup represents something extremely important, we are going to be the host, that is one of the great advantages we have, and as for the possibilities, well, they are always there, there are many, there are very good competitors in El Salvador.

Obviously Bryan Perez is at the top, but there are also other people who are there, who are often not mentioned and have an extraordinary level, so with good planning, a good strategy, important psychological support, the most important thing is to believe that we can do it, we are all human, we all have the same opportunity in the water, the important thing is to give the judges what they are looking for.

For me, the possibilities are always there. It won't be easy, but it won't be extremely difficult either. With God's good will, we do things right, not make mistakes, hoping that the enemy makes the mistakes and we don't. I hope we can have it. It would be fantastic, a great gift for El Salvador to have a Salvadoran in Tokyo.

In the long term, what are your plans?
I passed a four-year plan to the federation, a macro plan, which not only involves high-level surfing but also the seedbed, the massification and obviously the ideal structuring of the federation, as well as a strengthened national circuit, the creation of certified schools, the legalization of clubs, information on clubs in each of the municipalities and the creation of surfing circuits and leagues.

In addition, create departmental surf subfederations so that the sport is represented throughout the coast of El Salvador. In places where there is no coast we have rivers and the idea is to develop the SUP Race, so well, it is a macro plan that has been passed on to the sports institute and the federation.

In terms of high competition, of course, there is a pre-selection process, training each one for the upcoming commitments, obviously the World Cup now, but we also have the Central American Games next year, and we will possibly have the possibility of participating in Colombia. We are waiting for confirmation of the Bolivarian Games, we also have the Central American and Caribbean Games for 2022, the Beach Games, Pan American Championships, in other words, we have four years to do a lot of things before arriving in France and obviously the intention is to arrive at the Olympics in France with the certainty of being able to have places representing El Salvador.

It is a very comprehensive plan that we have set out to make El Salvador a very strong power in the Central American region and a power both in the Caribbean and worldwide. Thank God it is a sports tourism destination for surfing, foreigners feel fully represented, certified schools with hostels and infrastructure according to what is needed, with a strengthened national circuit and a national team giving excellent results.

Does the position imply that you move to El Salvador?
Yes, I'm moving next week, this requires constant, non-stop daily work.