Pepe Canalís, originally from Belver de Cinca, has been a coach with the FC Barcelona training academy in several countries
Pepe Canalís was born in 1987 in Belver de Cinca, and from a young age he was interested in football and sports. He began his studies at INEFC in Lleida, finishing them in Barcelona, where he made his first contacts with the elite of Spanish football through RCD Espanyol . However, his first international experience in Hong Kong with this club was unsuccessful. Shortly after, he joined the staff of FC Barcelona Escola in Kuwait , where his long working relationship with the Blaugrana club began to take shape.
His first stint with La Masia was followed by two summers coaching camps in the United States and a seven-month stay at an academy in New Jersey. His connection with Barça took him back to Asia, to a football academy in China, along with a brief spell in New Zealand.
When you ask Pepe how he got to one of the biggest clubs in the world, he explains it simply and clearly: " In the end, you get to Barça through contacts and how football works nowadays ."
This experience, along with years of working in various countries with the FC Barcelona academy, has helped broaden his cultural horizons and, above all, allow him to see the diverse ways of life far from his own region. Although, as Canalís points out, traveling the world is quite exhausting . Furthermore, one learns firsthand how difficult it is to reach the elite level in the world of football . But as Pepe notes, " More than getting there, the truly difficult thing is staying in that circuit . It's a professional and emotional rollercoaster , where some years you're on top and others, both mentally and professionally, you're at a lower point ."
However, from a young age, Pepe Canalís was quite clear about another of his passions: teaching. He knew he wanted to be a physical education teacher, so he decided to leave his time with the Barça academy and do his teacher training master's degree in Terrassa, where part of my family lives.
Vicky Losada Campus
It must be said that Pepe's desire to coach hadn't diminished. In Catalonia, he started coaching the Under-12 A team, eventually becoming the coordinator of a club with 1000 players . It was during this time that he met the international player Vicky Losada. Vicky has played for FC Barcelona, Arsenal, Roma, and currently plays for Brighton & Hove Albion . She has won nearly 20 titles and continues to play professionally in the United Kingdom.
Losada was looking for someone to organize a training camp and clinic, and the club president immediately put her in touch with Pepe. "That 's also what football is about: being in the right place at the right time, " Canalís remarks.
For several years now, Belver de Cinca has hosted the Vicky Losada Campus , the only sports camp featuring an international footballer in our region and possibly in all of Aragon. It's a women's football camp and, as in every edition, all places are already filled . Players come from all over the country and even some international players. The technical and professional training, along with the close and friendly atmosphere, is one of the strengths of this sporting experience, as Pepe himself tells us.
"Pepe Canalís" Campus and Campus in Senegal
But it's not Vicky's camp; it's not the only one this teacher and coach from Bajo Cinca organizes. He also runs a summer camp in Belver that bears his name. " One Christmas with my family, I realized I'd never get to coach my nephews from Terrassa, so I decided to set up a camp so they could participate too ." After much thought, he ended up naming it after himself, which is also his grandfather's name. " My greatest wish is that he could see it happen one year ."
But, as if that weren't enough, life and football have also given Pepe valuable experience and friendships. One of his best friends lives in Mbour, Senegal. With the proceeds from the training camp that bears his name, he organized his first camp in the African country , starting a tradition that continues to this day. Every year, a charitable initiative accompanies each camp he organizes in Spain, replicating the sports camp in Africa and sending clothing to Senegal. The camp has grown from 28 players in 2017 to around 430 in 2024.
Solidarity actions
For Pepe Canalís, life and football are intertwined with charitable work. In addition to his efforts with his Senegalese friend, he also collaborates with other friends on projects involving Sahara Ponent , collecting winter clothing for Sahrawi children. Another initiative is the blood drive they organize during the summer in his village; last year, they collected 59 donations in a single day—more than are collected in Belver de Cinca during the entire year.
Despite this frenetic pace of sporting and social activity, Pepe is clear about his priorities: he's a physical education teacher at a high school in Fraga . That's his profession, and for the time being, he has no intention of traveling the world again with a sports academy. He thoroughly enjoys the camps in his hometown and, above all, helping with all the social causes he's involved in. So, as he himself says, as long as he can, he'll continue combining these activities and carrying a little piece of the Bajo/Baix Cinca region and Belver with him in every action he takes and in every country he visits.
