Author: somethingforyourmallorcaweekend

I've lived and worked in Mallorca since 1990. I've worked at Pirates Adventure & Radio One Mallorca. I now work at Wave Mallorca Radio and have my own Concierge service called Prioritymallorca.com. This blog will give you my news, views and my life on our island in the sun.

How Does Portugal Compare To Mallorca?

Whenever I visit another country, I always find myself comparing it to Mallorca. At the end of last year, my youngest son Jude had been invited by the Llevante Academy in Mallorca, to play in a tournament called the IberCup in Estoril, Portugal. Llevante Academy is made up of players from around the island who are invited to play in tournaments in different age groups. The IberCup is one of the largest and most International Youth Football Tournaments, teams get a chance to play against the best Football Academies in different locations around the world. Since he was called up, he had training sessions in different parts of the island, once or twice a month. As the tournament was in July, I thought that it might be a struggle to go and watch him, as July is high season for pirates. But my boss Cathy encouraged me to go, for which I was very grateful. My Wife and I decided it would be a good time to getaway for a little rest and relaxation after what has been a fairly stressful year. Both of us had worked in Portugal before, I was a holiday Rep in the Algarve, and she had worked as a dancer in Oporto. 

We based ourselves in Estoril, which is just outside the capital city of Lisbon. Most of the games were scheduled to be played in and around that area. 

The boys flew to Sevilla and then had a 5-hour coach journey from there to Estoril. We took the slightly easier route of flying with Vueling direct to Lisbon. The hotel was called Evolution Calais and Estoril and is situated on the seafront just outside the town of Estoril and the city of Lisbon. A very modern hotel with views out to sea from the higher floor rooms and a rooftop swimming pool. The staff were very attentive and spoke fluent English, and I would definitely recommend to others. 

The games were close to the hotel but not close enough to walk, so with the help of my brother-in-law and sister-in-law who had come across from a holiday in Madeira, we discovered Uber. There is no shortage of them in Portugal, unlike Mallorca, and very cheap too. Our journey from the airport to the hotel by taxi cost us €48 and our journey back from the hotel to the airport with Uber was €23.50. I look forward to Mallorca either putting out more taxis or extending the Uber offering. We also used the local bus and train service a couple of times, which were frequent and cheap. That’s slightly different for us as residents in Mallorca, as we get free travel. We took a trip up to a beautiful place called Sintra, but I have to be honest and say there were just too many people to enjoy it, so we cut short our visit. We weren’t made aware of any tourism overcrowding protests, but I could understand in that part if there were some. 

We found eating out a lot cheaper than Mallorca. An average cost of a meal with starters, main course and drinks was around €25pp. On our last night, we ate in the marina and discovered the old town, which was a shame as we would have liked to explore that. 

The football went very well. Jude’s team were in a group with 3 Portuguese teams and a team from Canada. They drew their first game 0-0 and then won 6-0, 3-1 and 12-0. In the last 16 they played a team from Beirut in Lebanon. A tough game which they eventually won by 1-0. We had planned our stay to leave on the Saturday evening, and we now had the prospect of playing a quarter-final and a possible semi-final on the Saturday afternoon and the final on Sunday morning. Should I change our flights was the conundrum I was dealing with, but that wasn’t easy, so I decided to wait and see what happened first? The quarter-final was against another Spanish team, from Cataluña. Who were a very tough opponent. They were playing a little higher in the mountains and the wind proved to be the deciding factor. They disappointingly lost 1-0 and so were out of the competition. Nevertheless, they’d had a great time and were much the better for the experience. We would have rather seen them qualify, but this did mean that we could catch our original flight. 

I thoroughly recommend Portugal as a country, Estoril and its surrounding areas, and we will definitely go back to the Old Town and visit Lisbon next time. 

Richie is the MD at Pirates, the island’s number one night out featuring Adventure, Reloaded and Gringos. Subscribe to receive his blogs at http://www.dadtaximallorca.com

Follow him on Twitter @DadTaxi1 & Instagram @dad.taxi, or feel free to email him at rprior@globobalear.com

It’s Coming Home….

Dare I say it? The original song said 30 years of hurt and, believe it or not, that today stands at 58 years of hurt! So is it finally coming home? Who would have thought, the final of the 2024 European Championships would be between my country of birth and the country I’ve lived in for 34 years. So where do my allegiances lie, I hear you ask.

England’s head-to-head record against Spain is played 27, won 14, lost 10 and drew 3. Probably the most memorable was in 1996, in the quarter-finals of the Euros. It was a 0-0 draw and it went to penalties. There was the iconic Stuart Pearce penalty and the David Seaman save from Miguel Angel Nadal, the uncle of Mallorca’s favourite son, Rafa Nadal, meaning England won. In fact, the last time they played together was in 2018 in the UEFA Nations League, and I was there. England won 3-2 in a game played at the Real Betis stadium in Seville. 

These are two teams that have made it to the final in totally different ways. Spain have sailed through all of their games, never really looking in trouble, whereas as England have stuttered their way through. Remember England were literally 30 seconds away from going out to Slovakia in the last 16 and along came Jude Bellingham who of course is well known to all the Spanish, playing for Real Madrid. 

Spain’s 16-year-old Lamine Yamal, who plays for Barcelona, scored possibly the goal of the tournament so far against France. But what I love about him is he said before the tournament began, “I’ve brought my homework because I’m in 4th grade. I have classes on the web and I hope my teacher doesn’t fail me!”

A great example to all youngsters that your education comes before anything. 

So who am I supporting? In the words of John Barnes……

“Catch me if you can

‘Cause I’m the England man
And what you’re looking at
Is the master plan. 

We ain’t no hooligans, 
This ain’t a football song, 
Three lions on my chest
I know we can’t go wrong.”

Richie is the MD at Pirates, the island’s number one night out featuring Adventure, Reloaded and Gringos. Subscribe to receive his blogs at http://www.dadtaximallorca.com

Follow him on Twitter @DadTaxi1 & Instagram @dad.taxi, or feel free to email him at rprior@globobalear.com

The Summer Madness Has Begun

The first week of July and you can see that the island is hotting up in more ways than one. Without doubt, it hasn’t been as busy earlier in the season, which may be down to Easter falling so early, but things have certainly kicked in now, The supermarket I visit every Sunday wasn’t the usual in-out experience this week. The car park was overflowing and people were queuing for a trolley to actually go in with. I’ll make sure I go earlier next week to avoid the crowds. 

So here we go, ten weeks of madness, and then we’ll all be able to breathe again. This is the time when it gets too hot, parking will become a nightmare, getting a taxi will be as rare an England winning a trophy, and you’ll be lucky if you get a restaurant reservation. 

I go back to my point in another piece, that whilst Mallorca does get busy and probably too much so in the high season, the reality is it is only for 3 to 4 months. That also doesn’t make it right, but no Government since I’ve been here has managed to solve it. Now, this is the third time I’ve mentioned my interview with Brad Robertson of Save The Med a few weeks ago. When I asked him what can we do about “Tourismphobia” his words still resonate. “There’s too many people mate, whether you’re a tourist or someone that doesn’t leave your house, it doesn’t matter, there’s just too many of us”.

With that in mind, an interesting report came out this week that according to the Institute of National Statistics, 2.3 million visitors stayed with family and friends or possible illegal rentals and just under 1 million used their second homes here in the Baleares in 2023. That’s 20% of the overall tourist numbers are actually contributing to the islands’ so-called overcrowding problem, but the blame is being put at the hotelier’s door. I would imagine most of those visiting though will be contributing to the island’s economy through shops, bars and restaurants. In some cases, much more than a visitor to an all-inclusive hotel. There’s one hotel that shall remain nameless that is glad to see their guests go out and enjoy the facilities of the resort, as the guests are eating and drinking more than they bargained for. 

So whilst I have every sympathy with the protesters saying, “movement for less tourism, more quality of life”. We as a population are not helping the matter. Their next protest will take place in Palma on July 21st. I wonder how many of those protesters will have people staying with them, rent a property illegally, have a second home, or who are working in tourism?

Whilst all this is going on, the owners of Palma airport are pushing on with their expansion plans. We learned this week that a shopping mall likened to the one in Barcelona airport is being built, and they are building a new security area which will become Europe’s biggest. No sign of tourism cut back there then. It will be interesting to see over the coming months what the current government’s plans are for the island’s biggest industry. As anything they do now won’t come into effect until next year. 

Richie is the MD at Pirates, the island’s number one night out featuring Adventure, Reloaded and Gringos. Subscribe to receive his blogs at http://www.dadtaximallorca.com

Follow him on Twitter @DadTaxi1 & Instagram @dad.taxi, or feel free to email him at rprior@globobalear.com

The Young Ones

I’m passionate about my football, especially when it comes to Real Mallorca and football in general here on the island. I believe it’s a help not only to tourism to have a team in La Liga but to the development of youth football on the island too. However, although the island does produce some great footballers, there haven’t been that many who’ve come through the ranks and made it to the Real Mallorca first team. The most notable is Marco Asensio, of course, who started at Platges de Calvia before moving to Real Mallorca, then to Real Madrid, and he’s currently playing for Paris St Germain. The former coach of Mallorca, Javier Aguirre, wasn’t an advocate of bringing youth footballers through, but the new coach Jagoba Arrasate is apparently a fan of promoting them through from the academy. At his old club Osasuna at least six of the first team squad have come through the ranks. Pablo Ortells the director of football at Real Mallorca said this week, “We can win titles in grassroots football, but if we don’t develop players to move up to move up to the first team, our work is incomplete.” Music to the ears of all youth footballers here on the island. It comes after Mallorca’s division honor team (under 19’s) won their league and the Copa del Rey. Also, Mallorca B have just been promoted to the fourth tier of Spanish football and this team is made up of players between 18–24 years of age. 

If these youngsters are given a chance, then there are many benefits for everyone. The club doesn’t need to spend money to bring players in, an exceptional player will no doubt get transferred for a fee to help pay for other transfers or to invest in the academy. Every supporter around the World loves a “home-grown” player. Most importantly, if there are those opportunities, you won’t see as many of our talented footballers leaving the island looking to play first team football. Case in point this week, Marc Domenec is a 17-year-old forward who played for San Francisco division honor team this year. The club where my two boys play. He was the top goalscorer in the league with 21 goals. He has a contract with Real Mallorca until 2027 and this week a bid of €300,000 was made by Barcelona. This was firmly rejected by the club, who see him as the next “Marco Asensio”. He will probably play with Mallorca B next year and also train with the first team. Apparently his buy out clause is 1 million euros and I think Barcelona will be reluctant to pay that. All in all, it’s a good time for Mallorca football, and hopefully we’ll be hearing that song “he’s one of our own” many more times. Well, the Mallorquín equivalent of course! 

Richie is the MD at Pirates, the island’s number one night out featuring Adventure, Reloaded and Gringos. Subscribe to receive his blogs at http://www.dadtaximallorca.com

Follow him on Twitter @DadTaxi1 & Instagram @dad.taxi, or feel free to email him at rprior@globobalear.com

10 Ways To Save Money in Mallorca

Everyone is saying how expensive Mallorca has become, so I’ve come up with 10 ways to save money here on the island. 

  1. The Spanish government subsidises 75% of the fares of scheduled air or sea transport for all EU citizens who are residents of the Balearic Islands, Canary Islands, Ceuta or Melilla. For us Brits living in Mallorca it means to qualify for the discount, you must be a permanent resident, either with the green NIE stating ‘permanente’ or with the TIE card. You also need to get a resident certificate from the municipal council where you are registered. I got ours from one of the tourist information offices. 
  2. All public transport will continue to be free in 2024. This will be for interurban buses, trains and Metro in Mallorca. Palma buses are treated separately, and the town hall has said these are also free. To get your card, you’ll need to take your NIE and ‘empadronamiento’ – proof of residence in your local municipality – to one of the travel information offices. Palma’s intermodal station is just one of the locations where you can obtain your card. Note that the Soller train is not included in the above. 
  3. In the municipality where I live in Calvia, parking is free in the blue zones in the winter, which is normally November to the end of March. In those blue zones in the summer months, you have to pay on Mondays to Fridays 09.30 to 13.30 and 16.00 to 20.00. Saturdays, 09:30 to 13.30, Sundays and bank holidays are free. It’s always best to check the machine before paying. It can be different in other municipalities, so it’s good to check first. There is a parking app called Elparking.com which I haven’t used yet but looks useful, particularly in the summer months. 
  4. Hotel treats is a website that offers vouchers to luxury hotels, spas and beach clubs not just to tourists but to residents too. My Wife made me aware of this when she booked a day at Puro Beach in Illetas last summer. We got a Bali bed for two, drinks and fruit on arrival and a three-course meal with wine in their restaurant, all for just €100. 
  5. Menú del día, or “menu of the day”, is a set menu or served by Spanish restaurants during weekday lunch, one of the largest meals of the day in Spain. It is known for being economical, and normally you’ll have a choice of 3 starters, 3 mains and 3 desserts plus a bottle of house wine and water. Lots of restaurants are offering this now, not just your traditional Spanish restaurants. 
  6. Most of the supermarkets have loyalty cards. We shop in Lidl, who have an app that you can download. You tend to find that they will offer you discount on the things you buy regularly, which is useful. Aldi offer something similar, Eroski and Carrefour have a club card system and as far as I am aware Mercadona do not have anything. Although they do have that annoying jingle which now I’ve said it will be going on in your heads all day! 
  7. “Too Good To Go” is the free food recovery app that makes it easy to make a positive impact on the planet while saving money on your favourite foods. The #1 app for reducing food waste, you can save tasty unsold snacks, takeaway meals, and ingredients straight from shops, cafés, supermarkets and restaurants in your area – all at an unbeatable price. Most of the offers range from €2 to €5 and are normally available in the afternoon/evening. 
  8. Mallorca Fashion Outlet is situated just outside Marratxi on the outskirts of Palma. It has a full array of shops offering factory prices plus a cinema, karting and many different food outlets. Every last Thursday of the month they offer “Super Thursdays” where they offer even bigger discounts. I went to one last year when they were offering all goods without paying IVA(VAT to you and I).
  9. Most excursions on the island offer a resident’s discount. It’s best to check with each one what they offer. At Pirates, you can get 20% off of Adventure, Reloaded and Gringos, by using the code RESW20. But keep a lookout in the winter months, as sometimes we’ll offer a bigger discount for a limited period only. 
  10. Most of the above are for residents here on the island, but a few of them can be used if you’re visiting us from somewhere else. I would encourage more of you to come in the low season and in the winter. Mallorca and Palma in particular have a great deal to offer than just sun, sea and sand. Gastronomy, culture, bars, boutique hotels, history and lots of shopping opportunities are just a few of the highlights. 

This list has been made up of things I already knew and some from friends that I didn’t know about. I’m sure there are many more, so please feel free to send them to me or add them into the comments below. 

Richie is the MD at Pirates, the island’s number one night out featuring Adventure, Reloaded and Gringos. Subscribe to receive his blogs at http://www.dadtaximallorca.com

Follow him on Twitter @DadTaxi1 & Instagram @dad.taxi, or feel free to email him at rprior@globobalear.com

The Euros 2024

The Euros started last night in Germany, in the group stages they’ll be 3 games each day which to any football aficionado is heaven. So here’s my definitive rundown of the winners and losers and who might surprise a few people. 

Firstly, the partisan bookies have England surprisingly as favourites even after that friendly defeat to Iceland. They’re closely followed by France, Germany and then come Portugal, Spain and Italy. I’ll let you know my pick at the end, and I promise that all this was written before last night’s game. 

Group A: Germany, Hungary, Scotland, Switzerland 

Germany as the hosts are one to look out for. But are they the team of years gone by and are they undercooked as they haven’t played a competitive game in quite a while? For me, they have enough to get through the group and if the crowd gets behind them, they should be one to watch. The Hungarians are the dark horses, remember they gubbed England 4-0 in the Nations League not long ago. Scotland have done extremely well just to qualify and will have great support from the Tartan Army. However, injuries to key players may have ruined their chances of qualifying. Switzerland are an ageing team, which could work for or against them. 

Group B: Spain, Croatia, Italy, Albania

This is the so-called group of death. Spain has a good mix of young and old, normally slow starters, they may grow into the tournament. The Italians are the holders, of course, after beating England in the final. Since then, though, they’ve had managerial turmoil and only just scraped through qualifying. Croatia are another team mixed with young and old and were the 2018 World Cup finalists. Albanian are competing in only their second ever Euros. They won their qualifying group and could cause a surprise. 

Group C: England, Slovenia, Denmark, Serbia

What team wouldn’t want Kane, Bellingham, Rice, Foden and Saka in their starting eleven? England’s problem though will be in defence, it may be a case of you score four, we’ll score five. Serbia’s goalkeeper Predrag Rajkovic plays for my local club Real Mallorca, and they could be a surprise in this group. Denmark, of course, were surprise winners back in 1992, but not sure if they have enough this time round. Slovenia are definitely the outsiders in this group, and It will be their first major tournament in 14 years, following the 2010 World Cup. 

Group D: France, Poland, Netherlands, Austria

France are in most people’s eyes the favourites, and any team that contains Kylian Mbappé will have a chance. Poland, who have not missed a European championship since making their debut in 2008, will look to get through the group stage for a second time after reaching the quarter-finals in 2016. The Netherlands are the team with the most third place finishes in the Euros, another team that could go deep into the competition. Austria, have played only10 games at the European Championships, having featured in three previous editions of the tournament, reaching the last 16 once at Euro 2020.

Group E: Belgium, Slovakia, Romania, Ukraine

Not much has been said about Belgium as they’ve disappointed with such a good team in so many previous tournaments. If I was a betting man (which I’m not) then I would have a wager on them. I’m sure many people would love to see Ukraine do well because of their current situation, but I think they’ll do well to get out of the group. Romania, who will play in their sixth European Championship, were a surprise package in the qualifiers, remaining unbeaten and topping their group, above Switzerland. Slovakia will play at their third consecutive European Championship and may struggle to reach the knockout stages after failing to do so at the last tournament.

Group F: Portugal, Turkey, Czech Republic, Georgia 

It’s Cristiano Ronaldo’s last ever tournament, so will they send him out on a high? They are playing in their eighth consecutive Euros after securing qualification with a 100 percent winning record in their group. The Czech Republic will hope to find some form after an uninspiring qualifying campaign in which they finished second in their group behind Albania. Turkey, who are taking part in their sixth Euros, last reached the semi-finals in 2008. Georgia are the rank outsiders. They will participate in their first major finals as an independent nation, after they secured their spot in the tournament by defeating Luxembourg and then Greece in the play-offs.

It’s great that this tournament is on terrestrial television and therefore everyone can watch the matches. My outsiders are Belgium, my heart says England, but my head says the host nation Germany. 

Richie is the MD at Pirates, the island’s number one night out featuring Adventure, Reloaded and Gringos. Subscribe to receive his blogs at http://www.dadtaximallorca.com

Follow him on Twitter @DadTaxi1 & Instagram @dad.taxi, or feel free to email him at rprior@globobalear.com

Welcome To Mallorca

So Mallorca is back in the headlines again. After the so-called “booze ban”, now we apparently don’t want any tourists. Give the British press a bone, and you can be sure as (can’t say it), that they’ll not only be chewing on it, they’ll be making up their own stuff too. Why let a good headline get in the way of the truth? TOURIST GO HOME is the message and let’s be honest, it’s not a very welcoming one, is it? Grammatically incorrect, of course, but why let that get in the way of what you’re trying to achieve. And to be honest, that is what is puzzling me, just exactly what are you trying to achieve? I highlighted a few weeks ago that a vote for Brexit in the UK was a vote from the older community, which has ultimately made freedom of movement for our younger people that much more difficult. So, whilst trying to deny an immigrant entrance into the UK, you’ve denied our younger people the opportunity to do the same in another country. 

With their message, they are trying to drive people away from the tourist industry that is fundamental to the islands’ GDP. Someone tried to tell me the other week that tourism is only 11% of Spain’s GDP. That may well be true, but on our island it’s 45% and would hazard a guess that it is a lot higher than that when you take into account the third party businesses that support tourism. 

Mallorca isn’t the only destination with this problem. Barcelona, the Canary Islands, Amsterdam, Venice, Japan and Hawaii are other examples. My family were in Croatia in the past couple of weeks and the same message was seen there too.

So what’s the beef amongst these protesters here in Mallorca? Too many tourists, lack of affordable housing, high cost of living, traffic congestion, impact on the environment and natural resources are the main factors, I am led to believe. 

In my opinion, there’s a total lack of organisation and management here.  Political parties with their own views are getting in the way of the problem. So, rather and sitting down like adults and discussing properly, they argue against each other. The “left” were in Government for 8 years and did absolutely nothing, and now they’re in opposition they’re voting against anything that the “right” proposes. As the right are a minority Government, depending on VOX to help them, nothing gets done or if it does, it’s painfully slow.

So let’s discuss each of their points.

Too many tourists…. You may remember I interviewed Brad Robertson from Save The Med a couple of weeks ago. He said, “there’s too many of us, that’s not just tourists, that’s people living here too.” Mallorca isn’t like the Canaries, who have a whole year – round problem, the season is six months at best, and I’d say the true busy part is June to September. Tour operators aren’t the major problem as if you go back to years gone by, there were a lot more and that just isn’t the case now. It is the growth of the low-cost airlines, the car rentals, the Airbnb market and the illegal lets that are now the problem. 

A lot of this can’t be blamed on foreign investment as Mallorca’s biggest Hotel chains, Melia, Fergus, Iberostar, Riu and Barcelo are all Spanish owned and run. The airport is run by the Spanish state owned company AENA. Mallorca’s Son Sant Joan airport is the third largest in Spain, with only Madrid and Barcelona having greater numbers. Despite that, the airport is expanding the terminal buildings and more car parking space which is not for cars parking, it’s for rental cars to have more space. When I checked into the car park last weekend, half of the second floor was dedicated to the car hire firm, OK Cars.

Lack of affordable housing….
It is true that foreign investors have driven up the prices of property, but there are also many Spanish people that have second holiday homes that they use in the holidays or rent out. My neighbours where I live are from Madrid, and we only see them during the holidays. Rental prices are too high but with a lack of properties and demand so high, there doesn’t seem to be an answer. Rent caps have been put forward by the opposition PSOE but considering they were in power for eight years and did nothing, it’s laughable really. You have to ask who owns these properties, and I think you’ll find the majority are Spanish owned. So would any property owner be happy if their incomes were capped? This is not just a Mallorca problem, my Sister in the UK has her eldest Son currently living at home with his girlfriend as they can’t afford to rent or buy there either.

Promoters, in order to get their building licence, should be forced to build a percentage of affordable housing and make those properties unsellable for a long time period. Like they did on the properties in Son Caliu behind Mercadona. 

There are plenty of Old military plots in and around Palma that could be turned into affordable housing, and any old hotels or apartment blocks should be converted too.

High cost of living…..

We are an island and therefore the majority of our goods must be imported, making them immediately more expensive. There was an increase when the pandemic hit and as yet as far as I can see there hasn’t been any reductions since we have got back to normal. If the demand is there, companies are less likely to reduce their prices. 

Traffic congestion….

If, like me, you’ve driven the Via Cintura in the winter, there is still traffic congestion and it can still be a nightmare. Of course, that traffic increases in the summer with the car hire and coaches. The bus services I think are pretty good, but the Palma Metro and the rail links, particularly to the south of the island, need to be looked at. There have been calls for car hire limits, but apart from Formentera as far as I am aware, there doesn’t seem to be one in place. A park and ride service into the centre of Palma wouldn’t be a bad idea. What about utilising the huge car park at Mallorca Outlets, for instance? It would drive traffic there to shop, and then you could hop on a bus for more central Palma shopping if you wished. Real Mallorca has a huge car park that gets used 19 days a year for their home games and mostly in the off season. That would be another perfect park and ride stop. 

Impact on the island and its natural resources….

I have two words to say about this….Tourist Tax. The tax was introduced to help inject funds into conserving the environment and to make tourism more sustainable for the island’s ever-increasing population in the high-season. Data provided by the authorities show that around €12 million will be raised each year as a result of the tourist tax.

Mallorca is a beautiful island of contrast. From the beautiful beaches in the North, to the mountains of the West, the caves and coves of the East and the bustling busy nightlife of the South. There is something for absolutely everyone. 

If ever there was a destination built for tourism, it is our island. It hasn’t been one of the most popular destinations in the World for the last 50 years for nothing. It is, in my opinion, still one of the best holiday destinations, an island with turquoise blue waters, secret coves, soft golden sands, lush green foliage, rugged mountains, picturesque villages, amazing cuisine, an up-and-coming wine industry, bustling nightlife and a vibrant capital city. 

But we must keep it that way, and therefore, as I said above, it must be managed in a right and proper manner.

Richie is the MD at Pirates, the island’s number one night out featuring Adventure, Reloaded and Gringos. Subscribe to receive his blogs at http://www.dadtaximallorca.com

Follow him on Twitter @DadTaxi1 & Instagram @dad.taxi, or feel free to email him at rprior@globobalear.com 

Mallorca Leading The Way In Women’s Football

Something that isn’t talked about enough here on the island is women’s football. I have highlighted it in the past, and it is definitely time to talk about it again. 

I was watching my youngest Jude training in CD San Francisco in Palma this past week, and I met up with some friends who were bringing their daughter to do some training with the girls team there. It’s so good to see girls and women’s football thriving on the island. In fact, our other professional team on the island, Atlético Baleares are the ones leading the way. 

Despite only being formed in 2018, they have made their way from local leagues to the “Primera Federación de Fútbol Femenino”, which in women’s football is equivalent to the second division. It’s an amazing achievement, and they are now only one promotion from the highest women’s league in Spain. This week, the Government held a reception for the whole team in Palma to celebrate their promotion. The women’s football pyramid in Spain is set up like this;

Primera División de fútbol femenino 

Primera Federación de Fútbol Femenino

Segunda Federación de Fútbol Femenino

Tercera Federación de Fútbol Femenino

Conectabalear Femenina autonómica 

Femenina Regional Mallorca 

Fútbol 7 Alevin/Infantil Groups A and B 

The top division contains the likes of Real Madrid and Barcelona. In the Primera Federación next season, Baleares will play the likes of the B teams of the big clubs. Mallorca’s next representatives are in the Tercera FDFF, UD Collerense, AD Son Sardina and the Baleares B team, who all finished in the top ten this season. The local leagues contain teams from all over the island, so there are plenty of opportunities. These are divided into women’s and girls teams. The Alevin and infantil teams can take girls up to the age of 14, and then they must take the step to the amateur women’s teams. That has been a problem as it’s quite a big step, but apparently, this coming season the Federation will add a “F7 Cadete” category for girls aged 14–16 years that are not quite ready or comfortable competing with amateurs. No matter where you are on the island, I’m sure there will be a club near you that will be looking for players. Where I live in Calvia there are two clubs with girls/women’s teams. Platges de Calvia have 1 team in Autonomica and one in Regional, as well as 2 teams in Alevin/Infantil. Sporting Son Ferrer has 1 team in Regional and 2 teams in Alevin/Infantil. 

Both clubs are looking for experienced or entrance level players for the coming season for all those teams.

Now the elephant in the room here is, where is Real Mallorca in all of this? The biggest club on the island doesn’t have a female team? That’s not good enough, really, particularly when you see the success of Atletico Baleares. I would have thought that a female team would be an obligation for a team in La Liga. What I’m hearing from people in the game that may well be coming in. They have dipped their toes in a few years ago, but apparently it didn’t work due to a lack of quality and interest. That has all changed now when Spain won the World Cup last year. 

As you may remember, they beat England in the Women’s World Cup Final last year. More interesting for me is that three of their players come from Mallorca. The goalkeeper Cata Coll was born in Portol. She played previously for Sant Marcel, Cide, Marratxí and Collerense here on the island and was bought by Barcelona and sent out on loan to Sevilla. She’s now back in Barcelona and, after a bad injury, is now Spain’s first choice. Whilst here on the island, she was training at the Pablo Roca goalkeeping school, where my youngest son Jude goes. She has also trained with Jude a few times too. 

Forward Mariona Caldenty was born in Felanitx where she began her career. That was followed by Cide, Collerense and in 2014 she joined Barcelona. 

Another player from Mallorca, Patri Guijarro, was one of the players who boycotted the Spanish squad before the last World Cup tournament. She was born in Palma where she played for UD Collerense and at the age of 17 she joined Barcelona and has been there ever since. 

All three of the above played for Barcelona last weekend in the final of the Women’s Champions League, beating Lyon 2-0.

Hopefully all three will inspire more girls on the island to play football and to become World Cup and Champions League winners in the future. 

Richie is the MD at Pirates, the island’s number one night out featuring Adventure, Reloaded and Gringos. Subscribe to receive his blogs at http://www.dadtaximallorca.com

Follow him on Twitter @DadTaxi1 & Instagram @dad.taxi, or feel free to email him at rprior@globobalear.com 

Understanding Generation Z

I came across this fact the other day, 25% of today’s world population and 30% of workers in 2030 will be Generation Z. So understanding their way of life will be important for us in the future. 

If you were asked what Gen Z was or meant, would you know? No, me neither. Great start!

Members of the Gen Z years were born between 1997 and 2012. So as of the end of 2023, their age range is anywhere from 11 to 26. They are commonly referred to as the first fully “digitally native” generation. They have grown up with social media and smartphones, and they’re used to living in a digital-first world. Both my Sons are part of this and as I watch them grow and turn into Men, I sometimes wonder how they would be if they were born in my era. When I look back at things I did when I was growing up and compare them to what my two are doing now, life couldn’t be more different.

Watching television in my day consisted of three channels, BBC 1, BBC 2, and ITV. I remember the excitement around the country when we got another one with the release of Channel 4. Sky has brought in loads of channels to our screens, but the majority of the Gen Zers (if that’s a word?) are watching YouTube or “reels” on Instagram and TikTok. We can watch a live football game virtually daily now, but back in the day it was highlights on Match of the Day on Saturday nights and The Big Match on Sunday afternoons. In fact, the only live game was the FA Cup Final in May.

Drinking in a pub in my day was one of the ways you went out and met people. Friday and Saturday nights would be the nights you’d mainly go out. You’d start in a pub, move onto a nightclub and finish your night off with a takeaway. Nowadays, a lot of the talking and meeting people is done online. Gen-Z drink on average 20% than millennials, who also drink less than the previous generation, mainly because of an increased awareness of the dangers and effects of alcohol and the rise of health-consciousness as a lifestyle. In fact, an overwhelming 86% of Gen-Z consumers believe that their mental health is as significant as their physical health when considering drinking alcohol.

I can remember I was desperate to pass my driving test growing up as a teenager. As soon as I was old enough, I’d be out practising as much as I could in my Mum and Dads cars. I was gutted when I failed the first time, but I soon got a cancellation and I passed the second time. That same desperation isn’t the same amongst Generation Z, in fact, my eldest son Jacob, at 18 years of age, hasn’t even asked me yet. Electric scooters, of which my son has one, seems to be the most popular mode of transport. 

Even our own language could be changing. Beloved insults like plonker, tosspot, git, pillock, berk and numpty in danger of dying out, warns a new study. 

Gen-Z jibes are more likely to include calling somebody a “Karen”, meaning an entitled moaner or “basic”, referring to the fact they have mainstream tastes. 

“Fam”, is a shorter word for family, but don’t be fooled—it can be used to describe your friends too. “Bro”, It is often used as a casual and friendly way to address someone, similar to “mate.” It can be used to refer to a male friend or acquaintance, but it is also sometimes used more broadly to refer to anyone, regardless of gender.

Phone emojis are also commonly used as insults, such as sending somebody a clown or sending a person a thumbs up as a sarcastic response to something they said. And I thought it was me agreeing to something!

Social networks have become the gateway to all areas of life for this generation. Through them, they make purchases and communicate with brands, they learn and are informed about what is happening in the world. They also rely on social networks and content creators to learn how to manage their finances, communicate with their communities and feel comfortable sharing tips and experiences. So while I’m posting “boring” things on Facebook, known to my two, as “for old people only”. They are posting stories on Instagram or TikTok, adding cool music in the background by an artist I’ve never heard of. I like to think I’m down with the kids, but clearly I’m not!

Richie is the MD at Pirates, the island’s number one night out featuring Adventure, Reloaded and Gringos. Subscribe to receive his blogs at http://www.dadtaximallorca.com

Follow him on Twitter @DadTaxi1 & Instagram @dad.taxi, or feel free to email him at rprior@globobalear.com 

If You Don’t Like it, Please Seek Alternative Employment!

I wonder what the reaction would be here in Spain if a head of a company was to say to his workforce, “If you don’t like it, please seek alternative employment”. 

Can you imagine the Unions reaction? Let me put this into context. Sir Jim Ratcliffe is the second-richest man in the UK, the chairman and chief executive officer of the INEOS and a minority shareholder in Manchester United. Where he has taken on the task of all football operations. After assessing his latest purchase, he wasn’t a happy man and decided that the workforce had to return to its offices.

You may remember back in 2022 Elon Musk demanded that Tesla employees must return to the office for in-person work at least 40 hours per week, or they’ll be let go. He added, “If you don’t show up, we will assume you have resigned.” Charming!

Working from home has become the norm ever since the pandemic in 2020, and it actually gave employers the opportunity to downgrade the size of offices that they house their workforce in. The upshot of it all is that, according to research, workers’ productivity was less when working from home, and in reality, you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to work that out. There are exceptions, of course, but most people know that you get more effectiveness, more development of culture, more work ethic, more diversity of thinking, more diversity of experience if people are together in a workplace.

There is no doubt in 95%  of professions that in order to achieve outcomes that develop the individual, to meet their expectations of the work environment and of course the business’ expectations of them, being present, where you can be monitored, trained, engaged and focussed on and have work disciplines, rather than ordering a pizza, scratching your nuts or waiting for an Amazon delivery. Sir Jim cited that in one of his companies, the email traffic dropped by 20% when they experimented with “work from home Fridays.”

Is it a surprise then that probably the biggest and most successful club in the country is currently going through an awful season? Not only on the field, but it seems off the field too. You may have seen the pictures or videos of water leaking all over the ground last weekend when United played Arsenal. Is this befitting of such a great club? If there’s any stadium in the country that needs to protect itself against the rain, then surely it has to be Manchester United. 

Since the pandemic, some companies have initiated a hybrid way of working, which is a flexible working model where employees work partly in the physical workplace, and partly remotely, at home or from another workspace. Whilst it’s a slightly better way of working, it’s a little bit like the saying “you can’t be half pregnant.” Meaning, you’re not committing yourself fully to the job in hand.

It struck me that as I visited offices around the island that this a problem here too. I have visited vast offices only to find them empty and when I’ve asked why that is, it’s the same reasons as the UK. Some employees have become permanent home workers and some have adapted the hybrid model. So the offices are busy on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, but empty on Mondays and Fridays. You have to ask, why have Fridays and Mondays at home? Well, I’m sure you don’t need me to tell you.

The problem that some companies have here is that they have signed written agreements with staff enabling them to work from home. Those agreements have now become difficult to change because of the rights of workers here in Spain, and so I imagine like Sir Jim has mentioned, productivity is suffering. 

There is lots of talk here in Spain of cutting the working week. Really? In a country dominated by tourism, how is that going to work? Maybe trying to get people back into their offices should be their first step. I wish them luck with that one!

Richie is the MD at Pirates, the island’s number one night out featuring Adventure, Reloaded and Gringos. Subscribe to receive his blogs at http://www.dadtaximallorca.com

Follow him on Twitter @DadTaxi1 & Instagram @dad.taxi, or feel free to email him at rprior@globobalear.com