About Kiwis in Spain

This website is created for Kiwis by Kiwis in Spain! Please note this Website is a community project and is not a business for profit. All the website content is prepared by our team of volunteers. If you have questions about the content you can contact us by email. If you would like to join our small team or contribute your own content, please contact Kent Routen.

Kiwis in Spain started on Facebook back in 2014!

Our biggest Kiwi event was in May of 2022 for The Rugby Match of the decade with Spain playing the Classic All Blacks in Madrid. Kent Routen and his wife Laura mobilised over 50 Kiwis in Spain and we had a fantastic weekend soaking up the rugby atmosphere!

We are very fortunate to have the amazing Paul and Mirella co-founders of Kiwihouse to make so many sporting events a reality and huge success! The Kiwis in Spain Team will continue to help promote and support Kiwihouse and rugby in Spain. If you would like to find out more don’t hesitate to ask Kent for an introduction.

Join Muir and Kent with our 1,000+ strong group of Kiwis in Spain here https://www.facebook.com/groups/kiwisinspain

On 21 May 2022, THE MATCH was held in Madrid, a unique event, defined by the press as the great festival of support for Spanish rugby and which marked the beginning of a new era for the sport. Due to the health crisis resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, THE MATCH had to change its date on two occasions, but Kiwihouse continued working to organise and produce a sporting event at the highest level with the aim of promoting Spanish rugby and showing unconditional support for the players of the Spanish national team. 40,000 fans turned out at the Wanda Metropolitano to support the Leones and enjoy the Classic All Blacks game.

The rain and lightning made their appearance with the first sounds of the haka and added a touch of magic to the match that will mark a before and after in the history of oval sport in our country. The match was designed in exhibition mode, with long rosters and free changes, which allowed to see a quality rugby and different rhythms that ended with the victory of the New Zealanders. The Leones displayed their best rugby, once again vindicating on the pitch the place they deserve. During the previous week, different events, and acts to promote rugby took place in which the city of Madrid as World Capital of Sport 2022 played a leading role. Read more at https://kiwihouse.es/en/2022-cab-vs-spain/

Kent Routen – Chief Organiser and Connecting Kiwis Go-to-guy!

Kent and his wife, Laura, moved to Spain from Mexico in November 2017. They lived in Madrid for three years and Alicante for two before moving to La Alcaidesa (near Sotogrande) in October 2022.

They both decided to help connect Kiwis living in Spain after an ANZAC event in 2018. They love travelling around Spain. They initially started organising social events and groups in Madrid and later in other cities such as Alicante, Valencia, Barcelona, Bilbao, Sevilla, their current home town, and for Kiwis in Gibraltar.

Kent left NZ for England in 1995, then France in 1998. He worked for marketing software companies in Paris (2001-2008) and founded his own agency in 2010. He now works as a business consultant.