Spain. Floods and football
A round-up
Following a period of torrential rain, flooding began in the Valencia area on Tuesday last week. The weather system that caused it has been named DANA. Pictures and videos give some sense of the devastation that followed. It has led to communities being cut off with no access to basic amenities. The BBC report that the death toll is now 217, with many more feared missing. Anger at authorities about their handling of the situation has received global coverage.
Football has been impacted and been part of the response. This has included the actions and voices of the football community reflecting and giving voice to those in the wider community. This post aims to summarise some of key developments so far in relation to football.
Valencia CF
The club has played a key role in the response. In an official statement, it quickly put itself at the disposal of the authorities and municipalities affected to help in any way possible. The club’s stadium, the Mestalla, was unaffected. It became an important food distribution point with the club joining forces with the Valencia Food Bank. Club staff, volunteers and players from the men’s and women’s teams helped out at the stadium and the club captains sent out direct messages on the situation. Alongside this the club has been using its communication channels to help get public information messages out to the local community and many players went and helped clear mud off the streets.
Other clubs and sports in the region
The Discobolo La Torre A.C women's team saw their ground destroyed. The club coach talked about his harrowing experience.
The arena of the Valencia Basket Club, the professional basketball team, was a temporary refuge.
“Football reaches places where not even the Army can” tells the story of the work of Evangélico CF reaching out and helping the local community.
Players affected
Former Valencia player, José Castillejo, 28, died in the floods. Mallorca player, Toni Lato, and Nantes player, Pedro Chirivella, were among those paying tribute.
Girona player, Miguel Gutiérrez, talked about how "My friend has lost his mother, they saw her being carried away by the current", and paid tribute during his match on Saturday.
Valencia player, Rubo Iranzo, was injured while bailing out water and training.
Real Betis player, Pablo Fornals, struggled to contain his emotions while being interviewed following his match at the weekend.
Osasuna manager, Vicente Moreno, was filmed helping in his home town.
Barcelona player, Ferran Torres, wrote about his “Frustration and indignation with our rulers, one or the other. We need the whole country to step up. This could happen anywhere. We feel the warmth and support from people around the world. The state has failed.”
Valencia player Yarek Gasiorowski talked about seeing the effects of the DANA in his hometown.
Postponements
Clubs in the region quickly had their midweek Copa Del Rey games postponed by the RFEF (The Royal Spanish Football Federation), who are also the organisers of that tournament. Postponements of weekend LaLiga games followed a different procedure. LaLiga submitted a proposal to the RFEF to postpone games at the request of all the clubs in the Valencian Community, which the RFEF then approved. The postponement of the Valencia vs Real Madrid game has left a yet unanswered problem of when it will be played due to fixture congestion. Today, Valencia has also asked for its next Copa Del Rey fixture to be postponed, and others postponements seem likely.
Solidarity and frustration
Players and clubs across Spain and beyond have shown extensive support and helped raise the visibility of the situation and the need to respond. In the immediate aftermath, players including Vinicius Jr, Luka Modric, Thibaut Courtois showed their support. Minute silences were held on training grounds during the week and before kick-offs at the weekend. Players wore tops in support of Valencia before games and had tops showing support when they scored goals. Premier League clubs Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest were among those paying respect too. AS Newspaper has an excellent photo-essay on the world of sport remembering the victims of the DANA.
Clubs have responded in a variety of ways - making donations, encouraging fans to make donations of goods and money, auctioning collectibles and more. El Chiringuito TV has provided a great round-up of these.
At the same time, several coaches and players have expressed frustration at matches going ahead at the weekend. The President of LaLiga has said “The best message is to be on the front line in our jobs like all workers in other sectors, giving visibility, generating resources and explaining to the world that we all have to be working hard to get ahead.”
However, managers speaking out against playing matches included Hansi Flick of Barcelona, Diego Simeone of Atlético de Madrid, Ernesto Valverde of Athletic Bilbao, Michel of Girona. AS Newspaper has a very good summary of these. Players also made strongly worded statements including:
Mallorca Toni Lato saying, “It is inhuman that we are here today” and fellow Mallorca player, Pablo Maffeo, said “What happened in Valencia is a tragedy and I think that in situations like this the matchday should not have been played. There are many people who have family and friends there and we know that they are having a hard time”
Levante captain, Vicente Iborra, saying “In the end it shows you that we are merchandise in the world of sport. When moments like this come and we can give a lesson in humanity, we don't"
The decision by LaLiga to continue playing of football is a contrast to the decision by the Brazilian Football Confederation following floods there earlier this year. In that situation, with its own unique circumstances, a decision was eventually taken to postpone two domestic matchdays across all of its leagues.
Donations
Several organisations are encouraging donations. This includes Cruz Roja, the Spanish Red Cross.
Finally
The situation in Valencia is still developing. Many of the news sources in the links in this post will be providing ongoing reporting. Please follow them for further developments. This newsletter’s social media account is also endeavouring to continue following further developments. If you have any corrections or other developments to share, please drop me a line.
Fran James (he/him)
Football and Climate Change Newsletter
footballandclimatechange@gmail.com
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