Recre fans snap up tickets for "final game" in support of club
The club issued a rallying cry to fans to fill the Nuevo Colombino on Saturday with the threat of liquidation hanging over Spain's oldest club.
Spanish football’s oldest club, Recreativo de Huelva, issued a rallying cry to its supporters this week to attend Saturday’s home match against Granada B, in the face of the possibility it will be the club’s final game.
Recre announced a symbolic entrance fee of one euro to fill the stands at the 21,670-capacity Nuevo Colombino in a show of support for the club. The response has been overwhelming, with the game on Saturday having sold out by Thursday afternoon.
Economic problems have plagued Recre in recent years and the team is currently languishing in the third tier of Spanish football (2B Group IV). Coupled with poor governance from majority shareholder Gildoy España (who control 75% of the club’s shares), Recre find themselves staring down the barrel of administration.
The club released a communique this week referring to the "serious financial situation that the club is experiencing" and explained that the incapacity to meet day to day financial commitments could lead to “a dramatic end for the club”. The press release also makes reference to the "terrible negligence” on behalf of “those who are in a position to provide a solution”.
Current owner Pablo Comas has no wish to sell the club but appears to be unable to find a solution to halt Recre’s slide into administration.
Comas rejected a recent public offer from a group of local businessmen willing to purchase his majority shareholding and undertake the current debt rumoured to be in the region of 22 million euro and inject with immediate effect liquidity of over two million euro to keep the club operational. Comas it appears is stalling on selling and his stance has seen the club move into this cul-de-sac. Club employees have gone unpaid for eight months and players have yet to receive any wages in the current 2015-16 season.
To find out more about what you can do to help "El Recre" visit the website of the Recre Trust (in English) http://recretrust.com/page/13/recreativo-supporters-trust--english
