DANA paralyzes sports in Valencia, and lowly football plays the worst role | Relief

The DANA disaster in the Valencian Community cannot be forgotten. This is an unprecedented disaster in the region in the 21st century. According to AEMET, “in the midst of the two great storms of the eighties, October 1982 and November 1987.” According to the latest official data, more than 70 people were killed. confirmed and dozens missing.

The sport is no stranger to the devastation of families who have lost almost everything. Many sports facilities suffered significant damage and will not be able to host events in the coming days. In the absence of a decision on regional and regional competitions scheduled for the weekendSome national and international competitions have already started to suspend matches.

The Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) has already announced. postponement of three Copa del Rey matches scheduled for this Wednesday (Parla Escuela-Valencia, Pontevedra-Levante and Ejea-Hercules) and Getafe-Manises this Thursday. Except, The Euroleague also suspended the match between Valencia and Lietkabelis on the sixth day of the Eurocup..

Team Pavilion Taronya It served as a refuge for dozens of people trapped in Silla, south of the capital Valencia. Valencia Football Club, which has asked for the match against Real Madrid to be rescheduled, is part of a relief mechanism activated by the Food Bank. The club provides the Mestalla with the opportunity to collect donations from 5 p.m. to help those affected by the disaster.

Before and after some affected fields

The sports facilities of professional clubs were not damaged, but modest teams cannot say the same. Many municipal fields in the affected areas, where local teams and schools play, were destroyed by the floods..

Humble football has suffered the consequences of DANA. Some stadiums destroyed by hurricane are barely recognizable. The water had swallowed many of them and if not for the location data, it would have been difficult to know that these were the fields of the teams in the area. This happens, for example, with a club in the town of Carlet, flooded from a bird’s eye view. In the Paiporta, Bugarra and Alfafar teams, which were also among those hardest hit by the storm, the effects can be seen..

“Our efforts, our dedication, all the health we put into this difficult year has evaporated.” words on instagram from the account of the women’s team of the club Discóbolo La Torre, now in Tercera RFEF. A club that calls itself a “humble team” on its website. The artificial grass came out in June, and now all that’s left is a mass of water and mud, plus overturned cars in the foreground.

Javier Sáez, sporting director of E1 Paiporta in Tercera RFEF, draws strength from his X-profile to overcome the tragedy that also affected his field. “This is property damage that will sooner or later be corrected, and we now need to be more E1 than ever.” “We will fix this together,” he posted earlier, along with a video showing the state of his municipality.

David Sese from the Valencian municipality of Bugarra is another of the many victims of DANA who have turned to X for help. “More than 16 hours without electricity, disconnected and isolated. Many elderly people,” he says on a social network. His photographs show hurricane-ravaged landscapes, including a football field now recognizable only as bleachers and street lights. The region team also plays in the Third Regional.

The city of Alfafar will also not forget the devastating hurricane. “Our conditions are the least important thing because, as always, we will start from scratch again and come back stronger,” his club posted.. The scale of the disaster is such that these groups, even though their fields have already been destroyed, are making it a priority to protect families in the area.