Barcelona's historic Unió Esportiva Sants (UE Sants) football club has publicly accused city institutions of chronic neglect, contrasting its decades-long struggle for a home ground with recent accelerated investments in other local teams. The century-old club, founded on 26 April 1922, stated, "We do not ask for privileges, we ask for dignity," as it broke years of silence.
This public outcry comes amid controversy over rapid funding for CE Europa and UE Sant Andreu. These clubs have seen key improvements, such as natural grass installation and new training facilities, to support their promotions. CE Europa, based in the Gràcia district, adapted its Nou Sardenya stadium to league requirements within a year of its promotion to Primera RFEF. It also secured training fields at Llars Mundet. Meanwhile, UE Sant Andreu also received investments and upgrades following public pressure. UE Sants has played outside its Sants neighbourhood for 15 years. The club lost its home field in Sants 67 years ago.
This forced displacement has severely impacted the club's social base. It led to fewer members, lower attendance, and a broken generational connection among fans, according to the club. The club's first team currently competes in the Zona Franca, far from its traditional home. This situation is an anomaly in a city that champions local sports and community ties.
Decades Without a Home Ground
UE Sants' long history in Barcelona football is unique due to its lack of a permanent home. The club has been without its own pitch for over six decades. Its stadium on Galileu Street was demolished in 1964 for an urban development project. This project left the club without its central facility in the Sants neighbourhood. This event started a long journey that continues today.
The club moved between provisional fields, from Sarrià to precarious facilities built on former landfills. They describe this period as a "permanent exodus." During these years, the club struggled to maintain its identity and connection to its roots. For years, the situation seemed stable at Magòria, in the heart of the Sants neighbourhood. However, this field also disappeared in 2009. Since then, UE Sants has not played a home game within its own district. This ongoing displacement has created a deep sense of detachment for the club and its supporters.
Unanswered Calls for Support
The current complaint, shared via social media, focuses on both historical neglect and present-day challenges. UE Sants states it sent over 50 emails to the Institut Barcelona Esports and the Conselleria, a regional ministry responsible for sports. The club received no response to these communications. They also held five institutional meetings.
These meetings consistently ended with the same message: solutions applied to other clubs are "unviable" for UE Sants. The club finds this comparison frustrating and unfair. They insist, "The problem is not that other clubs are helped, but that we are ignored." This fuels a strong sense of injustice among members and the wider community. UE Sants directly challenges officials from the Sants-Montjuïc district. They denounce years of "silence and indifference" from local authorities regarding their plight.
Reclaiming Community Identity
The club's demands extend beyond a simple sports facility. UE Sants wants to reclaim its place within the neighbourhood and restore its social function. It champions a model of popular, rooted, and accessible football. This model prioritises local engagement and community participation over commercial interests. The club warns that this model is at risk without dignified infrastructure. Without a proper home, it struggles to attract new generations of players and fans.
After years of accepting what they called an "exile", the club now changes its strategy. They state, "If institutions do not listen, we will make ourselves heard louder." The timing of their public statement, coinciding with investments for CE Europa and UE Sant Andreu, brings attention to their long-standing issue. UE Sants aims to transform its story into a symbol of inequality in Barcelona's sports field.
The club hopes its renewed activism will prompt a re-evaluation of its situation. This could lead to concrete steps towards securing a permanent home in Sants. The outcome will show how Barcelona supports its historic community sports organisations and ensures fair treatment across its districts.
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Originally published by Tot Barcelona. Read original article.
