Sant Andreu goes wild with their team's promotion to Primera RFEF

BarcelonaSant Andreu is celebrating. One of the historic clubs in Catalan football has been able to celebrate promotion to Primera RFEF, after the triumph of the four-bar team (2-1) against Reus Reddis in a packed Narcís Sala. More than a decade later, the club returns to the third category of Spanish football after a strange week as the team's coach, Natxo González, suffered a heart attack that led to his hospitalization. Today, logically, he could not be on the bench for the match against the Reus team, a club where he also worked. The Reus fans present at Narcís Sala showed banners of support for González, who could not witness the victory from the field with goals from Mendes and Señé, from a penalty. Goals that led to a great celebration on the pitch of the Sant Andreu stadium.

The Unióón Deportiva Sant Andreu is experiencing a sweet social moment with a record number of members and thousands of people at each match at Narcís Sala. Not all Catalan clubs can draw six thousand people as the people from Sant Andreu have done today. La Rambla Onze de setembre was filled with people wearing the club's shirt hours before the match against a Reus team that is also having a good season. In fact, the people from Reus, along with Terrassa and Barça Atlètic, are still fighting for a play-off spot in the same group, to see if a second Catalan promotion arrives.

Natxo González's team, despite a somewhat grey start to the season, has picked up pace in recent months and has been imposing its game on all opponents. In this way, they have achieved promotion that will allow them to be in a Primera RFEF next season, a category where three Catalans currently play. Sabadell, which is aiming for direct promotion, drawing over eight thousand people to the Nova Creu Alta, a Nàstic that is fighting to avoid relegation, and Sant Andreu's great rival: L'Europa. The team from Gràcia is fighting to move up to Segunda with a historic season, although they have to play away from the Nou Sardenya. Such is life, Sant Andreu shares a concern with Europa: they don't know where they will play, now that they have been promoted.

Japanese capital in a club rooted in the territoryJapanese capital in a club rooted in the territory

Sant Andreu has been owned by the Japanese Taito Suzuki since 2024, through the multinational Taica Corporation. Suzuki, who spends months in Barcelona and, to understand the club, has met with fans and even visited Montserrat to meet La Moreneta, has always stated that his challenge is to take the club to professional football. Sant Andreu has not played in the Second Division since the 70s. When he invested in the club, he signed a contract under which he commits to the club never leaving the Sant Andreu district, which is why the roadmap is clear: to play at the Narcís Sala and modernize it. “We have no other idea than to stay on our ground,” says the general director of UE Sant Andreu, José Manuel Pérez.

But the Narcís Sala is municipal and the club is negotiating with the Barcelona City Council, as they believe the investment should be made by the council. City council sources confirm to ARA that conversations are underway to find the “b est solution”. Especially after seeing that leaving the Nou Sardenya has gone against Europa. The rival's experience helps the people from Sant Andreu see clearly that they must remain in a Narcís Sala where, until 2005, there was natural grass. That year, to save money, they put in artificial turf. Unlike the Nou Sardenya, where it is very difficult to install natural grass due to the presence of a parking lot under the field which complicates logistics, in Sant Andreu natural grass can be installed more efficiently, but doing so is expensive. David Escudé, the Sports Councilor, explained that "There will be a solution for Sant Andreu. We have been working for some time to see what the possibilities are. We are working along the same lines as with Europa. The investment is almost a national one”. Escudé, however, does not rule out the possibility of seeing the two rivals, Sant Andreu and Europa, together in Can Dragó: “All lines of work have been initiated. I will not go into whether it is one or the other, because it would seem disrespectful to the clubs.” Can Dragó, until recently an installation for athletics, has been remodeled this year to allow Europa to play from January onwards, with temporary stands. A solution that does not please Sant Andreu, because the club's idea for next season is to increase from six thousand members, and Can Dragó has space for three thousand people. One option would be to expand the stands of this facility, as the City Council does not currently see a clear path to installing natural grass. The general director of UE Sant Andreu, José Manuel Pérez, also confirmed that the lighting installation will also need to be improved, which means a total expenditure of over half a million euros.

While the fans and players celebrate the promotion, behind the scenes work is underway to find a solution. If natural grass is installed, whether with municipal investment or from the Japanese ownership, it would also be necessary to consider what would happen to the grassroots football teams, who would not be able to train at Narcís Sala. Both Europa and Sant Andreu have dozens of teams of boys and girls who can train on the field as the artificial turf can withstand continuous use. And having many grassroots football teams is a good source of income. If natural grass is installed, the lower-category teams would not be able to train on the field to care for the surface required by the Federation. For now, the club has announced improvements to AISS, the club's grassroots football field, just in case. Such are life's ironies; when in 2005 Sant Andreu defeated Mazarron in their last promotion to Segunda B, the club opted to install artificial turf. Now that the team is celebrating a new promotion, it would be time to install natural turf to prevent the club from leaving Sant Andreu. A neighborhood that, deep down, is a town, as its people like to say. A town that will experience a parade next Sunday through its streets, to continue the main festival.