The most Catalan football club in Catalonia

OlotIn today's football where everything is bought with money, a unique club survives in La Garrotxa with a very strong policy on and off the pitch, based on sustainability and proximity. "It's a project that creates a sense of pride in belonging to this family, which transforms into a bond, unity, and performance." This is how Pedro del Campo, the first captain, describes what Olot means, a team characterized by having only players from the Catalan Countries. "This generates a much stronger sense of belonging. The new signings quickly get into the swing of things, get to know the club, its positioning, and we form a family. This connection translates into a good rapport on the pitch and into results," the player assures.

Although it's not established in the statutes (Athletic Club doesn't have one either), Olot is very clear about the philosophy they must follow. "We must respect our identity and never do things to artificially inflate the club and bring in capital from countries with much more lax social legislation than ours," emphasizes president Joan Agustí. This makes the market more restricted than that of competitors, but not limited, as sporting director Lluís Micaló explains. "To the Second RFEF, you have to go on the rebound from Terrassa, Sant Andreu, the reserve teams... Not only for financial reasons, but also for travel reasons. Normally, someone from Barcelona prefers to look for a project close to home rather than more than an hour away by car."

A club policy that goes far beyond the sporting aspect. "Olot is the alternative to the linear football we've seen until now. People see sport as a competitive system with scores, players, transfers, and an increasingly powerful economic force. We try to make it a project of social value," explains the president. Members have a high percentage of the income, and furthermore, all the sponsors are from Olot or nearby. "You're building a sustainable club over time, which will surely endure if you do things right. On the other hand, foreign capital isn't usually involved, nor do they feel ownership of the project," comments the sporting director. "What we do is an honor for us, although not even the organizations we support realize the effort this represents," confesses Joan Agustí.

The vindication of Olot

Off the pitch, they also fight against the injustices present in Spanish football. One of them is the composition of the Third RFEF: 18 groups that condemn Catalan players to a one-third chance of playing in the category to which they would be entitled by level. "The biggest difference is between La Rioja, with 8,000 licenses and one place for promotion to semi-professional football, and Catalonia, with 220,000 and also only one place," explains Joan Agustí. "There are 150,000 Catalan licenses that condemn themselves to playing in a lower category than the one they would be entitled to play abroad," adds the Olot leader, who has managed to convince the Catalan non-professional football teams to be their representatives in the Spanish Federation's assembly.

There, they will fight to demand a greater presence of Catalan clubs, which currently number eleven out of a total of 135. "It's a matter of entering the bedroom of the boy or girl who dreams of becoming a footballer and who only has a third of the chance of achieving it compared to what they should," the president denounces. "If we don't fight, we are complicit in deceiving Catalan children," he adds.

A social football

Olot also collaborates with various organizations to organize social events during the season. "When the competition is over, our players dedicate themselves to filling our social calendar," explains Joan Agustí, who reviews some of the events they participate in. For example, playing against the temporary staff at the Puig de les Basses Penitentiary Center (Figueres), visiting a nursing home, or playing in a charity match for Caritas. "We go to schools and promote the values of sport. Olot doesn't sell our clothing; we don't sell it and buy it ourselves. We donate the activity and the income to the organization that here in La Garrotxa cares for people with disabilities," adds the president of a club that has inclusive, social, and women's soccer teams.

The future of semi-professional football

The club is humble, but hungry for success. "Last year we consolidated our position in the Second Division of the RFEF, and now we want to be ambitious; we want to give back everything Olot has given us," confesses Del Campo. The president, on the other hand, prefers caution. "We must be realistic and first fight to be mathematically safe. From there, we would like to move closer to other positions that would allow us to improve our revenue and gain greater visibility." However, "luck is not our traveling companion," concludes Agustí.