What is behind the "We are all mackerel" campaign?

BarcelonaThe controversy involving Vinícius, Mbappé, and Konaté has put the focus on the "Todos somos caballas" campaign. The three Real Madrid players hid the slogan on the shirt before the match against Elche, while other teams, such as Villarreal, Betis, Elche, and Levante, did wear it. Barça, on the other hand, did not wear it in the match against the Granota side.

The initiative was launched last September 11 by the Valencian Association of Entrepreneurs (AVE), which presents it as a show of solidarity with Ceuta and its business fabric after the migration crisis at the end of July. The mackerel ('caballa' in Spanish), a fish traditional to the city and very present in its seafaring culture, has also given its name to the inhabitants of the autonomous city, who are popularly known as caballas. The slogan thus aims to convey the idea that Ceuta is not alone.

At the head of the AVE is Vicente Boluda, president of the entity since 2011 and of Boluda Corporación Marítima. Curiously, the Valencian businessman was also interim president of Real Madrid for a few months in 2009, a brief term that was marked, among other episodes, by the famous "chorreo" that he predicted before the Champions League tie against Liverpool. Madrid would end up losing both matches 0-1 and 4-0.

Boluda, between Ceuta and Morocco

The Boluda business group has activity on both sides of the strait. In Ceuta, it offers port and towing services, while it also operates in Morocco, especially in Tangier-Med. In December 2025, the Moroccan port operator Marsa Maroc acquired 45% of Boluda Maritime Terminals, a subsidiary of the group, for 80 million euros.

This business link with Morocco does not allow for establishing any relationship with the origin of the campaign, which the AVE publicly attributes to support for Ceuta. The initiative, however, has ended up generating an entire political debate after the gesture of the three Madrid players and the controversy that the same shirt had already previously caused with Ez Abde, a Real Betis player, who received insults and threats on social media coming from Morocco for having worn it.