The Barcelona City Council will install natural grass in the Nou Sardenya and Narcís Sala stadiums for the next season, with the aim that CE Europa and UE Sant Andreu can play their matches in 1a RFEF complying with current regulations.
The council has communicated that it has already initiated the procedures to carry out the action in both municipal venues. The measure is directly linked to the current requirement in 1a RFEF, which obliges playing matches on natural grass.
Relocation of base training sessions
The mayor of Barcelona, Jaume Collboni, conveyed on Monday the agreement to the highest representatives of the two clubs and informed them that the City Council has found new spaces to guarantee the training sessions of the grassroots, women's and inclusive teams while the use of the stadiums is adapted.
In the case of UE Sant Andreu, the training teams will be able to train in the fields of AISS, Bon Pastor and Baró de Viver. For CE Europa, in addition to the Àliga field, new training spaces will be enabled in Mundet.
"Natural turf will be installed in the municipal stadiums of Narcís Sala and Nou Sardenya" - Jaume Collboni, mayor of Barcelona
The City Council maintains that during the entire process, it has been worked to ensure that all the grassroots football of both clubs had at its disposal alternative fields in the city before starting the foreseen actions in the stadiums.
A solution proposed for the next season
The meeting in which this decision was addressed had the participation, on behalf of UE Sant Andreu, of vice-president Tomeu Ferran and general director Josep Manuel Pérez. Representing CE Europa attended president Hèctor Ibar and the member of the board of directors Jordi Cullell. Also present was the Sports councilor, David Escudé.
The council defends that both clubs represent positive values of sport for thousands of children and young people from the districts of Gràcia and Sant Andreu, and frames the agreement as a long-term solution that, in its opinion, must benefit both elite teams and training teams.
The City Council wants to review the regulations
In parallel, the City Council assures that it has studied immediate and future alternatives to guarantee compliance with the 1st RFEF regulations. At the same time, it states that it is working to modify the current regulation on the turf for reasons of environmental, economic, sports, and social sustainability.
In addition, it also proposes extending the deadline for the installation of natural grass for teams promoted to 1a RFEF. While that debate remains open, Barcelona considers the change activated in Narcís Sala and Nou Sardenya so that Sant Andreu and Europa can adapt to the next season without affecting the ordinary activity of their grassroots structures.