PERMISSION TO TRAIN FINALLY GRANTED

It is almost two months since the Rojillos have been permitted to train together and two and a half months since their last competitive match.

Yesterday evening the players were notably excited about returning to the sport they love but unfortunately the squad have just one week to prepare themselves for a gruelling schedule. In just one week from today (10^th March 5pm) Lanzarote will restart the competition with a home match versus Fuerteventura side CD Unión Puerto and in the space of a week they have been forced to play three matches, away on the 14^th to UD Villa Santa Brígida (12 noon) and then home on the 17^th (5pm) versus UD Guía.

It doesn’t stop there. In a total of one month Lanzarote have 10 matches to play then in their final game they will be given a week’s rest before ending the first phase of the league on the 18^th April.

Whichever position Lanzarote finish up in after these 11 matches they will be involved in the playoffs whether it is for promotion or relegation. If you are not sure on the structure of the league competition please read this https://mercancialanzarote.com/2020/09/22/explaining-the-canarian-league-system-for-2020-21-season/

The President of UD Lanzarote Juan Carlos Albuixech and his board of directors have had an almighty battle with local authorities to reach this position yesterday. UD Lanzarote is in the National Spanish Third Division which means that it should be allowed to train on whichever level of Covid the island is on. Our own Cabildo (local government) have gone above their own jurisdiction by preventing Lanzarote from training at the Arrecife stadium.

Last Monday the Spanish football Federation confirmed that the Canarian league would begin without UD Lanzarote. Unfortunately there was still no movement within the Cabildo so via the clubs legal department a writ was sent to the President of the island and the Sports minister among other departments requesting immediate action and the opening of the stadium for the team to begin training.

Finally permission has been granted. It does make you wonder why our own island refused to help a club that promotes Lanzarote. Costly lawyer’s fees were the only way to push these stubborn politicians along with our own President Juan Carlos Albuixech who was not afraid to mix his words and state what he truly thought of the island government representatives. One could think that the reason for the lack of help might be because they hold a grudge against the club; however the probable reason is that these people just cannot do their job.

The manager Josu Uribe and all his players are so excited about the return of football but they have asked their fans to be patient with them and to just get behind the team in any way they can. This set of fixtures that they face would be difficult for a Champions League side but Lanzarote are a semi pro team and many players will have work commitments so this will be another battle the club will have to overcome. Another huge concern is the safety of the players. With only one week of training it is dangerous to ask any athletes to compete in such a schedule.

Currently the island is on Level 3 which means no fans will be admitted however with Covid cases dropping rapidly there is a good chance that we could be on Level 2 next week. In the Canarian Bulletin this states that 25% of the stadium capacity would be allowed to attend matches, however with our island government this cannot be taken for granted but one thing that you can be assured of is that our President and Directors will be fighting this all the way should this be needed. The Rojillos are still the only club in the league that does not allow fans to attend matches.

Lanzarote have played seven matches to date and have only four points and are bottom of the league however most sides have played 10 matches. For the Rojillos to move out of the relegation positions and into the promotion playoffs they are seven points behind.

The good news is that football is back and even though there will be no fans this week we are hoping that the match will be streamed live on Wednesday 10^th March at 5pm on www.lanzarotedeportiva.com (we will confirm this asap)

This is the 11 match fixture list which will complete the first phase of the league competition.

10^th March Lanzarote v CD Unión Puerto (5pm)

14^th March UD Villa Sta Brígida v Lanzarote (12 noon)

17^th March Lanzarote v UD Guía (5pm)

20^th March CF Unión Viera v Lanzarote (11am)

24^th March UD Las Palmas C v Lanzarote (5pm)

28^th March Lanzarote v UD San Fernando (12 noon)

31^st March Arucas CF v Lanzarote (5pm)

4^th April Lanzarote v UD Gran Tarajal (12 noon)

7^th April Lanzarote v CF Panadería Pulido (5pm)

11^th April CD Unión Puerto v Lanzarote (12 noon)

18^th April Lanzarote v UD Las Palmas C (12 noon)