Despite the challenging sports situation, Gerard Piqué is not giving up on the FC Andorra project. Plans for the construction of a new stadium for the team had been in place for some time. The agreement was in an advanced stage, and construction had already been planned. It seemed that the stadium would become a reality in the near future.

The need for natural grass

The new stadium was supposed to accommodate 7,000 spectators, with the possibility of expansion to 14,000 seats, and the construction cost was estimated at around €50 million. However, as the club confirmed in a statement, the project for a new stadium did not come to fruition because no agreement was reached regarding the Borda Mateu land, where the stadium was supposed to be built. The refusal of the landowners to lease the land for the stadium proved to be the main obstacle.

At this point, the club needs to reassess the situation and acknowledges that FC Andorra is a long-term project, but now it has to reflect and study this new situation, as stated in the announcement. Gerard Piqué himself has considered the possibility of moving the team out of Andorra, especially since the government of the Principality of Andorra decided to replace the natural turf at Estadi Nacional with artificial grass to celebrate the rugby team's promotion to the Honor Division B. This presents a serious problem for FC Andorra, as the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) requires teams playing in the Primera Federación to have natural grass fields.

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Years of searching for a solution

As a result, the club must find another stadium for its home matches. Moving the team to Spain now seems more likely than ever before. FC Andorra had been preparing a project to build a new stadium in Encamp, Andorra, with a cost of €26 million. However, obstacles related to reallocating funds for this purpose proved insurmountable. In July last year, the club was granted temporary permission and had six months to provide additional documentation, but this never happened.

In February last year, a meeting took place between Andorra’s Minister of Sport and the Secretary of State for Sports, along with representatives from the club. Both sides agreed to work together to find a solution as quickly as possible, under FC Andorra’s leadership, but with the collaboration and understanding of all involved parties, to promote this important project for the country.

During the meeting, the club emphasized its desire to stay in Andorra, which is why efforts to find a location for the stadium continued, even though land availability in the country is limited. Several scenarios were considered, one of which involved reaching an agreement with the municipality of Comú d'Andorra la Vella to renovate the historic Estadi Comunal, built in 1990, which requires extensive renovation and currently holds only 500 spectators.

© Милан