Malaga fans' worst nightmare has come true. The redevelopment of La Rosaleda for the 2030 World Cup is forcing the club to move to an athletics stadium which, contrary to earlier announcements, will not be substantially expanded. The spectre of financial, sporting and social problems hangs over the Boquerones.

More than half of the socios will be left out

Not 27,000, but 12,500. That will be the capacity of Estadio Ciudad de Málaga for the duration of Málaga CF’s stay there. Today, the venue has a seating capacity of 7,500, meaning that only 5,000 chairs will be added. The news broke after the City Council approved a convention on Friday afternoon for the redevelopment of Estadio La Rosaleda, which will force the club to move to the Ciudad de Málaga for the 2026/27 and 2027/28 seasons, and possibly longer.

According to SUR, the main reason is the lack of agreement for more capacity from the Main Roads Directorate, as a road leading to the port runs just next to the stadium. The club feared such a scenario, as the mayor's team had been giving indications for several weeks that keeping the promise of 27,000 seats would be difficult. It is up to the Ministry, said the sports councillor in an interview with Radio Marca three weeks ago.

However, no one guessed that capacity would be cut so drastically, especially as for Real Zaragoza, which is in the same situation, the city, club and region built a modular 20,000-seater from scratch in only four months.

Just a few months ago, the mayor of Málaga, Francisco de la Torre, promised that the temporary stadium would accommodate all the socios - 26,500 people. As it turns out, however, there will be no room for more than half of the pass holders. For Malaga CF, this is financially disastrous news, with local media already speculating that the city will have to compensate the club for the loss.

© Kuba Kowalski | Estadio Ciudad de Málaga has only one stand, separated from the pitch by a treadmill.

Fans react with a harsh statement

The news caused a real storm in the fan community. Fan associations issued a joint statement accusing the city, the Andalusian government and the Spanish government of empty promises, projects without a timetable and propaganda slogans, referring to the lack of progress in the project to redevelop La Rosaleda. Behind this paralysis there seem to be political and economic interests that, instead of protecting the club's heritage and future, seek to make it cease to exist, they argue.

We demand that you GUARANTEE us (yes, in capital letters) a minimum of 23,000 seats at any time of redevelopment, they convey their demands. If they are not met, they threaten massive, albeit peaceful protests against hosting of the World Cup in Malaga. We demand respect, truth and commitments, the socios concluded.

To make matters worse, CD Unión Malacitano will be playing at Ciudad de Malaga this season, which could result in difficulties for the expansion work or even both teams playing at the stadium at the same time should the new club extend their contract.

© manuelfloresv (cc: by) | This season, attendance at Estadio La Rosaleda was just under 25,000 per game, twice the planned capacity of Estadio Ciudad de Málaga.