The Andorran Football Federation announced the closure of all its facilities, which put FC Andorra’s match against Leganés in doubt. After government intervention, the Encamp stadium was reopened and the game was played as scheduled.

Encamp stadium closed

Since the start of the season, FC Andorra has been playing its home matches at Nou Estadi d’Encamp. The venue, however, was closed by decision of the federation, which suspended all sporting activities in the country. According to the FAF, no club or organization would be allowed to use its facilities while the measure remained in place. In practice, this meant no matches and no training sessions.

The venue is closed for everyone and for everything. Neither training sessions nor matches. Of course, this affects Andorra. It cannot be used, the Andorran Football Federation underlined in its statement.

Causes of the conflict

The decision to close the stadiums was the result of changes in immigration regulations affecting clubs in the Andorran league. Until now, players could be registered by showing four years of previous experience, but the requirement has been extended to six years. As a result, many teams were unable to register the minimum of 16 players.

The domestic competition was paralyzed, with some clubs unable to register any footballers at all. In this context, the FAF, led by Félix Álvarez, decided to suspend its activity as a form of pressure on the Andorran government, demanding changes to the law.

© fcandorra.com

Andorra the biggest victim

Although the conflict concerned domestic football, its consequences were felt most strongly by FC Andorra, competing in Spain’s Segunda División. The team coached by Imanol Ibai Gómez suddenly lost access to its stadium just before an important league match against Leganés.

General director Jaume Nogués contacted the president of the federation asking for clarification. For the moment, however, the club had not received any official communication. In the meantime, FC Andorra insisted that preparations for the match continued as if it were to be played in Encamp as planned.

Substitute stadium 900 km away

The situation highlighted a curiosity in LaLiga’s regulations: every Segunda División club must designate an alternative stadium in case of force majeure. The choice does not need to be geographically close, only compliant with federation standards.

FC Andorra designated Estadio Nuevo Arcángel in Córdoba, more than 900 kilometres from Encamp. Had Saturday’s match been moved, Piqué’s team would have had to travel across Spain to play.

The Andorrans are not the only ones facing such distant alternatives. Cádiz would have to move to Carlos Belmonte in Albacete, around 600 kilometres away, while Granada selected Butarque in Leganés, nearly 420 kilometres from Andalusia.

© fcandorra.com

Match played in Encamp

The Andorran Football Federation backed down from its initial decision and confirmed that the match between FC Andorra and Leganés would take place in Encamp. The 24-hour ultimatum produced no change in legislation, and Minister of Sport Mònica Bonell openly criticized the FAF, calling the closure of facilities an unnecessary form of pressure.

In a morning statement, the federation confirmed the resumption of normal activity, while the government announced that cases of non-EU players would be reviewed individually. The rules remain unchanged, except for a new exemption for players under the age of 26. It was also agreed that government and federation representatives would meet to discuss the issue further, especially with the start of the Andorran league scheduled for the weekend of October 18–19. The match ended with a 2–1 victory for Leganés. For FC Andorra it was the second league defeat of the season, though the team remains in the upper half of the Segunda División table.