#SOSRealOviedo

November 13, 2012 6:03 AM

Real Oviedo, the Spanish football club that recently brought to you the talents of Juan Mata, Cazorla, Adrián or Michu, is facing bankrupcy. The 86-year-old club had to raise near 2 million euros by november 17th, an impossible challenge for a third division team in Spain. But surprisingly, in under just two weeks old and new fans from more than 60 countries have raised more than a million euros. Instrumental in this unexpected worldwide attention has been Sid Lowe. The Guardian's reporter for all things Spanish Football is an ardent supporter of Real Oviedo, ever since his Erasmus stay in the city, and has been spreading the good word from his twitter account. Last Sunday, the team defeated Real Madrid's C team with an attendance of more than 20 thousand. The same weekend, there were significantly less people seeing Barcelona play in Mallorca. last two links in Spanish
posted by valdesm (15 comments total)

Sid Lowe talks about Real Oviedo and the rescue effort in this podcast (starts at 20:50).
posted by Kattullus at 6:20 AM on November 13, 2012 [1 favorite]

The 86-year-old club had to raise near 2 million euros by november 17th, an impossible challenge for a third division team in Spain. But surprisingly, in under just two weeks old and new fans from from more than 60 countries have raised more than a million euros

PLAINTIFFS: WILL FARRELL, BEN STILLER, VINCE VAUGHN AND ORS
DEFENDANT: REAL OVIEDO FOOTBALL CLUB
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF SPAIN
The plaintiffs bring suit for unauthorised appropriation and use of material in which they are the copyright holders and other intellectual property which they own, namely an extremely successful plot device used in the plaintiffs' movies "Semi-Pro" and "Dodgeball". The appropriation of this plot device by the defendant has caused loss of earnings and emotional damage which is substantial and continuing and the plaintiffs petition the court for judgment in the amount of EUR100,000,000.00 plus interest from the time of the tortious violation in question until the time of judgment. The plaintiffs further petition that the role of Judge in this matter be played by their pal Owen Wilson, who can actually do a pretty good Spanish accent and will provide his own wig.
posted by the quidnunc kid at 6:22 AM on November 13, 2012 [6 favorites]

The Scottish Premier League team Hearts are in a similar position.
posted by redskythinking at 6:25 AM on November 13, 2012

This is the big risk between the have and have nots. Yes, the haves have it great. But if they take so much revenue that the have nots disappear, then, well, who do they play?

The Scottish Premier League team Hearts are in a similar position.

Every team in the SPL is now in that position, in some way. Even Celtic, who used to at least duel with the Rangers for the top of the table. Unless the Rangers can come back, and that's by no means assured when you look at the money they won't be making in the lower divisions, who wants to play in a league where Celtic wins? Who wants to watch that?
posted by eriko at 6:41 AM on November 13, 2012

Whilst I wouldn't disagree with you about the SPL being in a financially poor state, it is hardly the 'armageddon' situation that the Scottish and British newspapers in general painted it as being (not forgetting the vaguely corrupt Scottish football authorities). Celtic are not running away with the league by any stretch of the imagination (currently 2nd, although they will go top if they win their game in hand).

Hearts in fact had the same problems when the Old Firm were going strong in the SPL (pre-Rangers meltdown) it had more to do with the mad management of their Lithuanian owner and his crazy spending trying to split the Old Firm in the league (which to his credit he did manage to do one season).

But that is not to say that the financial situation is better without Rangers - each team is projected to be earning less because of their absence. We should be making an opportunity of the mad situation of big clubs like Rangers and potentially Hearts going bust to make the changes that the majority of fans have been asking for for decades. I won't go through the fans' list of demands (available on the excellent Scottish football forum 'Pie & Bovril' for instance) but the vast majority are simply common sense/fan centric/competition centric, but such ideas are continually rejected by the fiscally-centric Scottish football authorities. Football does need money to run but money shouldn't be running football. If you understand my poor attempt at being clever there!

Same applies to Real Oviedo (perhaps) and so many other European teams and leagues - live within your means, develop youth players, innovate.... and television money does not have to be the be all and end all of football.
posted by redskythinking at 7:28 AM on November 13, 2012 [2 favorites]

In the Spanish case the problem is the television rights, which go disproportionally towards the big two: Real Madrid and Barcelona. Nobody can really compete with those two so the title, cup and Champions League places always tend to go to those two. The Premier League, for all its troubles, at least divides its tv money much more equally.
posted by MartinWisse at 8:46 AM on November 13, 2012

MartinWisse - which Premier League? ;)

Sorry, i'm being silly... but it rather rubs me the wrong way me that the English Premier League labels itself thusly as though there are no other Premier Leagues. Also, 'the FA', as opposed to say the SFA, etc! Perhaps I am being a little sensitive. Vaguely annoys me nonetheless.
posted by redskythinking at 9:15 AM on November 13, 2012

@redskythinking - I understand your irritation, though in fairness, the sport was invented there and thus gets (in my mind at least) a bit of dispensation. :)
posted by Celsius1414 at 9:33 AM on November 13, 2012 [1 favorite]

This Scottish website begs to differ

Alright, i'll leave it at that. heheh
Real Oviedo!
posted by redskythinking at 9:43 AM on November 13, 2012 [1 favorite]

It baffles me why the La Liga clubs not called Barcelona or Real Madrid don't tell those two to accept a more equitable revenue sharing scheme or go play somewhere else.

The lowest placed English Premier League team will get more TV money than whoever comes third in La Liga next year.
posted by fullerine at 10:14 AM on November 13, 2012

@redskythinking : The reason the FA is called the FA is that when it was founded, there were no other football associations. Also, the Premier League is properly called the Barclays Premier League.
posted by salmacis at 11:06 AM on November 13, 2012

The lowest placed English Premier League team will get more TV money than whoever comes third in La Liga next year.

Mark Hughes rubs his hands together eagerly, imaging his first hot meal in months.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 11:06 AM on November 13, 2012 [2 favorites]

Generally the top leagues aren't identified by their nationality, thus you have Serie A and not the Italian Serie A, same goes for La Liga, Bundesliga and Ligue 1. This is slightly complicated by the fact that "premier league" is the most common name for a league at the top of a football pyramid, but I've yet to see an instance where this causes any confusion. However, in the US the Premier League routinely gets referred to as the EPL, which causes much consternation for a certain kind of fan.
posted by Kattullus at 11:28 AM on November 13, 2012

However, in the US the Premier League routinely gets referred to as the EPL, which causes much consternation for a certain kind of fan.

I would be that fan.
posted by modernnomad at 12:15 PM on November 13, 2012 [2 favorites]

True, these days it has to be the English and Token Welsh Team Premier League, or EaTWTPL.
posted by MartinWisse at 1:24 PM on November 13, 2012