The Association of Third National Category Football Clubs, in response to the call made by the RFEF on possible proposals to improve official competitions and, fundamentally, the one directly responsible for it, the First RFEF, has requested that the current promotion playoff format, with clashes between the second and fifth and the third and fourth classified, but playing the knockout rounds with round-trip matches. This measure, according to the ‘club of five’ (Rayo Majadahonda, San Sebastián de los Reyes, Balompédica Linense, Linares and Dux Internacional de Madrid, the founding teams of this Association) would allow fans to “recover one of the most exciting moments of the season» and would provide the clubs with one of the most important box office revenues they generate throughout the course.
Through a note, the Association of Third National Category Football Clubs welcomes the RFEF’s position of being open to discussing those aspects that can contribute to improving the competition. “Improvement not only in sports and economics, but in a fundamental fact for its survival: respect and consideration for fans, sometimes marginalized, when in fact they are the maintainers of our activity,” they say.
Among the measures to improve the competition in the First RFEF, the members of this association also demand that it be established, in common agreement with the clubs, “a regulatory framework, of economic control, with the aim of guaranteeing the sustainability of the competition and of their clubs, through a prior analysis of their financial situations, knowing their spending limits and thus avoiding unsustainable debts».
They also ask the Federation to combat the increase in the costs of the category by adopting a series of reducing measures. In this sense, the Association of Third National Category Football Clubs proposes a series of specific proposals: lower the price of P Licenses from the current 4,500 euros, to the previous 3,000; recover old aid for the payment of Social Security; review the bill for arbitration; and provide the First RFEF, Management and Audiovisual Rights Committees with greater content, effectiveness and transparency. In addition, they propose the creation of a new Advertising and Sponsorship Committee “to provide the category not only with resources.”
The so-called ‘club of the five’, which was later joined by the Real Unión de Irún, also asks the RFEF “to dispense with the Friday game due to its low following among fans and its consequent effects on box office income.” This Association also demands the expansion of the number of teams of the First RFEF in the Copa de Rey. In addition, it asks that the clubs have “the freedom to accept or reject the CVC loan (it would allow the clubs to undertake investments requested by the RFEF itself)”.
Through its note, the Association of Third National Category Football Clubs reiterates to the RFEF its firm will to “collaborate in the improvement and development of a category, of a competition, whose future will depend a lot on the common effort, on the unity action and greater professionalization. For this, it requires greater representation in the competent decision-making bodies.
