The sports director of Almería and right-hand man of the Sheikh, Mohamed El Assy, participated at the University of Almería in the conference ‘Economic and business perspectives of the UDA’, answering the questions of the attendees after an exhibition. “It is easier to play in the First Division than in the Second Division. Promotion means winning more than 25 games and in the First Division, if you are not among the last three, you meet the objective. If we go up we will not return, to go down. The plan is to ascend, stay and from there try to reach the Europa League. We are on the right track because after three years we have the best attack and we fit much less. HWe went from nine million in budget to 40 “, the Egyptian exhibited in the Auditorium of the UAL.
“We have broken a points record in 17 games since the 95-96 season [desde que las victorias valen tres puntos]. With our previous experience until January or February we went well and then we messed it up. The market depends on external factors. If we go up, investing will depend on many factors, “said El Assy, which guaranteed Sadiq’s continuity until the end of the course. “We want to move up and we are not going to sell him in winter. The last market day we had a great offer for him from a Spanish club and we didn’t want to sell. Darwin didn’t want to leave either, he liked the city and the people here”he continued.
Assy denied that Almería was a state club. “The reason for the Arab investment in football is due to the passion felt by these countries. Almería is a different project because it is not a state club. Saudi Arabia has bought Newcastle with an investment fund and this was a personal bet from Turki Al-Sheikh “explained the Egyptian. “Turki Al-Sheikh could have chosen big, but he opted for a small club to make it big. We chose Almería because it had little debt and an owner with a majority shareholding, without a complicated structure. The purchase was for 18 million”, he continued.
“The Arab sponsors allowed us to do a lot of the transfers. Turki Al-Sheikh also came to help on a social level, it is worth remembering more than one million euros for the coronavirus and aid to the Food Bank. But we are not an NGO. We come to go up “, said the general director of Almería, giving data. “Today we have 3.3 million in sponsorships from Spanish companies and 3.5 million from Arabs. If we go up to First, we expect new ones. Aramco is very specific, it is something that depends on them. Before arriving we had 500,000 euros in sponsorships and Urcisol covered a large part. We have earned the trust of Spanish companies because they see a great showcase. We have dropped from 6 million to 3.5 in sponsorship of Arab companies for not having been able to go up already and due to the coronavirus, being many from the service sector such as Saudia or Signature “.
The sheikh’s right-hand man also spoke about the infrastructure project, which the new property placed so much emphasis on upon his arrival two years ago. “The first phase of the stadium remodeling will open in May. It includes a facelift for the seats, new video scoreboard technology and a new cover. Then it will be excavated to increase the capacity to 25,000 spectators, “he said, without rushing for the second phase.” Even if we start in summer, the first thing that has to be ready is the grass after going down 11 meters. We will need to play the odd game in another stadium. The plan is to go up, stay for a couple of seasons and then start the second phase “, he assured.
“We could exceed 60 million with the promotion. In addition, we need a five-star stadium where the fans feel comfortable and the companies have a great showcase. We have the management for 25 years and we will spend 15 million on works. The canon to the City Council exceeds 100,000 euros per year. We also have the Academy to train players here without having to buy so much, everything would change radically. The club was bought by Turki, but it is from Almería and the people of Almería “He stressed, also explaining the income that the club has in terms of tickets and subscribers. “Between tickets and season tickets we did not achieve more than 1.5 million euros. We are one of the cheapest to subscribe to Second Division despite making them more expensive by 20%. We want to get to the second phase to increase the capacity of the Stadium and achieve more ticket revenue. We are going to go from six VIP boxes to 19 and that will be an added income for the club, since it will be for companies that will be able to use it during the week to have meetings as offices, not only during matches, “explained the Egyptian.
As for the Sports City, there is still no date for its construction. “Our project is the Academy, but we need a land of at least 100,000 square meters and the City Council offers us 35,000. You have to find a plot that meets the expectations to do it. We will find the solution soon. For the Academy, the main problem is to find the right plot for the Sports City. For instance, the paperwork for the stadium concession started in November 2019, but it is Spanish law and we have to respect it. We don’t look at any team, “he explained, promising alternative activities beyond sports.” Our idea was to hold a music festival every year, but the coronavirus prevented it. We are preparing a big event for the preparation of the first phase of the Stadium in early May. Hopefully we could also celebrate the promotion. We negotiate with two very famous artists, one of them has never been to Almería. We are also going to open soon the Rozam Sports Bar in the American style, one of the first in Spain, where we will celebrate concerts with great DJs. It will be located in Aguadulce “.
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