Soccer in Córdoba is going through a great moment in terms of the teams that compete in AFA. The recent promotions of belgrano e Institutethey gave the Professional League a very Cordovan tune, already with a workshops settled in the First Division.
Added to this is the recovery of Racing de Nueva Italia on its return to the First National and many other capital clubs fighting to join a Federal A, from the Regional Amateur Tournament.
The Cordovan Football League He looks very favorably on this present, of which he feels a part as the “mother house” of the round in the Docta.
This Saturday a new LCF championship will start in both First A and B, with an institution that feels “in a very good moment”, according to the words of its president, Daniel Fernandez.
The activity will start in full, with two places for the next Regional Amateur Tournament in the highest division. The prize that seduces the most.
“This week we live very intensely. The inferiors begin on Sunday and women’s soccer, in two weeks. The teams are ready, there are many who are very well armed. The clubs have put to work very well, it will be a very competitive tournament”, anticipated President Fernández.
What will the format be like? “There will be two zones of 10 teams in Primera A, the first two of each zone go to the Amateur Regional Tournament. The second part will be playing for the Córdoba Cup. The most important aspiration is to qualify for the Regional. The league has two places and the idea is to get one more, since they are not going to give more licenses or invitations from the Federal Council. We want to get one more place. You have to manage it. Once the tournaments begin, we will travel to Buenos Aires to manage in this regard”, Fernández anticipated.
The moment of the Cordovan Football League
This Saturday the official activity will begin on the fields of the Liga Cordobesa and again thousands of players will turn to the stadiums, from the youth categories to the First.
As confirmed by the LCF, the entity currently brings together some 30,000 active footballers. A number that puts it at the top of the country’s interior leagues.
“The League is growing, both in quantity and quality. We have had very good representatives in the Federales, as in the Sub 13 and Sub 15 teams, in national tournaments. Currently, the League has approximately 30,000 active players. Today it must be the biggest League in the country outside of AFA. There are no leagues with that amount. We have the 40 teams with nine lower divisions, plus onions, first and reserve. It is a quantity of weekly competition that very few leagues have”, expressed the highest authority of the LCF.
And another detail: the clubs have “understood” that the path to growth is through infrastructure.
“Today the clubs are turning to grow in infrastructure. Las Palmas is building a spectacular property. Other clubs are going that way. Today football matches are a spectacle and we have to provide the facilities in the stadiums for the public. The League has been working hard on that, demanding and suggesting infrastructure work. 10 years ago it was very difficult to find the stands, the toilets in good condition. Today all the clubs have local and visitor stands, bathrooms, changing rooms in good condition. The clubs understand that this is the way”, explained Fernández.
La Liga, for its part, hopes to finish the first stage of works in its own 11-hectare property in 2023, on the way to Monte Cristo.
There will be eight courts, with changing rooms, bathrooms, and the hotel itself, with 34 beds, is projected. All this to be used by the league clubs themselves.
“We are working on the League’s own property, there are 11 hectares. Work is underway to provide the first part with infrastructure, the idea is to have four pitches in the first stage in order to reach eight. The idea of the League is that all women’s football can be managed there on weekends and the clubs that want to go to train, the place will be available. Then we plan to build a hotel with 34 beds. We are working very hard on that. We calculate by the end of the year to have the first part of the infrastructure, changing rooms, bathrooms, close the property and build four fields. It is a virgin property and there is much to do. It is located on Avenida Malvinas, at kilometer 6.5. It’s on the way to Monte Cristo, on Route 10. We already have the League field, which is a beautiful property, a synthetic field of 11 that is in perfect condition, which has intensive use and the institutions take advantage of it. This property would be another very important step, because it would put the League in a prominent place. Institutions need space, infrastructure”, explained Fernández.
Football in Córdoba, growing
On the other hand, from the LCF they emphasize that today relations with the clubs that are in AFA “are having a great time.” Without tension, with a lot of dialogue.
“Football in Córdoba is going through a historic moment. Three teams in the First Division, in the positions they are in. Talleres playing international cups, Belgrano and Instituto joining the Professional League, the rise of Racing. It’s all been very good. This puts football in Córdoba at an excellent moment. The League must accompany these clubs, which are the main entities we have. Luckily all the problems have been solved, the League is having an excellent time with all the institutions”, explained Fernández.
Finally, the LCF president assured that after the pandemic, in 2022, public attendance at the League stadiums has grown and they hope that this will increase in 2023.
“There are many expectations, I think it will be an excellent tournament in both A and B. The public after the pandemic has been responding very well. Many clubs, six or seven years ago, ended all games with a deficit. Last year almost no party had a deficit. We hope to continue in the same vein. It is noticing a growth of public. The expenses are more and they are being able to solve them. That makes it clear that people go to the courts. There are very attractive clubs, such as Los Andes or Bella Vista. They are clubs that have an excellent call, that make a difference. But in all the clubs they have seen an improvement. Everyone has understood that you have to provide a show so that people go to the pitch. In addition, last year only one game was suspended due to issues of violence, that helps,” Fernández closed.
Neighborhood football gets underway this Saturday and, with it, thousands of dreams that run after a ball.