An Afternoon at the Football

Since arriving in Cádiz, going to a local football match had been on our list of things to do, but somehow we had never got around to actually doing it. It was only mid way through the first semester when we actually found where the stadium was, this was after a conversation with our tutor from Birmingham University, Rosa, who told us that the new stadium had been built, but was totally out of proportion to both Cádiz and its football team, who are nicknamed ‘the yellow submarines’. She told us not to expect much of the team, who weren’t anywhere near as good as their shiny new stadium.

We eventually resolved to get tickets for the Cádiz CF vs San Fernando CD match, after asking around we realised that we could buy tickets for the match from the stadium itself. So a couple of the girls took the bus down from Plaza de Espana to the stadium and the club shop where they were able to purchase tickets for €15 each. It was surprisingly easy, although be sure to remember that the shop is, of course, closed for siestas.

The day of the match arrived and we met in Plaza de Espana at 4 to catch the bus down to the stadium, once we arrived there were crowds of people milling around outside, with their blue and yellow flags and scarves, ready to support Cádiz. I am not a football fan in the slightest, In fact I rather dislike it, and am very wary of its supporters, being caught up with football hooligans really doesn’t appeal to me. I have been to one football match in my life aside from this one, and I only went because we were in a box with a free bar. So this was a completely new experience for me, and I will admit that I was quite nervous when we got there, although everyone was reassuring me that Cádiz fans are the nicest around. We headed first to the shop where Claire bought a yellow and blue Cádiz scarf and kath, Anissa and Emma purchased Pink ‘Cádiz girls’ scarves. Only later did we think about why they were not ‘Cádiz Chicas’ scarves both of which cost around €10. However the shop was not the only place that you could by Cádiz CF goodies, people had set up stalls around the stadium offering unofficial merchandise.

Now that we had suitable attire for football fans we headed around to the other side of the stadium to find our seats. Our tickets were for the South Stand, and after a while of looking we decided which entrance we should go through by matching up words on our tickets to signs above the entrance, once in our bags were checked and we were asked to remove the lids from our water bottles, I helped Emma sneak hers through as hers was not just a recycled plastic one. We then had to pass through some ticket barriers and attempt to work out where our seats were. We asked first at the food and drink concession, but the woman there simply pointed us towards the men working the ticket barriers, these men then told us that they were unable to help us until everyone had passed through the barriers. So we wandered around a little and eventually found what we thought may be our seats, but there were already people in them, so we found another set of 7 available seats and sat ourselves down there.

The stadium was decked out with Blue and Yellow seats, all of which were plastic and fold down, so that they could be wiped clean. The majority of the seated area was open to the elements, which is probably not usually a problem with the good weather that Cádiz is accustomed to, however the day we decided to go to the football the weather was somewhat more inclement than usual, so umbrellas were a must. There were food and drink concessions dotted around at the back of the stands, selling snacks and drinks, a soft drink would set you back €2,50 but there were signs up advertising beer for €1,50. We were sat in the South stand, which was behind the goal, and we were surrounded by some very enthusiastic fans, which was great.

The players came out onto the pitch in their two lines, shook hands and then stood there for a song that was played (I’m not sure quite what it was), once the players were in positions on the pitch there was a minutes silence. Then play started, and even I could tell that the standard of play wasn’t very good, it was clear that Cádiz were not a top league team, but this didn’t dampen the supporters’ spirits, neither did the rain that began to fall. We did feel a few uneasy eyes on us when Emma opened up her umbrella, which just so happens to have a massive Union Flag design on it, but apart from that I never felt uncomfortable.The stands were nowhere near full but the Cádiz supporters made plenty of noise with their chants, some of which were very catchy, our particular favourite was to the tune of the chorus of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons’ ‘Can’t take my eyes off you’, we were busy chanting ‘Te quiero Cádiz’ when the team almost scored a goal. Despite my initial worries the match went by very quickly and was actually lots of fun, although I’m not sure the same could have been said if we had been sat elsewhere in the stadium. The match was pretty uneventful barring a few on-pitch scuffles and a headbutt, but eventually it ended in a 0 - 0 draw, not the most exciting result but I still really enjoyed it.

We joined the throng of people slowly making their way out of the stadium and headed back around to the main road where there was a line of three busses waiting to take people away from the stadium. It only took minutes to load up the three busses and then we were on the way home, it was so easy, no waiting around. I would definitely recommend going to a game if you spend time in Cádiz, and it is true that the fans make it fun! I will be going to another one if I get the chance, this time I will be prepared and know some of the chants.

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