Spanish club Levante have raised €16,025 (£13,200, $16,833) for the victims of the recent flash floods in Valencia through the auction of mud-stained football shirts.
The Valencia-based team wore the shirts in last month’s second-division match against Elche — their first game following the flooding caused by Storm DANA and amid ongoing clean-up attempts in the region.
The specially designed shirts were stained brown as a tribute to those who had been impacted by the events and carried the message: “In tribute to all those who will be there when we need them.” The back of the shirts carried the name of all the towns and villages impacted by DANA, the storm which impacted the region.
The specially designed kits had the names of all the towns and villages in Valencia impacted by the flooding (Levante UD)
Each of the 28 players’ shirts were then auctioned by the club through its Levante UD Foundation, from November 18 through to December 2, with the bidding starting at €100 per item.
The torrential rain — which brought over a year’s precipitation to several areas in eastern Spain, including the Valencian Community — was one of the deadliest natural disasters in Spanish history.
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The Spanish government said 230 deaths were a consequence of the flooding, of which 221 were recorded in the province of Valencia, with four others missing.
Levante are currently seventh in the Spanish second division and are next in action at home to Cordoba on Saturday, December 14.
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How Spanish football has reacted to the flooding
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Many other Spanish clubs have supported those within football most affected by the disaster.
Atletico Madrid, Leganes, Sevilla, Betis and Mallorca were among those to use their stadiums as collection points for materials donated by supporters, with food, blankets, nappies and water sent by road to those who badly needed them.
Real Madrid quickly announced a donation of €1million ($1m; £831,000) through the Spanish Red Cross. Villarreal, another La Liga side based in the Valencia region, donated €500,000 through the Red Cross and humanitarian aid network Caritas. Second-division team Castellon raised €410,000, including a personal donation of €250,000 from their Greek-Canadian president Bob Voulgaris.
Leganes donated €110,000 — €100 for each kilometre their players ran during their game against Sevilla on November 9. The shirts worn by Las Palmas players in last Saturday’s home game against Mallorca will be auctioned online, with proceeds to be donated via Caritas, along with a portion of ticket revenue from the match. Atletico Madrid made a financial contribution equal to the value of the 55 tonnes of material their fans collected, to be distributed in affected areas.
Real Betis donated €230,000 — €100,000 from club funds, €100,000 from the players and €30,000 collected by fans — to help football clubs and youth clubs in Valencia buy items to replace what they lost.
(Top image: Levante UD)
