Sanse’s plane, coach and ferry trek to Ceuta as crisis overshadows football | OneFootball

Sanse travel to Ceuta today by plane, coach and ferry for a matchday in a city where football has slipped into the background. Ion Ansotegi said the squad will approach it with calm and send their support from the Basque Country, around 1,000 kilometres away. According to Diario Vasco, the focus is on keeping routines normal.

The itinerary mirrors last season’s trip, which ended 0-0, but the social context is different. They fly to Málaga, continue by coach to Algeciras, then cross the Strait of Gibraltar to Ceuta by ferry and stay overnight. The club do not expect special security beyond a usual away game, though a police escort from hotel to stadium is not ruled out, and they aim to be at the ground two hours before kick-off.

After the game, around 17 hours, they head back to the port for the ferry to Algeciras, then by road to their Málaga hotel to overnight. The squad are due to fly home on Sunday to Zubieta.

Since the migration crisis began, teams in Ceuta have altered routes to the ground and even family routines. At the local club, coach José Juan Romero has become the public voice, highlighting migrants on the streets without shelter day and night.

Last week it emerged a Moroccan minor spent hours hidden beneath Real Valladolid’s team coach to reach Algeciras during their visit. On the pitch, Ceuta have lost five of seven, sit bottom, and drew with Valladolid last time out, far from last season’s comfortable survival on returning to the professional ranks.

Ceuta’s squad have been told not to discuss the issue to insulate themselves. Early attempts to project calm did not prevent late collapses in deals or doubts within the first team about remaining at the Estadio Alfonso Murube. President Luhay Hamido has said an impossible pre-season and window, alongside the club’s usual logistical hurdles, were compounded by an extraordinary factor that led 15 players to reject the project.

Source: Diario Vasco

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