Valencia CF and VCF Foundation to rebuild football pitch at Jaume Ortí Municipal Sports Centre in Aldaia | OneFootball

Valencia CF and the VCF Foundation have signed an agreement with the Ajuntament d’Aldaia for the reconstruction of the football pitch at the Jaume Ortí Municipal Sports Centre, which was devastated by the DANA disaster.

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The club will allocate the money raised through the solidarity initiative ‘UNITS COM SEMPRE’ to the reconstruction and upgrading of football pitches of partner schools that have been most affected by the catastrophe.

Following the agreement with the town of Aldaia, Valencia CF and the Fundació VCF will soon announce other pitches in towns in the region that will be restored, paying for elements such as the grass, irrigation system and drainage.

“We have signed a very important agreement for Aldaia, which will allow the boys and girls of the town to play again on the Jaume Ortí football pitch. It is a very symbolic and very exciting element that Valencia CF will recover this football pitch that bears the name of former club president Jaume Ortí,” explains Guillermo Luján, mayor of the town.

The reconstruction also highlights the collaborative spirit of the VCF Academy's 'Escoles VCF' project. Through it, the 43 schools that take part not only benefit from the methodology, talent and training of a world-renowned club model, but it also serves to strengthen relationships between clubs with Valencia CF as a catalyst.

Inma Ibáñez, director of the Fundació VCF, says that "Our motto is 'football helps football' and there is nothing better than starting with this pitch. I have to thank the Ajuntament d'Aldaia because they have made everything very easy. It was a great responsibility for Valencia CF, we could not let this pitch not be up and running as quickly as possible. For me it is an honour that it is the first and that we will act quickly so that it is as before. We all want to help very quickly, and after this we want to start rebuilding three other pitches at the same time. All the town councils will be happy with this aid and all the children will be able to participate in football in their towns.”

“We have 750 boys and girls in 43 teams,” describes Pepe Villegas, president of UD Aldaia, “and I hope that the pitch will soon be operational, and that all the boys and girls will be able to play football here in the town again. We are very happy with today's agreement, and with all the effort that the mayor and Valencia CF have put into it.”

The generosity of Valencia fans through donations, together with the contribution made by the club of ticket revenue from their game against Real Betis -matched by majority shareholder Peter Lim- and by Divina Seguros, the official insurer of Valencia CF, have been fundamental in making this initiative a reality and getting help to those who need it most. In addition, there has been support and collaboration from organisations and entities such as LALIGA.