First-team players and coaching staff at Rayo Vallecano have issued a strongly worded statement, complaining about poor working conditions at the club. This includes the state of the (pitch) of the Vallecas Stadium, the training complex, and what the players describe as a lack of “decent working conditions.”
Among the issues raised are prolonged periods without access to the training ground, deteriorating pitches, lack of hot water, inadequate cleaning, and outdated facilities.
According to the statement, the squad was unable to train at our Sports City for nearly three months during the pre-season due to the poor condition of the fields, forcing us to leave the facilities to train on a field that met the necessary conditions to perform our work professionally.
“This situation, prolonged over time, directly affected daily work, planning, and the normality required by a professional First Division team.
Months later, and due to the weather, it was not possible to train on the training field, having to find a solution by training on a synthetic turf field outside the facilities due to the poor condition of the ones in our Sports City.”
Vallecas Stadium and facilities
The statement continues by claiming that in the last month, “the state of the grass at the Vallecas Stadium has been clearly deficient, a situation that has worsened with each passing week and has been reflected both in previous matches and in the situation experienced today, just hours before playing another official match.”
An unstable and unplayable playing surface that has forced the team to train at the Sports City.
The players and coaching staff go as far as stating that the playing field does not meet the minimum requirements to play a top-level match.
“This situation is compounded by deficiencies in the facilities we use daily, such as the lack of hot water in the showers on certain days, cleaning that has not always been adequate, and outdated facilities that do not meet the standards required by a top-flight club for proper professional performance.”