Franchise Notes: Spanish Handball Club Aragón Pulls Out For Financial Reasons

Spanish Handball League (ASOBAL) side Aragón's members decided to "pull the first team from the national competition, a measure that will be applied immediately." This means the team will not compete in the game it was scheduled to play against Go Fit on April 20. The club said in a statement, "Despite the efforts made at every level of the club, the difficult economic situation, aggravated by the lack of support from the institution, has made it impossible to continue the ASOBAL project" (SPORT, 4/11).

Palencia, Spain Mayor Alfonso Polanco said that Spanish Minister of Education Culture & Sport Íñigo Méndez de Vigo is negotiating with the Spanish Basketball League (ACB) for basketball club Quesos Cerrato Palencia -- the second-tier LEB Oro champion -- to secure promotion to the top division. Polanco: "The economic part is the most difficult but I know that the club execs are in contact with the minister to take the right steps" (EFE, 4/12).