Real Madrid midfielder Xabi Alonso has backed a "campaign to ensure" Spanish second division side Eibar can play in Spain's "top flight next season if they win promotion on the pitch," according to Dermot Corrigan of ESPN. Eibar is currently in the second automatic promotion spot in the Spanish second division, but the "well-run small-town club, which unlike many other Segunda outfits has no debts at all, may instead be forced down to the third tier due to recently introduced financial regulations" which state the club must raise extra "share capital" of €1.7M ($2.3M) by Aug. 6. A fundraising campaign -- with individual shares available to buy online for €50 ($68) -- has so far raised just 30% of that total, meaning the "possibility of earning promotion on the pitch but still being forcibly relegated despite being a model club financially looks quite likely." Alonso, who spent half the '00-01 season on loan from Real Sociedad at Eibar, said on Tuesday that the situation "did not make sense." Alonso: "It is contradictory that a club who has an enviable financial health and with zero debts is obliged to do this, when there are others who have much deeper problems. I hope we can put in a big push to keep them where they deserve to be." Eibar President Álex Aranzabal said that he appreciated the contributions "received from inside and outside Spain, but time was running out to raise the money required." Aranzabal: "Eibar has, in these moments, two great challenges to take on. One is on the pitch, one off it. We have €400,000 and we must reach €2.1 million, the average of the other Segunda budgets which all clubs must reach. For a while people have been talking about Eibar as a model of good sporting and above all financial management. But the clock is ticking now" (ESPN, 5/21).
