Some fans of Spanish La Liga side Villarreal are very lucky, at least in one aspect of their lives.

Next season, Villarreal will be helping out fans who are unemployed. Players will be contributing to a fund to provide season tickets who have lost their jobs, so they can still continue to attend games and follow their team, even though they no longer have income.

With unemployment in Spain at 13.9 percent, and even higher in Castellon at 14.7 percent, there are many fans will want to take advantage of these free tickets.

Villarreal president Fernando Roig said, “Season-ticket holders who are on the dole will be allowed in free next year. The idea is to think of the club’s wider social base and those who have been unlucky to lose their jobs so they can continue to watch football in the Madrigal.”

Employees from around the club will contribute to a fund to help fans, from star players like Robert Pires, Marcos Senna, and Joseba Llorente to the club’s board, coaches, and sponsors.

Llorente was eager to support the proposal, saying, “We are keen to get involved because it seems like a good idea considering the times we are in. There are many people without work and it’s a shame if they don’t come to the stadium because of this.”

You listening, American sports teams? Attendance will certainly be down, and you will surely be looking for ways to get fans to come to games to keep the revenue flowing and maintain a home-field advantage. Instead of trotting out millionaires to play in empty stadiums and arenas, you can do something to help the unemployed out like Villarreal is.*

Seeing as I am out of work right now, I welcome all ticket donations, even to unimportant sports and tractor pulls. Especially tractor pulls.

*Note: This suggestion does not apply to the Detroit Lions. You have inflicted way too much pain already on an already troubled region of the country, those poor people don’t need to add to the misery by having to go to more Lions games.

Free passes for Villarreal season ticket holders on dole [Reuters]
Villarreal’s Soccer Millionaires Are Asked to Help Jobless Fans [Bloomberg]

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