FC Andorra

Not to be confused with Andorra national football team or Andorra CF.

Futbol Club Andorra is a professional football club based in Andorra la Vella, Andorra, that currently competes in Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish league system. The club was founded in 1942^[2] and currently plays its home fixtures at Estadi Nacional. In spite of being based in the microstate of Andorra, the club, voluntarily affiliated to the Catalan Football Federation,^[2] has been allowed to compete in Spanish leagues since 1948.^[3]

Andorra

Full name	Futbol Club Andorra
Nickname(s)	Els Tricolors (The Tricolours)
Founded	15 October 1942; 81 years ago (15 October 1942)
Ground	Estadi Nacional, Andorra la Vella
Capacity	3,306
Owner	Gerard Piqué
Head coach	Eder Sarabia^[1]
League	Segunda División
2022-23	Segunda División, 7th of 22
Website	Club website
Home colours Away colours Third colours
Current season

History

Futbol Club Andorra has historically been the biggest football club in the country. The club was founded on 15 October 1942 in the College of Our Lady of Meritxell and was the first football club to be founded in Andorra.^[4] The club joined the categories of the Catalan Football Federation, contesting the Spanish League and Spanish Cup. In the 1963–64 season FC Andorra debuted in the Segunda Regional, finishing in the 11th position.^[5]

After several years in regional categories, the Andorran club climbed in 1981 to Segunda División B (third level of the Spanish league system), where they remained for 17 years, with a break in the 1986–87 season when the team played in Tercera División. In the 1988–89 and 1989–90 seasons FC Andorra was close to promotion to Segunda División.

The club's greatest success came in 1994 when FC Andorra won the Copa Catalunya. The Andorran team eliminated FC Barcelona in the semi-finals (aggregate 2–1) and defeated RCD Espanyol in the final played in the Municipal Stadium of Vilassar de Mar, winning 4–2 on penalties after no goals were scored during ordinary and extra time.^[6]

At the end of the 1997–98 season the team was relegated to Tercera División (fourth tier).

Their best performance to date in the Copa del Rey was in the 1995–96 edition, beating Palamós CF and Getafe CF before being eliminated by Celta Vigo in Round 16.

From 1986 to 2013 the club also had a futsal section (FC Andorra Futsal) that played in División de Honor and División de Plata.

The Andorran club was bought in December 2018 by Gerard Piqué's Kosmos Holding Group,^[7][8] and in April 2019 presented its main sponsor MoraBanc;^[9] known as a strong and a benchmark bank in Andorra. Weeks later they achieved promotion to Tercera División, after a streak of 22 matches unbeaten.^[10] In July 2019, the club paid a €452,022 fee to replace CF Reus Deportiu in the Segunda División B after Reus were relegated to the Tercera División for failing to pay its players.^[11][12]

On 20 February 2020, head coach Gabri Garcia was fired from the club.^[13] The reason was poor results with 3 consecutive losses and 7 matches without a single victory.^[14] On the same day Nacho Castro was appointed as the club's new head coach.^[15] On 27 February 2020, one of the biggest business groups in Andorra Pyrénées signed an agreement with the club, becoming its "premium partner".^[16]

In 2021 the team qualified for the promotion play-offs to Segunda División for the first time; however, the club was eliminated in the first round by Real Sociedad B.^[17] Although, despite this result the team achieved a place in the Primera División RFEF, new league of the third level of Spanish football.^[18]

On 21 May 2022, the team was promoted to the Segunda División after beating already relegated UCAM Murcia 1–0 at home, thus getting promoted to the second tier for the first time in their history.^[19]

Stadium

 

Estadi Nacional, the club's current home stadium

FC Andorra historically hosted their matches at the Camp d’Esports de les Valls in the capital city of Andorra la Vella before relocating in 1983, to the Estadi Comunal d'Aixovall which, after a renovation in 1999, had a capacity of 1,000 spectators.^[20] Following the closure of Aixovall, the club relocated again in 2015 to the new, smaller Centre d'Entrenament de la FAF facility in Andorra la Vella.

More recently the team have been based at the 500-seat Camp de Fútbol de Prada de Moles in Encamp^[21] however, since 2021, the club has utilised the 3,306-capacity Estadi Nacional for all home games following an agreement made with the Government of Andorra.^[22] The stadium had previously hosted FC Andorra games on a temporary basis in 2015 prior to the opening of the Centre d'Entrenament de la FAF.

On 8 May 2022, a record 3,631 fans attended the team's home match against visiting Albacete Balompié at Estadi Nacional.^[23]

In August 2022, following their promotion to the Segunda División, the club announced future plans for a new 6,000-capacity stadium on the site of the existing Camp de Fútbol de Prada de Moles, with an estimated cost of €26 million.^[24]

Crest and shirt

 

Traditional crest, used until 2021

FC Andorra's traditional crest, first used in 1948,^[25] used the colours and icons of the country of Andorra. It represented the coat of arms of Andorra with some minor variations, featuring the arms of both the Bishop of Urgell and Count of Foix - the two historical Co-Princes of Andorra^[26] - along with the arms of the Viscounts of Béarn and Catalonia, two neighbouring territories that Andorra has historically been reliant upon.^[27] The traditional crest was updated and amended on several occasions though keeping a very similar and familiar appearance.^[25] On 7 July 2021, the club announced a change in its brand image, replacing the traditional crest with the current logo featuring a new round crest in blue with a white pattern representing the name of the club, the country and the mountains characterising the nation. In addition, these elements are encircled by the colours of the Andorran flag.^[28]

The club first used red shirts and white shorts as its kit, however this was soon changed in 1948 when they adopted the blue, yellow and red colours of the national flag of Andorra. Historically, the club's kit has often featured the three distinctive colours in the design on the national flag, thus earning FC Andorra the nickname of Els tricolors ('The Tricolours'). From 2019, the club has partnered with the American sports brand Nike to supply the playing kits for the team.^[29]

1942

1948

2013

2019

2020

Honours

• Primera Catalana
  • Champions (1): 2018–19
• Copa Catalunya
  • Winners (2): 1993–94, 2022–23

Seasons

Season Tier Division Place Copa del Rey 1963–64 5 2ª Reg. 11th 1964–65 5 2ª Reg. 12th 1965–66 4 1ª Reg. 14th 1966–67 4 1ª Reg. 3rd 1967–68 4 1ª Reg. 5th 1968–69 4 Reg. Pref. 4th 1969–70 4 Reg. Pref. 20th 1970–71 5 1ª Reg. 1st 1971–72 4 Reg. Pref. 4th 1972–73 4 Reg. Pref. 11th 1973–74 4 Reg. Pref. 15th 1974–75 4 Reg. Pref. 7th 1975–76 4 Reg. Pref. 9th 1976–77 4 Reg. Pref. 9th 1977–78 4 3ª 4th First round 1978–79 4 3ª 5th Second round 1979–80 4 3ª 1st First round 1980–81 3 2ª B 11th Third round 1981–82 3 2ª B 8th 1982–83 3 2ª B 8th First round

Season Tier Division Place Copa del Rey 1983–84 3 2ª B 10th Second round 1984–85 3 2ª B 9th Second round 1985–86 3 2ª B 15th First round 1986–87 4 3ª 8th 1987–88 3 2ª B 13th 1988–89 3 2ª B 2nd 1989–90 3 2ª B 4th 1990–91 3 2ª B 8th Fourth round 1991–92 3 2ª B 6th 1992–93 3 2ª B 10th Second round 1993–94 3 2ª B 14th Second round 1994–95 3 2ª B 7th 1995–96 3 2ª B 9th Third round 1996–97 3 2ª B 6th 1997–98 3 2ª B 20th 1998–99 4 3ª 17th 1999–2000 5 1ª Cat. 18th 2000–01 5 1ª Cat. 3rd 2001–02 4 3ª 20th 2002–03 5 1ª Cat. 19th

Season Tier Division Place Copa del Rey 2003–04 6 Pref. Ter. 18th 2004–05 7 1ª Ter. 8th 2005–06 7 1ª Ter. 2nd 2006–07 7 1ª Ter. 12th 2007–08 7 1ª Ter. 8th 2008–09 7 1ª Ter. 5th 2009–10 7 1ª Ter. 5th 2010–11 7 1ª Ter. 2nd 2011–12 6 2ª Cat. 2nd 2012–13 5 1ª Cat. 8th 2013–14 5 1ª Cat. 16th 2014–15 6 2ª Cat. 1st 2015–16 5 1ª Cat. 8th 2016–17 5 1ª Cat. 3rd 2017–18 5 1ª Cat. 9th 2018–19 5 1ª Cat. 1st 2019–20 3 2ª B 9th First round 2020–21 3 2ª B 3rd / 3rd First round 2021–22 3 1ª RFEF 1st Second round 2022–23 2 2ª 7th Second round

Season Tier Division Place Copa del Rey 2023–24 2 2ª

---

• 2 seasons in Segunda División
• 1 season in Primera División RFEF
• 19 seasons in Segunda División B
• 6 seasons in Tercera División

Players

Current squad

As of 2 August 2023^[30]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK   ARG Nico Ratti (3rd captain) 2 DF   ESP Migue Leal 3 DF   ESP José Marsà 4 DF   ESP Álex Pastor 5 DF   ESP Adrià Vilanova 6 MF   ESP Jandro Orellana 7 FW   ESP Julen Lobete (on loan from Celta) 8 MF   ESP Sergi Samper 9 FW   ESP Manu Nieto 10 MF   ESP Iván Gil 11 MF   ESP Álvaro Martín 12 FW   ALB Laorent Shabani (on loan from Norrköping) 13 GK   ESP Oier Olazábal 14 MF   ESP Sergio Molina (4th captain)

No. Pos. Nation Player 15 DF   ESP Diego González 16 DF   ESP Diego Pampín 17 FW   ESP Álex Calvo 18 DF   ESP Álex Petxa 19 FW   FRA Aurélien Scheidler (on loan from Bari) 20 DF   ESP Martí Vilà (captain) 21 MF   ESP Rubén Bover (vice-captain) 22 DF   COL Anderson Arroyo (on loan from Liverpool) 23 DF   ESP Diego Alende 24 FW   ESP Pablo Moreno 25 GK   ESP Dani Martín 27 FW   ESP Iker Benito (on loan from Osasuna) 28 DF   ESP Marc Bombardó — FW   GRE Christos Almpanis

Youth team

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 33 FW   CHN Xiaoke He (on loan from Shandong Taishan)

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player — GK   ESP Marc Vidal (at Barcelona Atlètic until 30 June 2024) — GK   ESP Raúl Lizoain (at Cartagena until 30 June 2024) — DF   ESP Pau Casadesús (at Espanyol B until 30 June 2024)

No. Pos. Nation Player — MF   ESP Moha Moukhliss (at Barcelona Atlètic until 30 June 2024) — FW   ESP Arnau Prat (at Tona until 30 June 2024) — FW   AND Berto Rosas (at Betis Deportivo until 30 June 2024)

Current technical staff

Position	Staff
Head coach	Eder Sarabia
Assistant coach	Jon López   Manu Torres
Fitness coach	Aitor Yeto
Goalkeeping coach	Borja Álvarez
Rehab Fitness Coach	Alejandro Jiménez
Doctor	Anna López
Nutritionist	Lluis Rodon
Kit man	Jordi Collado   Gilbert Morell
Delegate	Cristian Lanzarote
Team Manager	David Férriz

Last updated: 26 September 2022
Source: FC Andorra

See also

•  Association football portal
•  Andorra portal

• FC Andorra Futsal

References

1. Solé, Sergi (18 January 2021). "Piqué ficha a Eder Sarabia para ser el entrenador del Andorra". Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). from the original on 18 January 2021. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
2. Gómez de la Vega Jiménez, Álvaro (27 December 2019). "Andorra y fiscalidad". Iusport. from the original on 20 September 2022. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
3. "Andorra, el país de los Pirineos... ¡y el fútbol!". fifa.com. 5 November 2020. from the original on 6 June 2022. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
4. RTVA, Andorra Difusió. "Lluís España vol recuperar la memòria històrica de l'FC Andorra - Andorra Difusió". www.andorradifusio.ad. from the original on 20 December 2018. Retrieved 24 June 2019.
5. "Futbol Club Andorrà :: La Futbolteca. Enciclopedia del Fútbol Español" (in European Spanish). from the original on 1 September 2019. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
6. "La ilusiófl del Andorra le lleva' hásta el título" (PDF). (PDF) from the original on 20 September 2022. Retrieved 20 December 2018.
7. Sport (29 December 2018). . sport. Archived from the original on 30 December 2018. Retrieved 30 December 2018.
8. RTVA, Andorra Difusió. "L'acord de l'FC Andorra amb el grup Kosmos preveu construir dos camps de futbol - Andorra Difusió". www.andorradifusio.ad. from the original on 30 December 2018. Retrieved 24 June 2019.
9. "Gerard Pique presents new FC Andorra sponsor MoraBanc Photos". epa.eu. from the original on 20 September 2022. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
10. Schouten, Gina (25 April 2019), "A Neutral Case for Autonomy Promotion", Liberalism, Neutrality, and the Gendered Division of Labor, Oxford University Press, pp. 170–197, doi:10.1093/oso/9780198813071.003.0006, ISBN 9780198813071
11. "Gerard Pique's FC Andorra take final Segunda B place". Football Espana. 29 July 2019. from the original on 29 July 2019. Retrieved 29 July 2019.
12. "FC Andorra: Gerard Pique's team pay £411,000 for promotion to Spanish third tier". BBC Sport. 29 July 2019. from the original on 30 July 2019. Retrieved 30 July 2019.
13. colin (25 February 2020). "Former Barcelona player Gabri sacked by Gerard Pique's FC Andorra". Football Espana. from the original on 21 March 2020. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
14. "El Andorra de Piqué destituye a Gabri como entrenador". Marca.com (in Spanish). 25 February 2020. from the original on 21 March 2020. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
15. Sport (27 February 2020). "Piqué viaja a Andorra para dar la bienvenida a Nacho Castro". sport (in Spanish). from the original on 21 March 2020. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
16. "Pyrénées se convierte en socio prémium del proyecto de Piqué para el FC Andorra". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 13 March 2020. from the original on 21 March 2020. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
17. "La Real Sociedad B hace valer su puesto y luchará por el ascenso (2-1)". rfef.es (in Spanish). 15 May 2021. from the original on 15 May 2021. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
18. Abizanda, Jorge (15 September 2020). "La Federación desvela el misterio: La nueva Segunda B se denominará Primera División RFEF" [The Federation reveals the mystery: The new Second B will be called First Division RFEF]. ABC (Spain) (in Spanish). from the original on 10 October 2021. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
19. "El Andorra de Piqué y Eder Sarabia asciende a Segunda división". marca.com (in Spanish). 21 May 2022. from the original on 21 May 2022. Retrieved 21 May 2022.
20. DiariAndorra (12 December 2014). "Comencen les obres per fer el camp a la Borda Mateu". DiariAndorra.ad. from the original on 20 December 2018. Retrieved 24 June 2019.
21. "El Periòdic d'Andorra - Actualitat Andorra, Notícies Andorra". El Periòdic d'Andorra. from the original on 2 June 2019. Retrieved 2 June 2019.
22. "L' Andorra jugarà al Nacional" (in Catalan). Diari d'Andorra. 8 July 2021. from the original on 29 August 2021. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
23. "Avui som 3.631 espectadors al Estadi Nacional" 20 September 2022 at the Wayback Machine; FC Andorra at Twitter
24. "Pique-owned FC Andorra set to develop new stadium". The Stadium Business. 1 August 2022. from the original on 20 September 2022. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
25. "Historial del Futbol Club Andorra". La Futbolteca (in Spanish). from the original on 1 September 2019. Retrieved 13 August 2022.
26. Shaw, Carol P. (2004). Flags. HarperCollins UK. p. 29. ISBN 9780007165261. from the original on 9 September 2023. Retrieved 15 March 2017.
27. Kindersley, Dorling (6 January 2009). Complete Flags of the World. Dorling Kindersley Ltd. p. 134. ISBN 9780756654863. from the original on 9 September 2023. Retrieved 14 March 2017.
28. "Nuevo escudo para el FC Andorra de Piqué". sport.es (in Spanish). 7 July 2021. from the original on 9 July 2021. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
29. "Owned By Gerard Piqué: FC Andorra 19-20 Home & Away Kits Revealed". Footy Headlines. from the original on 13 August 2022. Retrieved 13 August 2022.
30. "Our PLAYERS". FC Andorra. from the original on 2 August 2023. Retrieved 2 August 2023.

External links

• Official website
• (in Catalan) (archived 15 March 2014)
• BDFútbol profile
• Club & stadium history (in English)