Event

Some days begin with an invitation and end up becoming one of those memories you treasure forever. Thursday was one of those days.

On 29 October 2026, I had the privilege of attending the tribute to Alberto Fernández Fernández in Gijón, a true Atlético de Madrid legend, and experiencing a day I will find very hard to forget. It was wonderful to meet him in person and spend time with his children, Alberto and Sonia, his grandchildren, members of the Peña Atlética de Llanes and several former Sporting Gijón players. Everyone welcomed me with such warmth and affection that I felt part of the family from the very first moment. And, as if that weren’t enough, they were also incredibly kind in the lovely things they said about Merece la Peña and about me personally. It’s wonderful to see how a book can open doors and, above all, bring you closer to truly amazing people!

What peña can boast of having blown out 25 candles? Very few. And which one can say it did so outside of Spain? Only one: the Peña Atlética de Gante, the oldest of all the Rojiblanco peñas abroad. If that’s not a reason to celebrate in a big way… then I don’t know what is.

That’s exactly what Filip Standaert, its tireless president, thought. After having to postpone their 20th anniversary because of a global pandemic (which is starting to feel distant, but still stings), there were no excuses: now it was time to celebrate, and to do it in style. And boy, did they ever.

This past June 9th, all the presidents of the Atlético peñas received a surprise email from the Club: we were summoned to a meeting on June 18th at 6 p.m. in the auditorium of the Riyadh Air Metropolitano stadium.

To ensure that as many peñas as possible could attend, we were asked to send a maximum of two representatives per peña.

The proposed agenda was to review the club’s current social affairs together, analyze the 2024/25 season, and present several new developments for the 2025/26 season, particularly regarding the peñas.