Travel

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.

Seeing Atlético de Madrid Femenino in a Copa de la Reina final is, luckily, no longer anything out of the ordinary. We have a women’s team that really measures up, even though they’ve been a bit lackluster this past season. And I have great memories of cup finals (remember Butarque in 2023), so of course, I didn’t hesitate for a moment to attend this one.

Buying my ticket took some effort—the RFEF (Royal Spanish Football Federation) website leaves a lot to be desired—but the link Luis (from the Atleti fan clubs) sent me made everything easier. I arranged with Inés, a good friend and president of the Las Colchoneras fan club (the only one dedicated to the women’s team), to travel as a group, since the long trip from Madrid to Huesca is better with company.