Economic problems impact Spanish sports

The ongoing crisis in Spain continues to give problems to some of the country's emblematic sporting institutions with the news Tuesday that one important team will disappear while another has just 45 days in order to find a sponsor and financial salvation.

While the problems of Spanish football are now well documented after various studies have shown the level of debt in the game, despite having hosted the World Handball Championships last year, the sport of handball is deep in crisis, reported Xinhua.

Tuesday saw the confirmation that Atletico Madrid's handball team will disappear "due to the economic difficulties" the entity faces. Atletico had only reopened their handball section three years ago and this is the second time financial problems have caused it to disappear.

In the face of the disappearance of Atletico Madrid and the probability that other handball clubs could face, Spain's Superior Sports Committee has called an emergency meeting of the remaining clubs in order to discover the exact situation of the sport and to look for possible solutions.

Meanwhile cycling team Euskaltel-Euskadi, which is currently competing in Tour de France, has announced that it will also disappear unless it is able to find around 3.5 million euros.

Euskaltel's problems would have big repercussions in the Tour given that their orange clad fans always provide a great atmosphere in the stages around the Pyrenees mountains between France and Spain and their riders traditionally shine on the difficult mountain stages.

The team, which has been in existence since 1997, has a total budget of nine million euros, 3.5 million of which are put supplied by Euskaltel, a telecommunications company based in the Basque region of northern Spain, and 2.5 million euros which are paid by other sponsors. However, spending cuts, forced by the economic crisis, means the team has lost 3.5 million euros of public funding which now needs to be replaced.

Corporate director of the team Mikel Astorliza said, "There are various possibilities but we still need to reach an agreement on them. We are doing all we can do to sustain the team and to attract a company."