Spain's football coach Luis de la Fuente visits wildfire evacuees: 'It is an obligation and an honor to be here'

Spain's national football coach Luis de la Fuente arrived at the La Marazuela sports centre in Las Rozas on Sunday morning to meet evacuees from wildfires tearing through the Sierra Oeste de Madrid. The visit came exactly a week after he had led Spain to World Cup victory over Argentina in New Jersey, and he framed the gesture as a personal duty.

Coach at the shelter

De la Fuente spent about two hours walking through the pavilion, posing for photos and talking with people who have now spent three nights away from their homes. Around 300 residents from Hoyo de Pinares, Navalagamella, Zarzalejos, Pelayos de la Presa, Fresnedillas de la Oliva, Robledo de Chavela, Peralejo, Colmenar del Arroyo and the El Escorial campsite were packed into the municipal facility.

“It is an obligation and an honor to be here.”

He told state broadcaster RTVE that the visit was meant to lift spirits even for a few hours. "It is everyone's obligation to help and encourage them in these tragic moments," he said. "We must try to make these people happy, to be close and for them to feel the support of all of Spain."

Federation opens its doors

The Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) headquarters is less than five kilometres from La Marazuela. On Saturday, the federation contacted Las Rozas city hall and Civil Protection to offer its facilities. Staff then identified the most vulnerable evacuees (elderly people, newborns and those with disabilities) and moved seven families from Colmenar del Arroyo and Robledo de Chavela into the players' residence at the Ciudad del Fútbol.

“There is a wave of solidarity in every sense. Volunteers and businesses keep sending food. Just now, several people were coming in with 20 or 30 pizza boxes.”

Solana, the RFEF's director of social action, said De la Fuente had first visited the seven relocated families at the residence before deciding to go to the pavilion. The coach stayed until early afternoon, accompanied by other federation representatives.

Wildfire toll

By Sunday, the fires had burned roughly 77 000 hectares along a perimeter exceeding 280 kilometres across the regions of Madrid, Ávila and Toledo. More than 115 000 people were affected across 46 municipalities, and authorities had ordered the evacuation or confinement of over 116 000 residents. At La Marazuela, the 290 evacuees who spent Saturday night were among those still unable to return.

A champion's gesture

De la Fuente lifted the World Cup on 19 July after Spain defeated Argentina in the final held in New Jersey. On Sunday he drew a direct line between the nation's backing of the team and the solidarity he wanted the displaced families to feel.

“All of Spain is thinking of them; they have the support of the whole country, the same support we felt playing football.”

The coach described his presence as a way of sharing the evacuees' pain, adding that "being here makes us more human" and that the only priority now is human life.