... BACK IN THE BIG TIME

UD Almería, under new management in August 2019, were third time lucky following two back-to-back seasons on the brink of promotion through the play-offs. The Rojiblancos managed to move up to the Spanish top flight on 29th May 2022 as second-tier champions. The race for promotion went down to the wire. In the event of a three-way tie on the last Matchday, promotion-hunting rivals Real Valladolid CF and SD Eibar would gain promotion. The Rojiblancos were away to CD Leganes and could only claim a 2-2 draw. It was the 90th minute and the fans could not bear the heart-pounding suspense a moment longer. However, in the 92nd minute, out of the blue, AD Alcorcón beat the Armeros [SD Eibar] 1-0, a result that together with the two-all recorded at the Butarque Stadium fired UD Almeria atop of the table as league champions. 

Around 3,000 UD Almería travelling fans cheered on the team in the stands; among them Club owner Turki Alalshikh. After the final whistle, the news sparked a wave of euphoria: UD Almería are now a first-tier team…a goal set for three years was fulfilled at last! While the Club’s president celebrated it on the Madrid-based pitch with his players, coaches and managers, thousands of jubilant supporters took to the streets across Almeria straight after the end of the game. A few days later, the LaLiga SmartBank champs embarked on an open-top bus parade to showcase silverware as official celebrations were held with the entire city actively participating.

UD Almería completed a scintillating season after being in the top spots week after week and breaking records. Although the team had gone through a rough patch in January due to the Covid pandemic, the Indalicos knew how to pick themselves up from setbacks and again become one of the strongest candidates for promotion to the top flight.

A major remodelling of the Juegos Mediterraneos Stadium, which will also continue in the near future, has been carried out throughout the 2022/23 campaign.

Over the last years, Turki Alalshikh's UD Almería have been always giving hope to a crowd that has been showing up at the stadium in numbers to wholeheatedlysupport their team and now looks ahead with boundless optimism and great enthusiasm.