Monday, December 29, 2025, 00:33
30 years ago, ten parents decided to meet to respond to the demand that existed in the San Martín neighborhood. «We were forced to step forward due to circumstances. We were in charge of school sports at school and the children who finished this stage had nowhere to go. “They wanted to continue playing soccer, but they had to leave the neighborhood,” recalls Juan Fuente, one of the ten founders of the Ajuria-San Martin Sports Association. Three decades later, this club is a quarry that trains 850 players from school to regional categories. “It is a pride to see that the project is still standing and healthy,” he confesses.
As part of the anniversary events, the children of the founders and other members of the club decided to pay tribute to the ten people who led the project towards its creation: Juan Fuente, Tomás Pérez, Pablo Carcedo, Juan José Zamora, Julián Valverde, Felipe Bravo, Javier Pascualena, Alfonso Esteban, Esteban Ruiz de Azua, Carlos Jorge and Bernardino Mendizabal. The San Martín field, the scene of countless matches every weekend, on Saturday was the scene of the most special meeting, the one that brought together old glories and other current members on the green.
The surprise was total. Celebrities from the world of football wanted to send a loving message to the founders through a video. The Spain coach, Luis de la Fuente, highlighted “the wonderful effort” of this group of parents. «I send you my congratulations. In this beloved city where I hung up my boots in 1994, just a few months later an exemplary club was also born there. A congratulation that was joined by Rafael Louzán, president of the RFEF for “training people through football.” In the middle of a flight, Zubimendi unlocked his cell phone to send a message encouraging people to “keep working and enjoying.” The current Arsenal footballer is aware of the important weight that neighborhood clubs have in the training of players.
That factory in which, in the case of the capital of Álava, footballers were forged who made their careers glued to a ball, like Manu García. The former Albiazul captain congratulated San Martín “for the work they have done from the beginning.” A club that “does so much for the young people of our city”, as Aitor Karanka from Vitoria thanked, in reference to his current training work. But above all, for the impact it had thirty seasons ago to respond to the needs of those kids who did not want to give up their soccer shoes.
An exemplary philosophy
The beginnings of San Martín were not easy. Each of the parents had to put up 10,000 euros (100,000 in total, about 600 euros today) to be able to register the club. «At the time it was money and we also put it into a non-refundable fund. But it didn’t matter because the goal was for the kids to be able to play,” Fuente emphasizes. The next thing was to create the kit – they kept the colors of the school team – and the shield. “We modified the school one, which had a ‘C’ with a book in the middle that we changed for a soccer ball,” he laughs when remembering those artisanal beginnings.
But what they are most proud of is remembering the exemplary philosophy they defined and that remains intact three decades later. «The goal was for all children to have a club in which they could play, regardless of their level. If they wanted to, they had a place,” he points out. A training vocation that currently covers 850 kids. And it also has women’s teams.
Although with the older ones those first steps were somewhat easier. «I remember that we had a coach, his name was Miguel Ángel, who took charge of the regional team and worked with footballers that he already knew. He practically made the template himself. And of course, in that first year we already moved up a category. A promising start that created fans. “A lot of people started to get hooked on the team.” Three decades later, that San Martín family looks proudly at their ‘parents’.
