“For a new bass drum.” “For some new sneakers.” “For the facilities.” This Sunday morning, euphoria took over the avenue from Canillejas to Vicálvaro in the Madrid district of San Blas, where the headquarters of Olympic Districta basketball club with some 900 members who has been the winner this year with a large part of the four million euros of the Fat of the Christmas lotterywhich this year has only been sold in administration number six of Logroño, but has mostly ended up in this “humble, working-class family” club. Furthermore, 88 of the 193 existing series of the 72480 were returned, so almost half remained unsold.
“District, oeeee! District, oeeee!”chanted while a group of players from this club that has been open for 42 years jump holding each other by the shoulders. “We are very happy because It’s a neighborhood teamfrom many people who feel very lucky right now. We were already very lucky with our boys and girls, but this award is very good for all of us,” says Miguel, whose daughter plays in the club, while energetically playing the bass drum. He doesn’t know how many ballots he has because he has distributed “a lot among the family and the people”, but he assures that what he is going to do is “buy a new bass drum”.
Ángel Francisco Iglesias, vice president of the Distrito Olimpico Sports Club in the Madrid district of San Blas, tells 20 minutes that, after “many years trying to get a ‘little pinch’ and dreaming that this could happen”, he feels “on cloud nine”. “We don’t believe it,” Iglesias acknowledges, while explaining that in the last “four or five” years they have bought the ballots with the aforementioned Rioja administration through an agreement to “pay for the printing of the checkbooks.”
For each ticket, worth two euros, the lucky ones have won 40,000 euros “minus what she takes (the Minister of Finance) Maria Jesus Monterowhich is also normal because if we don’t pay taxes things don’t work.” The club manager acknowledges that he still doesn’t know what the money will be spent on because he doesn’t know how many ballots the club has kept, but he hopes to be able to “improve the small training room” and “renew some equipment,” Iglesias concludes.
It smells like champagne on the street. The first bottles have already been uncorked and the club members are jumping for joy. Little Amaia and Naroa, 13-year-old classmates, have been in the club for two years and hope to be able to take a trip and save a part “for their studies and the people who need it.” Other children say they want to buy “new sneakers” and go on a trip. Another of the lucky ones relates with a voice breaking with emotion that she learned the news “from the group of WhatsApp“and that his daughter”“has distributed three lottery tickets among very needy people.”.
The prize is widely distributed and in fact among the winners, with their precious ballot in one hand and a bottle of cava in the other, is the co-worker of a player’s mother. “The good thing is that each child in the club has distributed between 25 and 30 ballots. It’s crazy. And there were children with more than one checkbook,” says Mario, father of two players, Carolina and Mario.
Raúl is “a little bit of everything” at the club and prefers not to reveal how much he has had. He admits to being “in shock” because “what is distributed among more than 600 families is crazy. We are going to celebrate by eating properly, but the main thing is that the families receive the money, which is great for them.”
“There is no excuse to move up”
At his side is Pegui, who celebrates feeling “on the other side” this Sunday. “You are used to seeing it on television and this year is different. It is better than you imagine because it is very distributed and then the joy is very great.
With this award, financial requirements will no longer be an impediment to enjoying sporting merits. And three seasons ago, say Alejandro and Willy, two young coaches in the silver and junior cadet categories, ““The girls from the club went up to the Women’s League 2, which is like the third division, but that means a lot of money and they couldn’t get promoted.”. The men’s team did go up, which continues in the EBA league – third division of the Spanish Basketball Federation – but the girls had to resign due to lack of financial means. “But the team is doing very well and is going to be promoted, I believe. Now it has the money, now there is no excuse.”