Despite suffering relegation to LALIGA HYPERMOTION in 2020/21, the Basque club has kept developing on and off the pitch through its sustainable model.
When SD Eibar won promotion into LALIGA EA SPORTS, Spain’s top division, in 2014, news of their fairytale achievement spread across the world. The team from the city of just 27,000 people was so small that they needed to raise capital to be able to compete, and they soon had some 10,000 shareholders in more than 60 countries. Now, 12 years on, they’ve just completed a €30m project to build a new state-of-the-art sporting complex, even with the club currently in the second division. It has been quite a journey, one marked by steady and sustainable growth. Click this link https://a.meridianbet.ke/c/C7pYjz to start gaming and stand a chance of winning big with Meridianbet.
The top-flight years
When SD Eibar reached Spanish football’s top division, they were the smallest club ever to do so. They were suddenly hosting Real Madrid and FC Barcelona at their modest Ipurua Stadium, a ground so small that the balconies of the neighbouring apartment blocks overlooked the pitch.
It was a remarkable story, made even more so by the fact that the Basque team stayed in the top flight for seven seasons. After getting a reprieve in 2014/15, when they finished 18th but when Elche CF were demoted instead, SD Eibar became a very competitive outfit under José Luis Mendilibar and even finished as high as ninth in 2017/18. Club directors had pointed out when they were promoted that the club’s “natural place” in the Spanish footballing pyramid was the third tier, but here they were in the top half of the top division.
The coronavirus-impacted 2020/21 season was a nightmare for SD Eibar. Without their loyal fans, they truly struggled on the pitch and they finished bottom of the table, suffering relegation down to LALIGA HYPERMOTION. Some feared they could sink further down the divisions, but the reality was quite different.
The benefits of saving for a rainy day
It rains a lot in the Basque Country, so the idea of saving for a rainy day is especially pertinent. And, that’s exactly what SD Eibar did during their seven years in the top flight. The club could remain competitive on the pitch while astutely managing what were the highest revenues in their history, much higher than just a few years before.
They invested in infrastructure, carrying out a major redevelopment of Ipurua and constructing a state-of-the-art training facility covering 11 hectares, the Ciudad Deportiva de Areitio. This training centre has just been inaugurated, opening in September 2026, with the project to bring the men’s, women’s and academy teams together in one top-class facility marking a major feat for the club.
Amaia Gorostiza has been the president of the club since 2016 and her decade in charge has been characterised by this steady and sustainable growth. The club’s smart planning in this sense has allowed them to keep developing even following the relegation back to LALIGA HYPERMOTION. They’ve been competitive on the pitch too, reaching the promotion playoffs in each of the first three seasons back at this level and never ending the season lower than ninth.
Gorostiza’s presidency has also seen the club continue its professionalisation off the pitch, with opportunities opening up for talented professionals to join the SD Eibar story. Under Gorostiza, the club has stood out for the prominent role of women within its organisational structure, with women at one point holding 53% of management positions, and the club remains proud of its record in this area. “I like to think we’re opening up paths for other women to follow in our footsteps,” Gorostiza once explained in an interview with El Mundo.
Just six defeats in 2026
Looking at the team’s progress on the pitch, SD Eibar have enjoyed a very strong end to last season and a great start to 2026/27. 10 wins from their final 15 games of last campaign saw them almost sneak into the promotion playoffs, but it also saw the successful head coach Beñat San José prised away by Rayo Vallecano.
SD Eibar always have a plan, though, and they turned to Jokin Aranbarri, a coach who had worked in the Basque club’s academy for years. He has kept the momentum of last season going, with the team currently sitting in the LALIGA HYPERMOTION automatic promotion places after seven matchdays. Across the entire calendar year of 2026, Los Armeros have lost just six matches. There’s a sense that this is a club which still has history to write.
