The demise of Racing Santander

In January 2011 a bright future looked on the horizon as Indian businessman Ahsan Ali Syed took over at the helm of Racing Santander taking an 80% stake in the club. Founder and Chairman of investment company Western Gulf Advisory Ali Syed proclaimed that Racing could challenge Real Madrid and Barcelona as a so called “Third Force” in La Liga.

This lofty statement was proved to be pure fiction as at the end of the 2011-12 season Racing slumped into The Segunda Division finishing 10 points adrift at the bottom of the table.

Ali Syed then disappeared from view and the clubs crisis deepened further as they dropped another rung into the Third Tier of Spanish football.Recently the clubs future looked even bleaker after a capital increase designed to save them from financial ruin raised just 33,000 euros (£28,000) and had to be abandoned.

The club were looking to raise 3m euros as they are mired in bankruptcy proceedings but after 3 different attempts no major investors came forward and Ali Syed remains Racing,s majority shareholder.This year should be a time for the fans to celebrate,it is Racing,s 100 year centenary,but instead of celebrating a proud history they are wondering what will happen next and if indeed they will still have a club to support in the near future.