Sudeva, the owners of Sudeva Moonlight FC, a club which played in the I-League second division in 2017, have brought a majority stake in CD Olimpic de Xativa, a Spanish Tercera Division club.

The Tercera Division is the fourth tier of Spanish football, and is divided into 18 regions, each of which contains 20 to 22 teams. Olimpic Xativa, founded in 1932, play in the Group 6 – Valencian Community region, and finished seventh, failing to reach the promotion play-offs.

Speaking to The Field, Anuj Gupta, co-founder of Sudeva confirmed the development and stated that his aim is to give Indian players a chance to play league football in Spain. “Every Indian player who goes to Spain wants to play in the top division there. We are not ready for that. But can they play at Olimpic Xativa? Yes, I think we’re ready for that.”

Another reason for buying Olimpic Xativa in particular was that the club was a registered company and not an association, like most other Spanish clubs. Gupta and Sudeva snapped up 85% of the shares in Olimpic Xativa and have consequently, become the majority owners of the club.

“I looked for clubs across North and South Spain. I took into consideration the temperature factor, something which would be comfortable for Indians. This is located in the Valencia region and it suits Indians well,” added Gupta. Olimpic play at the Campo de Futbol La Murta ground in Xativa, Valencia, which can hold upto 9000 people.

Gupta also plans to bid for an I-League spot via corporate entry, if and when the All India Football Federation invites entries for the new season later this year.

Sudeva was started in 2014, by Gupta and Vijay Hakari, and bought Moonlight FC, a Delhi senior division club. The club also runs a residential academy in the Delhi-NCR region and also field teams in the Under-18, U-15 and U-13 categories.