There is constant movement on the playing field. The ball flies from one side to the other propelled by the nets attached to the sticks. The blows between the sticks resonate in the atmosphere, barely drowning out the instructions and shouts of the players. The goals, numerous, fall as the minutes pass. In contrast to this dynamism, the atmosphere is one of absolute respect between the contenders… This would be an express description of a sport that is truly curious for any novice. Lacrosse, as it is called, is a real rarity in Spain, but from now on there will be more talk about it: it will be Olympic in the Los Angeles games in 2028.
Those who practice it defend its greatness. “This is what made me fall in love with lacrosse, beyond the effort and competitiveness typical of the sport: the respect that exists between players, referees and the public is something that I have only seen here,” explains Cristina Grijalba, former player and current director of the Spanish Lacrosse Association. However, they must make their love for this discipline compatible with its limited impact in the country. Here’s a good test: “‘Are you going to go fly-catching?’ “They have told me more than once, or even asked me, if I am going to play quidditch, Harry Potter’s sport,” says Arann NicGerailt, who has been practicing it since 2014.
But it’s not just about that: the problem is that in Spain it does not even have official recognition from the Higher Sports Council (CSD) and that, despite the popularity it has in countries like Australia, Canada or the United States . In fact, in North America a match can host up to 40,000 spectators, a situation that is unimaginable here. Despite this, efforts to spread it in Spain do not cease and hope is precisely placed on its new inclusion in Los Angeles.
Descended from the baggataway of the American Indians and more than 300 years old, history in Spain does not go beyond 20 years and in a very minority way. It was not until 2003 that the first team in this discipline was founded: Madrid Lacrosse. Álvaro Marcos, current captain of the Barcelona Dracs Lacrosse, remembers that it was an American who, in 2006, created a team in Barcelona and that, with the subsequent arrival of a local base, the team passed into the hands of people from the city. The history of football clubs – and other sports – that were founded in the city thanks to its foreign residents is repeated, in their case somewhere between the 19th and 20th centuries.
In fact, Spanish teams currently depend on the arrival of players (most of them Americans) to form a proper team each year. “Last year we swept the cup because we were with five foreigners, this year when there is only one on the team we lost in the semifinals,” explains NicGerailt.
“On a collective level, one of the priority objectives is to form an increasingly stable team, with the maximum number of national players,” Pol Herrero, player for the Barcelona Dracs Lacrosse and the Spanish national team, tells this newspaper. To get new people interested in lacrosse, both clubs and the Spanish Lacrosse Association (AEL) have created several projects that include visits to schools to promote lacrosse.
And since its creation, lacrosse in Spain has experienced great changes. Cristina Grijalba, one of the pioneers of this sport in Spain, remembers her beginnings in lacrosse in 2007. “When I started there were no leagues, in fact there was only one team in all of Spain. There were so few of us that we had to travel to Germany once or twice a year to be able to play tournaments,” she emphasizes.
But thanks to the strength of these pioneers, lacrosse is moving forward, even if slowly. Already in 2023, and only 20 years after the first club was founded, Spain has two national leagues, one men’s and one women’s, youth leagues and national teams, both women’s, men’s and under-20.
Its practitioners also hope that the fact that there are few people who practice this sport will be an incentive for the entry of new players. “It is the opportunity to achieve great goals at a sporting level, to participate in international competitions,” says Herrero in reference to why he started playing.
“In my life I would have imagined that I could represent Spain in an official tournament,” corroborates NicGerailt. Following the same line, Marcos remembers that when he joined the lacrosse team in the Catalan capital he set his goal of being champion of Spain, a milestone he achieved by winning the national cup on October 29.
Despite all these advances, the CSD does not recognize lacrosse as a sport, since it does not meet the minimum number of practitioners and clubs. Marco regrets that one of the oldest sports in the world is not considered as such in Spain solely because “the CSD is only interested in federation tokens.”
This lack of recognition leads to great difficulties for the expansion of lacrosse in Spain, since to begin with you cannot opt ??for a seasonal concession at the federative level, a fact that complicates access to facilities. This means that, for example, field reservations are more expensive than in other sports; while an hour of soccer training costs 25 euros, an hour of lacrosse is 90. “How expensive it is, no people come in, since no people come in, we don’t get recognition and this cannot be solved until we are recognized,” he complains. Grijalba.
For his part, Marco explains how clubs must manage to find financial resources, manage to pay for travel, as well as cover the players’ medical insurance without raising fees. Furthermore, for Spanish national team players like Herrero and NicGerailt, the simple fact of representing their country pays off, because they have to fully pay for their preparation and participation in championships.
And last but not least, there is also the difficulty in obtaining sponsors, first due to the general ignorance of the sport and, second, due to the fact of not being recognized by the CSD. Marco, who organizes the European Cup of lacrosse clubs, remembers how he had to “knock on a thousand doors to be able to get two sponsors” for the competition that was held in Barcelona in September 2022.
NicGerailt, who has also played soccer, points out that in the European past he was surprised that no one disrespected the referees.
Likewise, the Association highlights the gender parity that exists in Spanish lacrosse, having practically the same number of male and female tokens. “We seek this parity, the women’s team has exactly the same opportunities as the men’s team, the same thing happens with the youth teams, it is one of our priorities to work on strengthening all areas at the same level,” emphasizes Grijalba.
Under the motto of Grew the Game, Spanish lacrosse is already looking forward. The people involved in this sport not only trust that the CSD listens to them, but the Association also states that they have already begun to notice interest from “several entities and companies that are open to collaborating and supporting the sport in view of its great potential”.
With the news of its incorporation into the Olympic program, a minimum of interest has been awakened in this sport in Spain which, with only 20 years of history, continues to develop and dream of historical milestones such as, why not, participating in Los Angeles 2028.
