Copa RFEF sets 23 September for postponed Saguntino-Navalcarnero clash
Atlético Saguntino and Navalcarnero will play their postponed Copa RFEF round-of-16 tie on Wednesday 23 September, after the match was suspended by an orange storm warning that also affected Levante-Athletic.
Atlético Saguntino now knows when it will resolve its pending Copa RFEF match — the competition formerly known as Copa Federación. The round-of-16 tie against CDA Navalcarnero, originally set for Wednesday 16 September at the Nou Camp de Morvedre stadium, had to be suspended at the last minute because of an orange storm warning issued across the Valencian Community. The same weather alert also forced the postponement of another high-profile match that day, Levante against Athletic Club (Bilbao) in the top-flight Primera División, which shows how severe the storm was.
With the calendar question now settled, the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) has ruled that the tie will be played on Wednesday 23 September. One detail remains open: the exact kick-off time. As the home side, Atlético Saguntino must confirm the final schedule, a step it needs to complete by the end of this Friday. The Nou Camp de Morvedre will again host the match, the same ground where the original fixture was due to be played.
What is at stake goes beyond a single result. The Copa RFEF hands out only four direct places in the Copa del Rey (Spain's main domestic cup), one for each national-stage semi-finalist — a prize rarely within reach for a Tercera Federación (fourth-tier) side like Atlético Saguntino. The competition's own history explains its symbolic weight: after an early period between 1944 and 1953, it has run continuously since the 1993-94 season with a format modelled on the Copa del Rey but reserved for non-professional football, meaning every round a modest club survives brings it closer to a goal normally reserved for higher divisions.
The opponent, Navalcarnero, plays a tier higher, in Segunda Federación, and arrives at this rescheduled tie having already booked its round-of-16 spot with an extra-time comeback away at Talavera. It is also a side that has not conceded a single goal in its five cup matches so far, a statistic that alone explains the respect it commands in the Saguntino dressing room ahead of the visit.
Atlético Saguntino, for its part, was not at its physical best when the forced break arrived: its last league outing ended in a narrow defeat away at El Clariano, a setback that interrupted what had until then been a perfect start to the season, with consecutive wins in the league and in this same cup competition. Coach Guillem Beltrán has framed the postponement positively, trusting that the extra days of rest will help the squad recover ahead of an opponent that is physically more demanding than the sides Saguntino usually faces in the group.
The schedule also holds an unusual twist for a one-off knockout match: the Copa RFEF quarter-final draw is set for Monday 21 September, two days before Saguntino and Navalcarnero take the pitch. That means both sides will already know who they would face in the next round if they advance — a circumstance that could add extra tension, or extra motivation depending on which side wins, to the match at the Nou Camp de Morvedre.
Beyond the immediate result, the match carries extra weight for a club that represents the Camp de Morvedre district, where regional-level football coexists with the area's growing industrial profile. Reaching the quarter-finals of a national competition puts the Saguntino badge in a media spotlight well beyond its usual league, and a one-off knockout tie adds the tension typical of cup football, where any small detail can tip the balance.
The group's last remaining quarter-final spot is therefore still up for grabs, with the added incentive that the winner will already know its next opponent before even sealing its place. For Camp de Morvedre fans, the postponement means an extra week of waiting, but also extra time for the squad to arrive in better physical shape for a match that could shape the rest of its cup campaign. According to Golsmedia — Atlético Saguntino.