Article updated: 07/06/2026
El Prat de Llobregat is a modest, working-class town that’s wedged between Barcelona International Airport and the Rio Llobregat. Tucked away in one of its suburbs, in the shadow of a huge hypermarket, is the Estadi Sagnier, home to the equally modest Associació Esportiva Prat. I say modest with all good grace because, until 2012, AE Prat had achieved, well… not a lot.
Founded in 1945, AE Prat may not even be the town’s most famous football team. That honour may belong to Unión Deportiva Prat, who were formed from the remnants of Club Deportivo Prat & Fútbol Club Internacional, and won the Amateur Championship of Catalunya in 1939. Home for much of AE Prat’s existence was the Camp Fondo d’En Peixo, a cramped and very basic enclosure, on the northern edge of town, close to the railway station. The ground had opened in 1935 and remained mostly unadorned throughout its tenure as the town’s main football ground. The most substantial building was a changing block on the west side of the ground, and there were a few steps of terracing dotted around a sand/lime pitch. Time was called on AE Prat’s stay at the old stadium on 28 September 2003 with a 1-3 defeat to Ripollet. AE Prat first emerged from the Catalan regional leagues in 1984, scrambling together three mediocre seasons in the Tercera before dropping back to the regionals, where they would stay until 2002. There followed a period when the club spent seven of the next ten seasons in the Tercera with gradually improving results. AE Prat made the playoffs for Segunda B for the first time at the end of the 2009-10 season but lost 0-2 on aggregate to Peña Sport. AE Prat won its first-ever Tercera title in May 2012 and then beat Atlético Sanluqueño to earn promotion to the third tier. A creditable 12th place finish followed in their first season in Segunda B, but relegation back to the Tercera could not be avoided in May 2014.
A second Tercera title was won at the end of the 2015-16 season, and in the playoffs, AE Prat disposed of Osasuna B 3-2 on aggregate. Unfortunately, their second adventure in Segunda B proved to be a short-lived affair. Whilst form at the Estadio Sagnier was very respectable, AE Prat only picked up 10 points on their travels and was relegated back to the Tercera in May 2017. After two seasons back in the third tier, AE Prat once again qualified for the end-of-season play-offs. Promotion back to Segunda B was secured with victories over AD Ceuta (3-2), Tamaraceite (1-0) & Club Portugalete (3-2). The club’s third stint in Segunda División B was faltering as they languished in the relegation zone until the COVID-19 pandemic triggered the league’s suspension on 11 March 2020. Shortly after, on 6 May 2020, the RFEF abandoned the season and cancelled all relegations. While this decision spared AE Prat, their poor form continued into the 2020–21 campaign. The league structure was complicated by the RFEF’s decision to restructure the Spanish football pyramid, and following the first phase, AE Prat faced the prospect of relegation to the Tercera Federación, the new fifth tier. Form improved, and at the end of the season, AE Prat earned a place in the Segunda Federación thanks to a 7-match unbeaten run. What appeared to be a brave new world for the club soon turned sour, and two relegations in three years saw the club drop to the Catalana Lliga Elit in 2026.
The club’s upturn in fortunes in the 2000s coincided with a move away from the Camp Fondo d’En Peixo to the simple, but functional Estadi Sagnier. The stadium was built in 2003 and is part of the 1970s municipal sports complex on the town’s western edge. Directly north lies the Complex Esportiu Municipal, featuring an indoor pool, a sports hall, and an athletics track. AE Prat’s first match at the new stadium saw a 1-2 defeat to El Morell on 12 October 2003. The Estadi Sagnier itself features a compact, 25-metre cantilevered stand on its western side. On the eastern side of the ground is a central terrace flanked by two raised seating blocks, each with 250 blue and white seats. With two narrow strips of hard standing behind the goal, the Estadi Sagnier has a capacity of 1,500.
La Futbolteca’s article on Associació Esportiva Prat: http://lafutbolteca.com/associacio-esportiva-prat/
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