Fuenlabrada Renamed to Partizan, Friday Duel in Belgrade

Pabellón Fernando Martín in Fuenlabrada, a suburb of Madrid, winter 1991/92. Partizan played its “home” matches in the European Champions Cup there, because the war back home left the club no other option. The city took the team in as its own, the stands were full, and the season ended with Partizan crowned champion of Europe. Thirty five years later, that bond has become official on paper too.

The basketball club from Fuenlabrada announced today, September 10, that it is changing its name to include Partizan. On its own account on X, the club declared that it is now “Partizan de Fuenlabrada,” a form the outlet Eurohoops also uses. Serbian outlet B92 writes “Partizan from Fuenlabrada,” while Meridian Sport uses “Partizan Fuenlabrada.” The exact wording shifts from one translation to the next, but the substance stays the same: the Spanish name remains part of history, and the club’s name now also carries the name of the Belgrade club.

The statement frames the move as the continuation of a story that began 35 years ago, when Fuenlabrada took in Partizan as a refugee team and gave it a home at a moment when its own country could not.

“The relationship that began when Partizan from Belgrade was welcomed as a local team in our city during the war has endured,” the Fuenlabrada club said in its statement on the name change.

That relationship, the club from Fuenlabrada adds, is now growing into something broader than shared history.

“Partizan de Fuenlabrada represents a joint project between the two clubs, which will include institutional, sporting and social cooperation, as well as business and brand development,” the statement reads.

The agreement also covers cooperation on developing young players, joint institutional projects, and work on strengthening both clubs’ brands. Fuenlabrada currently competes in Primera FEB, the second tier of Spanish basketball formerly known as LEB Oro, a level far removed from where Partizan’s first team plays in the EuroLeague. That gap is exactly why the symbolism of the name, rather than the club’s current sporting level, is what makes this story newsworthy.

When the Match Is Played at Kalemegdan

Fuenlabrada timed the announcement of its new name to coincide with a trip it was already making to Belgrade. As early as tomorrow, Friday, at the AdmiralBet Open Air tournament at Kalemegdan, Partizan de Fuenlabrada plays its first official match under the new name, and it does so against its Belgrade namesake.

The tournament schedule looks like this:

• Friday, September 11, 8 p.m.: Partizan vs. Fuenlabrada
• Saturday, September 12, 7 p.m.: Fuenlabrada vs. Besiktas
• Sunday, September 13, 7 p.m.: Partizan vs. Besiktas

Matches are played outdoors, with single tickets priced at 1,000 dinars. For fans at Kalemegdan, it is also the first chance to see the new roster under coach Joan Peñarroya live, since this is the team’s first match in front of its home crowd this preseason.

The Open Air tournament at Kalemegdan is already a tradition for Partizan, and this year’s edition comes after a series of closed door warm up matches. Peñarroya’s side played Zenit on August 31 and Hapoel Tel Aviv on September 5, both without spectators. After Kalemegdan comes one more dress rehearsal in Athens, at the “Pavlos Giannakopoulos” memorial tournament on September 18 and 19, organized by Panathinaikos, before the real season begins.

There is no missing the irony here. The club that now carries Partizan in its name plays its first official match under that name against the very club whose name it borrowed. The next time Fuenlabrada and Partizan meet on the same court, a good part of the Kalemegdan crowd will not quite know which side they are cheering for when they root for the visitors. The answer arrives tomorrow, Friday at 8 p.m.