Club de Fútbol Nules is a semi-professional football club formed on October 19th 1931 as FC Nules, who are located in the town of Nules in the east of Spain around 18 km south of Castellón.
The club started out life playing at Campo del Calvario and playing in the second division of the Comunidad Valenciana; the second tier of regional football, before advancing to the first division.
In 1934-35 Nules were crowned as first divison champions following a 6-1 thrashing of CD Burriana. Football was suspended a year later owing to the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War.
The club resumed as CF Nules in 1939, returning to play second tier regional football in the first division; where the team won the group and divisional title. Nules won their second division title in 1940 with a 2-1 victory over Olímpico de Catarroja.
Nules were elevated to the Tercera División for the 1943-44 season after several seasons of good performances. The league was restructured after the team finished in fifth place; leading to demotion back to regional football.
Serious financial troubles led to the club being dissolved in 1946. Several attempts were made to unite the local football community to form and new club. This was achieved in 1951 as the name of CF Nules was kept, with the team playing at the new Estadio Noulas.
Vicente Roselló Martínez became club president as the club established itself in the second division of Comunidad Valenciana regional football before winning promotion and then joining the Regional Preferente on its inauguration in 1970.
After several seasons at the same level, Nules won promotion to the Tercera División in 1985-86; which created great interest in the club around the town. The return to the fourth tier saw a third place finish before the club won promotion to Segunda División B.
Over 3,000 locals received the team and celebrated at Plaza Mayor de Nules. The team led by player-coach Cuartango drew a record attendance of 4,000 to Estadio Noulas against Lorca CF. However; the side was relegated at the completion of the 1988-89 campaign.
Nules suffered a further relegation from the Tercera División as economic troubles hit the club. The team stabilised in the Preferente Regional before winning promotion back to the fourth tier in 1994-95 following victory in the play-offs over Español de San Vicente.
Within a couple of seasons Nules had returned to regional football; where they remained playing in both the Preferente and Primera. In 2005-06 the team were relegated to the second regional Primera before returning for the 2007-8 campaign under coach José Luis Sorribes Galera.
The club received a boost as the El Nuevo Estadio Noulas opened in 2011, offering brand new facilities; while the team remained at top level regional football, before being relegated in 2014-15.
In May 2015 the stadium was renamed Estadi Noulas - Municipal Camp Antonio Pérez Balada in honour of a former player and local resident who also represented CD Castellón, Atlético de Madrid and Valencia CF.
The team regained their position in the Preferente Regional at the first attempt; going on to finish in fifteenth position in Grupo I in the 2016-17 season.
CF Nules will play in Preferente de la Comunidad Valenciana Grupo I in the 2017-18 season.
My visit
Wednesday 10th January 2018
It’s fair to say that my day hadn’t gone exactly to plan; but it had still been top class. I’d changed my mind as to which venues were realistically viable for time constraints and possible access.
In the end, my intention was to visit the home of UD Puçol, and then CF Nules, before heading to the Villarreal v Leganés tie in the Copa Del Rey. If only it had been that simple.
All was well as I walked from the Hulot B&B through the old town to Estació del Nord; where I grabbed some lunch before boarding what I thought was the train to Puçol. I sat back and relaxed before becoming aware that not all was quite right as we sped past my intended stop.
The next stop was Sagunt; which opened up the possibility of taking a bus a couple of miles to Port de Sagunt to take a look at the home stadium of CD Acero. However, my ticket wouldn’t let me through the gates.
The station attendant came walking over. I used all my best sign language and apologetic tones to explain “Ingleses” and “Puçol” while shaking my head. He simply smiled and opened the barrier. Rail workers of the world were united. It’s as if we’d met before in the distant past.
Predictably enough, the buses didn’t work down to Acero. I sat in the sun on the platform awaiting the next train to Nules. I took meagre consolation by taking a photos of the lofty and ancient Castell de Sagunt; which overlooked the town.
Once in Nules it was a fifteen minute walk south to the Camp de Futbol Noulas Antonio Pérez Balada, through a pleasant little town. The venue was naturally locked, in keeping with the rest of the day.
Not all was lost as a raised area on the side of the main road out of town, which afforded me some reasonable views to take photos. The venue consisted of a decent sized covered stand down the far side and flat open standing.
A smaller sided pitch stood between the road and the main venue, with a swimming pool giving the north end an enclosed feel. The changing rooms and club facilities were in the corner between the pool and the stand.
My mini tour was complete. I returned to the station for the train to Villarreal to enjoy some refreshments and the evening’s entertainment.
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