Spanish Cup games involving Valencia clubs postponed after floods kill over 50 in region

Madrid: The Copa del Rey first round games between Parla Escuela and Valencia, and Pontevedra and Levante, which were due to be played on Wednesday night, have been postponed for a week as a result of the catastrophic flooding which affected the Valencia region overnight, the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) announced on Wednesday morning.

Over 50 people are confirmed to have died in the floods, with parts of the region in the east of Spain hit by over 440 liters of water per square meter, causing rivers to burst their banks, with roads and railways also badly affected.

Valencia had asked the RFEF on Tuesday for their match against their sixth-tier opponents to be postponed due to the difficulty of travel, and the Federation have postponed both that game and the match involving Levante, who are from the same city.

Meanwhile, several clubs from La Liga have posted messages of condolences on social media after the floods, with Real Madrid - who play in Valencia on Saturday - saying the club is "deeply saddened and expresses its solidarity with all the people affected by this catastrophe, to whom it conveys all its full support and sympathy."

The Copa del Rey first round is played over Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, with teams such as Real Sociedad, Atletico Madrid and Espanyol all playing on Thursday, while Celta Vigo, Sevilla, Osasuna and Leganes are among the teams playing on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, Villarreal, Alaves, Rayo Vallecano and Real Valladolid all qualified for the second round of the tournament.