A Levante delegation is traveling to France this weekend to recover the remains of the founder of Levante.

The Ciutat de València Stadium will host the tribute to José Ballester Gozalvo and Teresa Molins, which will consist of the installation of a funeral chapel on Saturday, September 6. A group of people from Levante UD will travel on Sunday, August 31, to Villiers-Adam (France) to attend the exhumation of the remains of José Ballester Gozalvo and his wife, Teresa Molins Gausach, who passed away in 1970.

Levante UD will set up on Saturday, September 6, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., in the Llotja VIP L’Alqueria of the Ciutat de València Stadium, the funeral chapel for José Ballester Gozalvo and Teresa Molins Gausach. At 12 p.m., an emotional institutional event will take place to give a final welcome to the remains repatriated from France to their homeland, El Cabanyal, as the club announced in an event that took place at the stadium on May 28 and was attended by the Vice President of the Diputación, Natàlia Enguix, the President of Levante UD, Pablo Sánchez, the spokesperson of Levante UD, Maribel Vilaplana, as well as family and friends of the couple. 

Trip to Paris

The historian Felip Bens, the teachers from IES José Ballester Gozalvo, Paco Santamans and Irene Alcolea, accompanied by the Director of Communication and External Relations of Levante UD, Puri Naya, (who, along with José Luis García Nieves are the people who have worked on this process), will travel to Paris on Sunday, August 31, to attend in Villiers-Adam on Monday, September 1, the exhumation of the remains of Ballester and Molins. They will be received by the mayor Bruno Mace and it is planned that they will unveil a commemorative plaque to remember that in the cemetery of this town remained the remains of the founder of Levante UD since his death in 1970.

The historian, expert researcher in the history of football, José Ricardo March and Patrice Redondo, History professor in Paris, granota and the person who rediscovered the tomb of Ballester and Molins in February 2022, will also attend Paris. By the way, anyone who wishes can attend this event in Villiers-Adam and the one on September 6 at the Ciutat de València. In fact, the president of the Delegation of Supporters' Clubs of Levante UD, Ramón Escolano, and the vice president, Vicente Garriga, have also joined the trip.

Grant from the Provincial Council

The recovery of the remains of Ballester and Molins can be carried out thanks to a grant from the Provincial Council of València, through the area of Democratic Memory, which has been approved for the “Cent Anys” Foundation of Levante UD to undertake this action. The idea originated from professors Santamans and Alcolea, was promoted by the club, and has had the support of the families of both, after being invited to a meeting that took place last April 2024.

Event open to the general public

This tribute event at the Ciutat de València will feature the participation of authorities, representatives from the cultural and sports world, family members, and fans of Levante UD. The event is open to the general public. As per their wishes, the burial will be private on the afternoon of September 6, with the attendance of both families at the Cabanyal cemetery, where they will be laid to rest alongside their parents, Vicente Ballester and Enriqueta Gozalvo.

Founder of Levante FC in 1909

José Ballester Gozalvo, founder of Levante FC in 1909, was a key figure in the history of Valencian football, as well as an educator, writer, lawyer, and committed politician. He spent his final years in Roissy-en-Brie, near Paris, where he also passed away. Together with Teresa Molins Gausach, his life companion, they will now rest by the Mediterranean that saw their birth and alongside the club they helped to found, always upholding values of culture and social justice.