Cardiff City Trust Fund for Sala family

https://www.walesonline.co.uk/sport/...-fund-19039879

The trust fund Cardiff City launched to aid the family of Emiliano Sala is hoped to be finalised within the next month.

The Bluebirds announced they would be establishing a fund back in January 2020, after working with the Sala family for a number of months before that.

Called the Emiliano Sala Memorial Trust, it will be run by independent trustees.

More than 18 months since the former Nantes player's tragic death, the Welsh capital club are hoping the trust will be completed within the next month subject to HMRC approval.

While no financial figure has been publicly revealed, the sum behind the trust is understood to be a significant amount and is solely aimed to support the late striker's family: his mother Mercedes Taffarel, his brother Dario and his sister Romina.

As well as a trust, there are also plans for a fundraising campaign in the wider footballing community.

Argentinian striker Sala died in January 2019 when the plane carrying him from Nantes in France to his new club Cardiff crashed in the English Channel. His body was later recovered from underwater seabed plane wreckage, but the body of pilot David Ibbotson has never been found.

Now, Mr Sala's family's new lawyer representative, Buenos Aires-based Curutchet Odriozola, is leading on engagement with Cardiff City on the family's behalf.

Reports emerged in August saying the Sala family were in a "very difficult economic situation", with the trust not yet being finalised.

A former representative of Javier Canosa, the family’s previous Argentine lawyer, told the Press Association news agency: "The family has not received anything and are in a very difficult economic situation.

"Emiliano is not there and they really need this money."

Cardiff City Chairman Mehmet Dalman said: "We look forward to collaborating with the family’s new lawyer with whom we are already in touch.

"We have always been determined to get this trust set up as soon as possible to ensure the family has the support they need and deserve.

"Hopefully, we can bring this element of this heartbreaking tragedy to an end very soon."

Find this a bit weird.

He was a top flight professional footballer for a good few years surely his money, possessions have a decent amount of value to pass onto his family.

Also as far as I have seen he had no kids or a wife to support. The only people I've seen connected are his sister and mother now who must surely be working adults.

Unless they have some sort of special needs I dont know about.

Seems almost like are trying to profit from the man's death

There seem to be a lot of linked things going on here.

I think (partly based on articles I have recently read) that there was no UK insurance pay out to Sala's family on his death because of the contract dispute (from the Harry Harris book too) and that was anticipated very early when Mehmet Dalman made a number of commitments on behalf of the club - including to provide for the Sala family and to support Emiliano Sala's local football club in his home town.

Progress has been very slow and Cardiff City FC has had some bad press.

The thrust of this WOL report is that there have been problems between the club and the Sala family representative - but that now they have got a new lawyer it has become unblocked and it should be resolved very soon.

Good news if correct.