Newspaper clipping reveals expat link to Spain’s oldest football club

PUBLISHED: February 19, 2013 at 10:42 pm • LAST EDITED: March 22, 2013 at 7:53 am
Andalucia, Sevilla • 3 Comments

• Sevilla FC president Jose Maria del Nido being presented with the historic article

AN antique newspaper cutting from Scotland has shed new light on the origins of Sevilla FC, Spain’s oldest football club.

The 123-year-old article from the Dundee Courier explains how a group of young British and Spanish men decided to form the club after a night in the pub, 15 years earlier than previously thought.

The article, dated March 17 1890, details the first draft of the club’s newly written Constitution along with the names of its founders.

“The page in question contains a treasure for the history of Spanish football since it is an article that describes in detail how the club was founded 15 years earlier than it was thought, thus being Spain’s oldest football club,” said Sevilla historian Javier Terenti.

“Everything suggests that that Saturday 25 January, a group of young British, mainly Scots, along with other young men of Spanish origin, met at one of the bars in the city and celebrated Burns Night with the excuse of founding the first football club in Spain,” he added.

Sevilla FC president, Jose Maria del Nido, has been presented with a copy of the page, while another has been sent to the Spanish Football Federation.

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Doug Hopper

February 20th, 2013 12:20 am

Well since Recreativo de Huelva was founded in 1889, Sevilla are still not the oldest club.

Simon Harris

February 20th, 2013 8:32 am

Interesting information, although as they were founded in 1889, this still makes Recreativo de Huelva Spain’s oldest club.

This definitely tallies with other information I have of the first recorded game being between Recre and Sevilla – I had understood it was an unofficial Sevilla Gasworks team, though.

This shines new light on a fascinating (for me, anyway) subject!

Matthew Hirtes

February 20th, 2013 9:55 am

Perhaps the original date was correct in the first place. You know what bars are like. Pop in for a swift caña, the next thing you know it’s tomorrow already. They could have just had one long sesh.

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