History of FC Barcelona
The Gear to Support Your Team
For a statistical breakdown by season, see List of FC Barcelona seasons.Team of Barcelona FC that won its first Copa del Rey in 1910.
The history of Futbol Club Barcelona goes from the football club's founding in 1899 and up to current time. FC Barcelona, also known simply as Barcelona and familiarly as Barça, is based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. The team was founded in 1899 by a group of Swiss, English and Spanish footballers led by Joan Gamper. The club played amateur football until 1910 in various regional competitions. In 1910, the club participated in their first of many European competitions, and has since amassed fourteen UEFA trophies and a sextuple. In 1928, Barcelona co-founded La Liga, the top-tier in Spanish football, along with a string of other clubs. As of 2017, Barcelona has never been relegated from La Liga, a record they share with Athletic Bilbao and arch-rival Real Madrid.
Beginnings of Football Club Barcelona (1899–1922)
On 22 October 1899, Joan Gamper placed an advertisement in Los Deportes declaring his wish to form a football club; a positive response resulted in a meeting at the Gimnasio Solé on 29 November. Eleven players attended: Walter Wild (the first director of the club), Lluís d'Ossó, Bartomeu Terradas, Otto Kunzle, Otto Maier, Enric Ducal, Pere Cabot, Josep Llobet, John Parsons and William Parsons. As a result, Football Club Barcelona was born.[1] The blue and red colours of the shirt were first worn in a match against Hispania in 1900; the prevailing Catalonia conception is that the colours were chosen by Joan Gamper and are those of his home team, FC Basel.[2]
Rivera, Republic and Civil War (1923–1957)
On 14 June 1925, in a spontaneous reaction against Primo de Rivera's dictatorship, the crowd in the stadium jeered the Royal March. As a reprisal, the ground was closed for six months and Gamper was forced to relinquish the presidency of the club.[13] This coincided with the transition to professional football, and, in 1926, the directors of Barcelona publicly claimed, for the first time, to operate a professional football club.[11]On 3 July 1927, the club held a second testimonial match for Paulino Alcántara, against the Spanish national team. To kick off the match, local journalist and pilot Josep Canudas dropped the ball onto the pitch from his airplane.[10] In 1928, victory in the Spanish Cup was celebrated with a poem titled "Oda a Platko", which was written by a member of the Generation of '27, Rafael Alberti, inspired by the heroic performance of the Barcelona goalkeeper, Franz Platko.[14] Two years after the victory, on 30 July 1930, Gamper committed suicide after a period of depression brought on by personal and financial problems
1899 -1909. Foundation and Survival
FC Barcelona, founded in 1899 by a group of young foreigners living in Barcelona, was the result of the increasing popularity of football, and other British sports, across Europe. These origins have conferred upon the Club its intercultural identity, multi-sport focus and its deeply-rooted allegiance to Barcelona and Catalonia. The foundation of the Club coincided with a time when people were becoming interested in playing sport in Catalonia; this social context and Catalonia’s idiosyncratic culture led to the creation of a new model of modern leisure. Gamper, the Club’s founder, was the inspiration and driving force behind the Club’s first 25 years. His commitment to FC Barcelona went far beyond his role as player, director and president.
GAMPER AND BARÇA'S FOUNDING VALUES
Gamper was sports fanatic - aside from football, he participated in athletics, cycling, rugby and golf - and he considered it a vital factor in bringing out the best in man himself.
He aimed to create an organisation that was open to everyone, regardless of their origin. He envisaged a club that served as a means of social integration, in which everyone could speak their mind, and he created a democratic society that was freely governed by its members. As a sign of his gratitude to Catalonia, the country that had welcomed him, Gamper imbued FC Barcelona with the essence that has come to define it ever since: its commitment to Catalan identity.
Catalan identity, democracy, multiple sports and universality: today, Gamper’s original values continue to give Barça meaning.
THE FIRST CLUB BADGE
FC Barcelona decided to use the same badge as the city of Barcelona in a show of solidarity with the city that played host the new sports' club.
.In 1910, the board decided that the Club needed its own badge and organised a competition to find a new design and it adopted the format that with one or two variations has survived until the present day.