134 YEARS OF MAKING HISTORY

The local press of the time recounts that 25th January 1890 "was a most beautiful spring day". At the end of that day, a group of young men, half from Sevilla and half from the UK, met in an old café in Sevilla with the intention of celebrating the traditional Scottish festival of Burns Night. During the historic evening, amid toasts of beer, those young men agreed to found Sevilla FC, an entity that today, 134 years later, continues to proudly bear the name of the city where it was born, being the city's greatest ambassador beyond its borders.

At that time, football had already been part of the Christmas festivities in Sevilla for years, where other sports of British origin had also been played since the middle of the same century. In nineteenth century Sevilla, the introduction of these sports had been greatly favoured by the existence of a large British colony. Factors such as the enormous importance of its inland port, its proximity to Gibraltar and the fact that, due to the beauty of its monuments, it attracted the attention of numerous romantic travellers, acting as a magnet, favoured the growth of this settlement, forming a perfect breeding ground for the birth of what, a few years later, would be known as the eternal champion of Andalucía.

    The rise of British settlers in Sevilla provided the perfect breeding ground for the club's foundation

In accordance with the custom and instructions previously published in Great Britain (How to Form a Football Club; And How to Ensure Its Success), the founders of Sevilla FC adopted three agreements of special relevance: the name of the entity, the first executive positions and the footballing code to be followed. With regard to the name, being the first football club in our city and having been founded exclusively for the practice of football, there was no other choice: Sevilla Football Club, that is to say, in its literal translation into Spanish, 'Club de Football de Sevilla'. As for the main management positions, the first president was the Scotsman Edward Farquharson Johnston (Elgin, 1854 - London, 1924), British vice-consul in Sevilla, and director of the MacAndrews shipping company and of the Sevilla Water Works (now EMASESA). Another Scotsman, Hugh MacColl (Glasgow, 1861-1915), technical director of the important Seville ironworks 'Portilla & White', was appointed captain, while Isaías White Méndez, from Seville, was entrusted with the post of first secretary. Finally, it was decided that the club would play according to the rules of Association Football, thus ruling out the practice of Rugby Football.

The following morning, Sunday 26th January, the founders of Sevilla FC played the first of many training matches at the now defunct Tablada Racecourse. Barely a month after the historic Burns Night, on 25th February 1890, the club secretary, Isaías White, sent a letter to the Huelva Recreation Club, inviting them to the first football match played in Spain between two clubs under Association Football rules. The historic first match was finally played at the Tablada Racecourse in Sevilla on 8th March 1890, ending in a 2-0 victory for Sevilla FC. The Sevilla players Ritson, scorer of the first goal, and Edward Johnston, an expert in the rules of the game and, consequently, referee of the first football match played on Spanish soil between two clubs, went down in history.

In later years, Sevilla FC would continue to play against Huelva Recreation Club, Rio-Tinto English Club and different teams made up of Brits and Germans who had settled in or were passing through our city. Later, at the turn of the century, as did the rest of the nineteenth century clubs, Sevilla FC, founded in accordance with the Spanish Civil Code of 1889, went to the Civil Government of the Province to register its statutes. This administrative procedure was completed on 14th October 1905. By then, the prominence of Spanish members and players was beginning to surpass that of the British, although in 1909, Johnston, the club's first president, still refereed the most important local matches.

    The famous match against Huelva Recreation Club at Tablada took place on 8th March 1890

Within a few years, the club born on "one beautiful spring day" in January 1890 would go on to be known as the eternal champions of Andalucía, after winning 18 of the 21 editions of the regional championship between 1915 and 1940. A large part of their success was undoubtedly based on an intricate style of play, the result of lots of interplay and short passes, in the purest 'Scottish style'. In Spain, that style of play achieved fame under the name of the 'Sevilla school', largely as a legacy of the club's founders.

Today, 134 years after that historic evening on 25th January 1890, Sevilla FC is one of the most successful and renowned clubs on the Old Continent thanks to the efforts and sacrifice of many generations of Sevillistas. An entity that, faithful to its principles and its own history, is proud to preserve the values that form its unique character, proudly demonstrating its identity and proudly bearing the name, colours and symbols of the city where it was born, Sevilla. Happy birthday, Sevillistas!