Football in Spain:

Football is the most popular sport in Spain. Modern football was introduced to Spain in the late 19th century by a combination of mostly British immigrant workers, visiting sailors and Spanish students coming from Britain. The first official football game played in Spain took place in Seville on March 8, 1890 at the Tablada Hippodrome. Recreativo de Huelva played against Sevilla FC, a team made up of workers from the Seville Water Works.


 With the exception of two Spanish players on the Huelva team, all the players on both teams were British. This is the reason why the team is called Sevilla FC (football club) and not Sevilla CF (club de fútbol, in Spanish correct way). The Seville team won 2-0.

Real Madrid is the most successful in Europe, having won it a record 9 times and the UEFA Cup twice, while FC Barcelona was the only team to achieve a Sextuple, in the year 2009. In La Liga's 80-year history (sans the 3 seasons that the league was suspended due to the civil war), Barça and Real Madrid have won 51 titles between them. Over the years, Spanish clubs have won the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 7 times and UEFA Europa League 6 times.