Most of the Catalan Sports Federations have a lot of tradition and some of them participated in the foundation of International Sports Federations, as the Catalan Federation of Rugby, that was one of the founder members of the Fédération Internationale de Rugby Amateur (FIRA) in 1934.[1]
Catalonia has officially recognised national teams in some sports competing in world and European championships as Catalonia, but in most sports Catalan sportspeople compete within Spanish national teams. The presence of Catalan national teams at international level has often met with opposition from the Spanish State, as happened in 2004 to roller hockey in the known as the Fresno Case (see Rink hockey section below).
The best Catalan teams use to participate in European competitions.
Football is considered the most important sport in Catalonia and was introduced in the late 19th century by a combination of British immigrant workers, visiting sailors and students returning from Britain.
Catalonia also began to produce a number of football clubs including Palamós Foot-Ball Club founded in 1898 and Català FC and Foot-Ball Club Barcelona, both founded in 1899.[2] Soon there were enough clubs to organize a league and in December 1900, Alfonso Macaya, the president of Hispania AC, offered a trophy, Copa Macaya, that eventually evolved into the Catalonia championships that were played until 1940, when they were disbanded during Franco's dictatorship.[2]
Basketball was played for the first time in Catalonia in 1913, in the school Vallparadís of Terrassa, encouraged by Alexandre Galí and Artur Martorell. After the First World War the Frenchman Emile Tiberghien incorporated the basketball in his gym in Barcelona. Despite these early experiences, it is commonly accepted that basketball was introduced in Catalonia in 1922 by Father Eusebi Millan when organized the first team in the School "Escoles Pies de St. Anton" in Barcelona.
That year, 1922, was born the first club in Catalonia, the Basketball-Ball Laietà Club (now Club Esportiu Laietà). In those days, basketball was developed mainly through the educational centers and associations of popular and Catholic character. The first game is played in the field of CE Europa on 8 December 1922, with a final scoreboard: Europa 8-Laietà 2.
Former CB Girona
On 15 April 1923 began the first Catalan Basketball Championship that was played until 1957 (except the period of the Civil War). It was undoubtedly the most important competition held in Catalonia before the birth of the Spanish league.
In 1941 were played the first handball matches in Catalonia and one year later was founded a Handball Federation in Catalonia. Then handball was developed over Catalonia, increasing the number of teams every year, being 80 clubs in 1958. Barcelona held the first European Clubs Cup in 1958, a competition ideated by the French Federation.
For the decades of 40's and 50's some handball competitions were held with 11 players, like the Catalonia Championships. But finally the 7 players game was the one that continued.
FC Barcelona
During the 80's and 90's decades the Catalan Federation organized the Catalan league, played by the best Catalan clubs. In 1997 was replaced by the Pirenees league adding teams from the south of France and the coorganization of the Ligue Languedoc Roussillon. FC Barcelona is the team that has won more times both competitions.
The first rink hockey match played in Catalonia was in 1915 with the Indian Hoquei Club and the Sport Hoquei Club, but it were only the preliminaries. In 1925 some matches were played regularly and in 1928 was founded the Catalan Federation. The first Catalonia's Championship was played in 1930 and began a full developing for the sport around Catalonia.
In 2004 the Federació Catalana de Patinatge was admitted by the International Roller Sports Federation (FIRS) as a provisional member, and as such it took part in the 2004 Rink Hockey World Championship B in Macau. Catalonia national team won all its matches and was crowned as 2004 B's World Champions[3] and gained the right to be in the 2005 Rink Hockey World Championship. But in the following FIRS congress, in Fresno, the official recognition was revoked because of the opposition of the Spanish federation, in an assembly full of irregularities as the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruled.[4] in the case known as the Fresno Case. A new assembly was thus held in Rome, as the CAS verdict had decided, and Catalonia's application was rejected again. Because of this decision, Catalonia could not participate in the 2005 World Championship,[5] that finally was won by Spain, with a team composed by all the players from Catalonia.
Since 2004, Catalonia national teams have competed in the Blanes Golden Cup with other national teams, winning the trophy six times by the men's team[6] and three times by the ladies team.[7]
Motorsport has a long tradition in Catalonia involving many people, with some world champions and several competitions organized since the beginning of the 20th century. The Circuit de Catalunya, built in 1991, is one of the main motorsport venues, holding the Catalan motorcycle Grand Prix, the Spanish F1 Grand Prix, a DTM race, and several other races. Also of note is the Montjuïc street circuit which regularly hosted the Spanish F1 and motorcycle Grands Prix up to the 1970s.
Motorcycle trials is also a sport practiced by many Catalans, as the world champions Jordi Tarrés (7 times), Adam Raga (6 times), Toni Bou (10 times) and Laia Sanz (11 times), and many competitions are organized around the country.
Rallies have several Catalan motorcycle champions as Nani Roma (1 Dakar Rally), Marc Coma ( 3 Rally Dakar and 3 times rallies cross country world champion), Jordi Arcarons (4 times runner-up in the Dakar Rally) and recently Laia Sanz (First Female Category Dakar Rally 2011). In car rallies, the Rally Catalunya is one of the races of the World Rally Championship since 1991. The first edition of Rally Catalunya was in 1957.
Tennis
Tennis began to be practiced in Catalonia in the late 19th century, in cities such as Barcelona or Reus, by some British people established in Catalonia and members of the Catalan bourgeoisie.
In 1904 was founded the Lawn Tennis Association of Barcelona, who joined as a full member in the Lawn Tennis Association (the international federation in those days). Later, in 1913, it was transformed into Lawn Tennis Association of Catalonia. In 1917 was played the first Catalan Tennis Championship. In all these tournaments, the Barcelona LT was an important organizer.
In 1923 was played the first Indoor World Championship in Barcelona.
The main tournament is Torneo Godó, held in Barcelona on clay surface.
Sports with officially recognized Catalonia national team
Korfball
Catalonia, European Bowl 2005 champions
Korfball has been played in Catalonia since 1982, and is managed by the Catalan Korfball Federation (FCK).
In 1997 the International Korfball Federation admitted the Catalan Federation of Korfball as a provisional member, and in 2005 it was granted full membership.[12]
The Catalan competition is divided into a "First division" and 2 "Second divisions" with a number of teams such as C.K. Vacarisses, C.E. Vilanova i la Geltrú, C.K. Assessoria Vallparadís, C.K. Cerdanyola, C.K. Badalona – La Rotllana, Sant Llorenç K.C., Unió Korfbalera Sant Adrià de Besòs, K.C. Barcelona, C.K. Castellbisbal, K.E.C.A., Korfball Valldemia and A.A.E.I.E.S. Secretari Coloma de Barcelona.
Pitch and putt is played in Catalonia since the "1980's" when Martin Withelaw build a course in Solius (Santa Cristina d'Aro, Girona). The interest on Pitch and putt has been growing since then, with more than 14,000 players in 2008 associated to Catalan Federation of Pitch and Putt (FCPP), and more than 30 courses.
In 1999 the "Associació Catalana de Pitch and putt" was one of the founders of the European Pitch and Putt Association,[19] the governing body that develops pitch and putt in Europe and stages a biennial European Team Championships, which Catalonia won in 2010[20] and has reached the second place three times.[21]
In nine-pin bowling, Catalonia national team played in the 2011 World Championship in Sarajevo.
Catalan skittles (Catalan: Bitlles catalanes) are also an ancient Catalan game, early documented in years 1376 and 1402, that consists in knocking down exactly five of the six skittles.
The LFAC was officially created in 2005 and the first teams joining were Belfry Valls, Cornellà Bocs, Valls Fire and Alt Camp.
In 2009 the Catalan league is played by teams of several territories that speak Catalan language: Belfry Valls, Cornellà Bocs (southern Catalonia), Andorra Crows (Andorra), and Perpinyà (Northern Catalonia).
In the same way as much of the rest of Europe, cycling was one of the first sports to gain popularity in Catalonia, since the 1880s. The first cycling body was the Club Velocipèdic of Barcelona (1884) followed by the Sport Ciclista Català. In 1893 the Bonanova velodrome was built with a length of 400 meters, considered one of the best in Europe at the time. In 1895 the Reus velodrome and in 1896 the Lleida velodrome were constructed.
In 1897 the Catalan Cycling Union was founded, which governed cycling in Catalonia.
In 1911 the first edition of Volta a Catalunya was held, making it the third oldest cycling stage race in the world, behind only the Tour de France (1903) and the Giro d'Italia (1909).
Rugby union was introduced in Southern Catalonia in 1921, when Baldiri Aleu i Torres founded the Unió Esportiva Santboiana. In 1922 the Catalan Rugby Federation was founded, which was one of the founding members of the Paris-based FIRA – Association of European Rugby,[1] from which it was expelled at the behest of Franco's fascist regime. It has still to be readmitted.
In Southern Catalonia UE Santboiana, who have won the Spanish championship seven times, and FC Barcelona, are the best Catalan rugby union teams that compete in the División de Honor.
Terrassa is a city in central-eastern Catalonia and in the province of Barcelona (Spain). It is one of the two capitals of Vallès Occidental county, along with Sabadell.
The Catalonia national football team is the official football team of Catalonia. It is organised by the Catalan Football Federation, founded in 1900. The team has been referred to by various names including Selecció Catalana, Selecció de Barcelona and the Catalan XI.
Futbol Club Barcelona Rugby is a Spanish rugby union club. The senior team currently plays in División de Honor, the premier level of Spanish rugby union. Formed in 1924, the club is a member of the FC Barcelona family. The club currently plays its home games in La Teixonera.
Club de Futbol Reus Deportiu, S.A.D. was a Spanish football team based in Reus, in the autonomous community of Catalonia. Founded in 1909, it last competed in the Segunda Division before folding during the 2018–19 Segunda División season. It held its home games at Estadi Municipal, with a capacity of 4,700 seats.
Football is the most important sport in Catalonia and was introduced in the late 19th century by a combination of mostly British immigrant workers and visiting sailors, and students returning from Britain. Catalonia led the way in the development of football in Spain, organizing both the first association and the first championship. Today football in Catalonia is organized by the Catalan Football Federation and the RFEF and teams from Catalonia compete in La Liga, the Copa del Rey, the Copa Catalunya and several European competitions.
The Copa Catalunya is a knockout competition organised by the Catalan Football Federation for football clubs in the Catalonia autonomous community of Spain.
The Catalan Football Federation is the football association responsible for administering football in Catalonia. It was formed on 11 November 1900 as the Football Associació de Catalunya. It was the first football association founded in Spain. The first president was Eduard Alesson and the original members included FC Barcelona, Català SC, Hispania AC and Sociedad Española de Football.
The Catalan football championship(Campionat de Catalunya) was a football competition in Catalonia and the first football league in Spain before La Liga was established in 1929.
Reus Deportiu is a Catalan sports club best known for its professional roller hockey team based in Reus, Catalonia, Spain.
Futsal in Catalonia, Spain is managed by the Catalonia Federation of Futsal (FCFS), affiliated to European Union of Futsal in 2004 and recognised by the AMF in 2006.
The Catalonia national futsal team represents Catalonia in international futsal competitions organized by AMF and UEFS. It is controlled by the Catalonia Futsal Federation.
The Catalonia national rugby league team represents Catalonia in the sport of rugby league football, running under the auspices of the Associació Catalana de Rugby Lliga.
Rugby league is a team sport that is played in several regions of Spain.
The Associació Catalana de Rugby Lliga (ACRL) is the governing body for the sport of rugby league in Catalonia. The Association was formed in 2007 and since then has organized and governed the Catalan competitions.
Club Korfbal Vallparadís is a Catalan korfball team located in Terrassa, playing home matches in the Pavelló Municipal de Sant Llorenç.
Rugby League in Catalonia was formalised in 2007 with the formation of Associació Catalana de Rugby Lliga who ran rugby league activities until 2010.
Carles Comamala López-Del Pan was an orthopedic surgeon by profession and a football player for Barcelona between 1903 and 1911. He was a director of Barcelona in 1909–1911.
Futbol Club Barcelona Rugby Lliga are the rugby league extension of the FC Barcelona association football club's sporting family, based in Barcelona, Catalonia. They won the Catalonia's Cup in 2008 and now play in the Catalan Rugby League Championship, the premier rugby league tournament in Catalonia, after being admitted into the competition in 2010. The sports club's president is Joan Laporta.
Barcelona, the capital of Catalonia, is the second largest city and metropolitan area in Spain and sixth-most populous urban area in the European Union. It has hosted many major international tournaments and has professional teams in different sports.
CP Sarrià is the football section of Sant Vicenç de Sarrià Parish Center, created in 1952. It is currently the most veteran and representative football entity in the old town of Sarrià, the current district of Barcelona. The first team plays in Segona Catalana, Gr. 2, 6th tier of the Spanish football league system. It has around 24 base teams of football.
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