The History of the Copa del Rey

The Copa del Rey has been played since 1903 with various changes to its name and format over the years. Barcelona have won the competition the most times.

The Spanish Copa del Rey is a soccer competition that’s been held since 1903 and brings together the 116 most important teams in the country. Today, we’ll tell you all about it, from its beginnings to the present day.

Beginnings of the Copa del Rey

It’s the oldest soccer competition in Spain and was first held in 1903. Back then, it wasn’t an official competition and the tournament was promoted by brothers Carlos and Juan Padrós, the founders of Real Madrid.

The first Copa del Rey was contested by representatives from three regions and King Alfonso XIII himself donated the trophy. There were only three teams involved, Madrid FC (central Spain), Club Espanyol (Catalonia), and Athletic Club (Basque Country). Athletic Club won this inaugural competition.

After seven consecutive years of the competition being held in Madrid, the organizers decided that for the 1909 edition, the champion of the previous season would be in charge of hosting the next one.

In 1910, the Spanish Union of Football Clubs was formed and two national tournaments were set up (the other was organized by the then Spanish Federation). Finally, they decided to join forces and Spain’s oldest competition became an official tournament.

In 1913, Spain consisted of ten regions, with each of them contributing a team. Only four of these already had regional championships: Galicia, Catalonia, Northern Spain, and Central Spain. As more local leagues emerged, the national championship grew.

Name and format changes

In 1931, the name of the tournament changed to the Cup of His Excellency the President of the Republic. This remained until the civil war broke out in 1936, leading to the suspension of all matches.

The competition resumed in 1939, but under another name. It was named the Cup of His Excellency the Generalissimo, in a clear reference to the dictator Franco. This remained the name of the competition until 1976.

During that period, the historic regional championships disappeared and only the highest-ranked teams in the league (in its three divisions) could enter. From the 1960-1961 season, the winners qualified to play the UEFA Cup Winner’s Cup, which was abolished in 1999.

After Franco’s death in 1975, the competition once again assumed the name of the Copa del Rey. In fact, the monarch is in charge of handing over the trophy to the winner each year.

In 2019, the Copa del Rey the organizers decided to set a fixed venue for the final: the Estadio La Cartuja in Seville (for four seasons). The tournament also adopted a single match elimination format with the exception of the semi-finals.

In addition, the number of participating teams increased to 116 teams. The winner of the Copa del Rey qualifies for the Europa League.

Teams that have won the Copa del Rey the most times

There are three great winners who are worth mentioning, Barcelona, Madrid, and Athletic Club.

Firstly, Barcelona, despite not taking part in the early competitions, has reached the final 41 times and won 30. They won for the first time in 1910 and last won in 2018. Athletic Club from Bilbao was the first champion in 1903 and has raised the cup 22 more times since (with the last one in 1984). Athletic have also finished runners-up 14 times.

Finally, Madrid has won the Copa del Rey 19 times between 1905 to 2014 and finished runner-up on 20 occasions.

Other teams to have won the Copa del Rey are: Atlético Madrid (10), Valencia (8), Real Zaragoza (6), Sevilla (5), Espanyol (4), Real Unión (4), Real Sociedad ( 2), Real Betis (2), Deportivo La Coruña (2), Arenas (1) and Deportivo Mallorca (1).

If a club wins three cups in a row or five alternate seasons, the club receives the trophy as their property. Then, a new one is made for the next competition.