barcelonaBarcelona football club was founded in 1899 by a group of foreign footballers after Joan Gamper put an advertisement in a local paper.  Playing amateur football until 1910 the club quickly secured a reputation for playing excellent football, they won the Copa Macaya in 1902 securing their first trophy.  In 1909 the club moved into its own stadium for the first time, this was the Carrer de la Industria, it was the first floodlit stadium in Spain, being made of two tiers and holding a capacity of up to 6,000 spectators.   In 1910 the team joined in with European competitions, becoming a professional club and has since then continued to grow and amass an amazing array of honours and achievements.

In 1928 Barcelona football club in cooperation with other Spanish sides founded the La Liga competition, which today remains the top flight of Spanish football.  Barcelona, along with only two other teams have since 1928 only played in La Liga, they have never been relegated.  The same as any other team there have been ups and downs and more successful periods during the clubs history however, they have won the La Liga a staggering 22 times, and been crowned runners up a further 23 times.

Despite being initially founded by foreigners Barcelona football club is now steeped in the local Catalan history.  The region of Catalonia has always been, and remains today hostile toward the central government of Spain based in Madrid.  The football club became a focus for local heritage and traditions and was one of the places locals could express their dissatisfaction; there still remains today a call for Catalonia to become an independent state.  The well-known slogan 'Mes Que Un Club' translates to "More than a club', and relates to the local heritage and community surrounding this Spanish football team.

Barcelona is supported by approximately 25% of Spanish football fans and is popular across the globe.  The Barcelona home kit is the second most popular sold by its manufacturer Nike behind Manchester United, selling over 1 million shirts in the last five year period.  Since the 1990s the club have consistently featured at the top of the Spanish league as well as in European competitions.  Under the leadership of Pep Guardiola from 2008-12 they won four La Liga titles, the Copa Del Ray twice and the UEFA Champions League twice, the UEFA Super Cup as well as the FIFA Club World Cup.  This is a staggering number of honours for one team to have achieved in such a short period, this success has coincided with an increase in worldwide communication via the Internet, better international television football coverage that has therefore, further bolstered the worldwide following of Barcelona.

Barcelona has worn a blue and red home kit since the early 1900s, the famous striped design today can be seen worn by supporters from all corners of the earth.  Children are increasingly choosing to support foreign teams with kids kits an extremely popular purchase, with players such as Lionel Messi, Xavi, and Fabregas amongst others proving to be popular role models for today's young fans.   New manager Tito Villanova is so far maintaining the clubs recent successes by this year winning the La Liga for the 22nd time in the clubs history.  Barcelona appear to be going from strength to strength, gleaning more supporters each season and making a name for themselves not only by playing fantastic football, but also for supporting local history and forging charitable deals with charities such as UNICEF.

What do you think of Barcelona's fascinating history?

You can join in and show your support for this top Spanish football team by purchasing a Barcelona Home Kit from Soccerbox now.