FC Espanya de Barcelona
| Full name | FC Espanya de Barcelona |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1905 |
| Dissolved | 1931 |
| Ground | Camp del Carrer Entença |
| League | Championat de Catalunya |
FC Espanya de Barcelona, was a Spanish Catalan football club based in Barcelona. They enjoyed a golden age during the 1910s and were Catalan champions three times during the decade. They were also Copa del Rey runners-up in 1914. By 1923 the club had changed its name to Gràcia FC and in 1932 it merged with CE Europa.
Founded by three students, Graells, Rossendo and Just, in September 1905, their first game was against an FC Barcelona second team. They were one of several football clubs to emerge with a reference to Spain in their title. Others in Barcelona included Hispania AC and Sociedad Española de Football, both formed in 1900. This latter club later became RCD Espanyol. Elsewhere Real Madrid was formed after a split with Club Español de Madrid and CD Español de Valladolid later merged into Real Valladolid. Other similar named clubs also emerged in Cadiz and Valencia.
FC Espanya made their debut in the Campionat de Catalunya during the 1907-08 season and during the 1910s they challenged the monopoly previously enjoyed by FC Barcelona and RCD Espanyol. During the 1912-13 season there was a split in the Royal Spanish Football Federation and rival competitions were organised in both the Campionat de Catalunya and the Copa del Rey. FC Espanya won one version of the Campionat and then qualified for the Copa FEF. After beating Real Vigo Sporting in a preliminary round they then lost 1-0 to the eventual winners Racing de Irún in the semi-final. 1914 was the most successful year in the club's history. They won a reunited Campionat de Catalunya and then reached the 1914 Copa del Rey final where they lost 2-1 to Athletic Bilbao. They also won the Coupe de Pyrenées, a competition featuring the top teams from Languedoc, Le Midi, Aquitaine, Catalonia, and the Basque Country. In 1917 FC Espanya won a third Campionat de Catalunya and received a bye to the 1917 Copa del Rey semi-finals where it took the eventual winners Madrid FC four games to beat them.
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