Recreativo, 125 years of history

RC Recreativo de Huelva are celebrating their anniversary after 125 years of history. The club was founded in 1889 and is the oldest in our country, which is why it is nicknamed the Decano (Doyen) of Spanish football. The history of the club dates back to 1878 when a large number of Englishmen arrived in Huelva, more specifically to the Río Tinto area, to work for the mining companies, and they brought with them the most popular sport in the world: football.

But it was not until 18 December 1889, when football had established itself in the English colony, that they held the first official board meeting of Huelva Recreation Club, now RC Recreativo de Huelva. Days later, on 23 December, their founding charter was signed, making them Spanish football’s first club, which lives on to this day. Though a modest club, Recreativo have had their moments of glory, such as two promotions to the top flight of Spanish football, the latest in the 2005/06 season, and as finalists in the 2003 Copa del Rey. They have also won more Zamora Trophies for the lowest-conceding goalkeeper in the Liga Adelante than any other club.

The Huelva club has been holding various events in recent days to mark their anniversary. On 18 December the Salón de Chimeneas room at the Casa Colón de Huelva hosted a reading of the founding charter, in precisely the same spot where it was signed 125 years ago. The event was attended not just by the Albiazules Board of Directors and the mayor of Huelva, but also by the grandson and great-granddaughter of Alexander Mackay, the club’s founder.

A moving gala dinner was also held, recognising and commemorating its over 40 supporters’ clubs, former presidents, descendants of its founders, twenty or so of the club’s veteran footballers, and institutions such as Huelva City Council and the local council of Minas de Riotinto, the municipality where Spanish football was born. LFP.es sends the Doyen of Spanish football our sincerest congratulations for their long history.