EVIDENCE TO back up the claims of Sevilla Football Club that they are the oldest Spanish club, founded in 1890 by British residents in Seville, has been discovered by historians thanks to a 123-year-old article in The Courier.
Sevilla FC’s act of constitution has been found on the British Newspaper Archive by the club’s history department, where the story of Sevilla’s founding was covered in the Dundee Courier’s edition of March 17, 1890.
An article sent to The Courier by the Spanish correspondent in Seville at that time records the formation of the club.
Though there were some pieces of evidence that suggested the possibility the club had been formed then, it wasn’t until the article was found that archivists could be assured Sevilla was the oldest Spanish club specifically devoted to football.
The information was sent to The Courier this weekend by Grant Millar, marketing executive with Dundee online company brightsolid.
He said: “According to the correspondent’s article, which has been hidden for almost 123 years, the club was formed on January 25, 1890, by a group of young British residents in Seville.
“In order to make this constitution fully legal, they decided first to play under Association Rules, secondly to bear the word ‘Football’ within its name and thirdly, to elect their ‘office-bearers’.
“The reason why this important report was published in the Dundee Courier is probably due to the fact that, at that time, tonnes and tonnes of Seville oranges were loaded on steamships, travelling from Seville to Dundee for the manufacture of the city’s famous marmalade.
“However, this connection between Seville and Dundee could even go further if we take into account that two of the members of the Sevilla Football Club at that time, D Thomson and Robert Thomson, could have been related to DC Thomson, founders of the Dundee Courier.
“We now know that D Thomson played a match on Christmas 1890, while Robert Thomson acted as referee in different matches.
“Perhaps one of them was the correspondent in Spain who sent the report to The Courier.
“As to the main office-bearers, the club’s first president was the Scot Edward Farquharson Johnston from Elgin.
“He was the British vice-consul in Seville and co-proprietor of the firm MacAndrews & Co, ship-owners with commercial lines between Spain and UK, one of them being the transport of Seville oranges.
“Glasgow man Hugh Maccoll, a marine engineer who at that time had moved to Seville to work as the technical manager of Portilla White foundry, was their first captain.”
Grant received his information from Spanish researcher Javier Terenti whose information shows that, to celebrate the club’s foundation, secretary Isaias White sent an invitation to a recreation club in Huelva to play a match in Seville.
The match took place on March 8 1890, thus being the first official match ever played in Spain.
Published by The Courier & Advertiser on 24 September 2012
No hay comentarios:
Publicar un comentario