Football league
Biscay Championship
Organising body
| North Football Federation
(since 1913)
|
---|
Founded
| 1913
|
---|
First season
| 1913
|
---|
Folded
| 1940
|
---|
Country
| Spain
|
---|
Feeder to
| Copa del Rey
|
---|
Last champions
| Athletic Club
(16th title)
|
---|
Most championships
| Athletic Club
(16 titles)
|
---|
The
Biscay Regional Championship
(Campeonato Regional de Vizcaya)
, also called the
North Regional Championship
(Campeonato Regional Norte)
in its early editions, was an official
football
tournament in Spain organised by the North Football Federation.
It was played annually between 1913 and 1940 and served to elect the representatives of the region in the
Spanish Cup
, which at that time served as the overall annual national championship.
History
[
edit
]
The tournament was launched in 1913, following the creation of the North Football Federation (
Federacion Norte
), initially consisting of clubs from the
Basque provinces
(
Biscay
,
Gipuzkoa
and
Alava
) and
Cantabria
(then the province of Santander). The first edition of the Northern Regional Championship started on 12 October 1913, with six teams: three from Biscay (
Athletic Bilbao
,
Arenas Club de Getxo
and Deportivo de Bilbao)
[2]
and three from Gipuzkoa (
Real Sociedad
, Sporting de Irun and Racing de Irun ? the latter two would soon merge as
Real Union
). Athletic was the first champion.
In 1916 the
Royal Spanish Football Federation
permitted the clubs from the province of Santander to abandon the North Federation and join the new Cantabrian Regional Federation of Football, along with clubs from the
province of Oviedo
. But the situation was reversed again two years later.
After several disagreements between the clubs of Biscay and Gipuzkoa, culminating in a pivotal championship match between Athletic and Real Sociedad being abandoned,
[3]
in 1918 the National Committee of the Spanish federation agreed to divide the Northern Federation in these two regions.
[4]
Thus, in the 1918?19 season the Gipuzkoa clubs launched
their own championship
while the North Championship teams continued with other Basque teams and the return of
Racing de Santander
, representing the Cantabrian clubs.
In 1922 the clubs in the province of Santander finally left the North Federation to create its own umbrella organisation, which launched the
Cantabrian Regional Championship
.
[5]
That same year, the Assembly of the Northern Federation agreed to the change of name to the Biscay Federation
(Federacion Vizcaina)
, being composed exclusively of clubs from the province
[6]
(although
Deportivo Alaves
of Alava also participated in the championship).
In 1934 the Spanish federation undertook a major restructuring of the national tournaments, so that the regional championships were replaced by the superregional, which gathered the best clubs in various regional federations. In the case of the
Basque Country
, this was called the
Basque Cup
, launched in season 1934?35. This tournament was held for two years until being interrupted by the
Spanish Civil War
.
During the last months of the war in 1939, football resumed activity in some areas controlled by the
National side
, under the impetus of the Spanish Federation and the regional federations. Five teams participated in the reborn Biscay Championship, including its winners
Bilbao Athletic
(a team formed by Athletic Bilbao, who decided not to use the club's official title as they only had a makeshift squad and were worried about embarrassing results tarnishing their reputation)
[7]
and runner-up
Barakaldo Oriamendi
, who both took part in the
1939 Copa del Generalisimo
.
The last edition of the Championship of Biscay, which was also a qualifier for access to the
1940 Copa del Generalisimo
, was played in the 1939?40 season. Another restructuring approved by the Spanish Federation in 1940 marked the demise of the regional championships.
Winners
[
edit
]
Notes
[
edit
]
Summary of Champions
[
edit
]
Club
|
Winners
|
Runner-up
|
Winning Years
|
Runner-up Years
|
Athletic Club
|
16
[a]
|
4
|
1913?14, 1914?15, 1915?16, 1919?20, 1920?21, 1922?23, 1923?24, 1925?26, 1927?28, 1928?29, 1930?31, 1931?32, 1932?33, 1933?34, 1934?35, 1939?40
|
1916?17, 1924?25, 1926?27, 1929?30
|
Arenas Club de Getxo
|
6
|
10
|
1916?17, 1918?19, 1921?22, 1924?25, 1926?27, 1935?36
|
1914?15, 1917?18, 1920?21, 1922?23, 1923?24, 1925?26, 1928?29, 1930?31, 1931?32, 1932?33
|
Deportivo Alaves
[b]
|
1
|
1
|
1929?30
|
1927?28
|
Real Union
[c]
|
1
[3]
|
1
|
1917?18
[a]
|
1935?36
|
Bilbao Athletic
[d]
|
1
[a]
|
?
|
1939
|
?
|
Barakaldo CF
|
?
|
3
|
?
|
1933?34, 1939, 1939?40
|
Racing de Santander
[e]
|
?
|
3
|
?
|
1918?19, 1919?20, 1921?22
|
Real Sociedad
[c]
|
?
|
2
|
?
|
1913?14, 1915?16
|
CA Osasuna
[f]
|
?
|
1
|
?
|
1934?35
|
Notes
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
Athletic Bilbao includes the disputed 1918 championship and the 1939 championship won by Bilbao Athletic in its honours list for a total of 18.
- ^
Only participated from 1922 to 1936 (including Basque Cup).
- ^
a
b
Only participated from 1913 to 1918 and from 1934 to 1936 (including Basque Cup).
- ^
Only participated in 1939.
[7]
- ^
Only participated between 1913 and 1916, and between 1918 and 1922.
- ^
Only participated in Basque Cup (1934?35 and 1935?36).
See also
[
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]
References
[
edit
]