Royal Spanish Football Federation facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Royal Spanish Football Federation

UEFA
Full name	Lua error in Module:Wd at line 1575: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
Short name	RFEF
Founded	29 September 1913; 111 years ago (1913-09-29)
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Headquarters	Las Rozas de Madrid
FIFA affiliation	1914
UEFA affiliation	1954
President	Rafael Louzán

The Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) is the main organization that manages football in Spain. It was started on September 29, 1913, and its main office is in Las Rozas, a town close to Madrid.

The RFEF organizes important national cup tournaments like the King's Cup and the Spanish Super Cup. It also helps manage the top football leagues, Primera División and Segunda División, even though another group called LaLiga organizes them. The RFEF is in charge of other national leagues too, such as Primera Federación (3rd tier), Segunda Federación (4th tier), and Tercera Federación (5th tier). It also runs almost all women's national football competitions, except for the very top league, Liga F.

The RFEF is also responsible for choosing the coaches and players for Spain's national teams. This includes the men's team, women's team, and youth teams. They also manage the national teams for futsal (a type of indoor football) and beach soccer. As of 2023, the RFEF has over 30,000 registered football clubs and more than 1.2 million registered players!

History of Spanish Football

How the RFEF Started

The first Spanish football organization, the Federación Española de Clubs de Football (FECF), was created in Madrid on October 14, 1909. This was the start of what would become the RFEF. Some famous clubs like FC Barcelona and Sociedad Gimnástica joined early on.

However, not all clubs agreed with this new organization. Big teams like Madrid FC and Athletic Club didn't join. This led to a problem in 1910, where two different King's Cup tournaments were held at the same time! One was organized by the FECF, and the other by a new group called the UECF. Today, both of these tournaments are officially recognized by the RFEF.

More disagreements happened, and in 1912, some clubs, including Barcelona and Real Sociedad, left the FECF to form their own group, the "Spanish Union of Football Clubs" (UECF). This meant that in 1913, there were again two separate national football tournaments.

Both the FECF and the UECF wanted to be the official football organization for Spain. Even the King and Queen were involved! King Alfonso XIII and Queen Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg supported different groups. The international football organization, FIFA, didn't like having two groups in Spain. They said that Spanish clubs couldn't play international matches unless the two groups joined together.

To solve this, leaders from both groups met in July 1913. They agreed to combine their organizations and create one new, strong football federation for Spain.

The RFEF is Born

On September 1, 1913, the new federation officially began. They chose the name "Royal Spanish Football Federation" (Real Federación Española de Football). King Alfonso XIII became its honorary president.

The RFEF was officially accepted as a temporary member of FIFA on September 29, 1913. Then, on July 27, 1914, it became a full member of FIFA. This was a big step for Spanish football, allowing its clubs and national teams to compete internationally.

One of the first things the RFEF did was to create a national championship. This championship would help find the best players to form a Spanish national team. In 1915, they started the Prince of Asturias Cup, which was sponsored by King Alfonso XIII himself.

Spain's National Team

On May 21, 1920, the RFEF decided to create a national team to play in the 1920 Olympic Games in Antwerp, Belgium.

The first official match for the Spanish national team was played on August 28, 1920, against Denmark. Spain won 1–0, with the first goal scored by Patricio Arabolaza. In their very first international tournament, Spain won the silver medal, which was a fantastic achievement!

Spain has achieved great success in football. The men's team won the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The women's team won the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup. This makes Spain one of only two countries (the other being Germany) to have won both the men's and women's World Cups. Also, Spain's women's teams are currently world champions at all three levels: Under-17, Under-20, and senior level. This is a first in women's football!

National League Begins

In 1926, football in Spain became professional, meaning players could get paid to play. This important change led to the creation of the "Campeonato Nacional de Liga," which we now know as La Liga.

The first season of La Liga was played from February to June 1929. Ten clubs competed, and FC Barcelona became the first champions, closely followed by Real Madrid.

Competitions Organized by RFEF

The RFEF organizes many football competitions across Spain. Here are some of the main ones:

• Men's competitions:
  • Primera Federación (3rd division)
  • Segunda Federación (4th division)
  • Tercera Federación (5th division)
  • King's Cup
  • Spanish Super Cup
  • Federation Cup
• Women's competitions:
  • Primera Federación (2nd division)
  • Segunda Federación (3rd division)
  • Tercera Federación (4th division)
  • Queen's Cup
  • Women's Spanish Super Cup
• Youth competitions:
  • División de Honor Juvenil (top youth league)
  • Liga Nacional Juvenil (2nd youth league)
  • Youth King's Cup
  • Youth Champions Cup

Achievements and Trophies

National Football Teams

Spain's national teams have won many important trophies:

Men's National Team

• FIFA World Cup
  • Winners (1): 2010
• UEFA European Championship
  • Winners (4): 1964, 2008, 2012, 2024
• UEFA Nations League
  • Winners (1): 2023
• Olympic Games
  • Gold medal (2): 1992, 2024
  • Silver medal (3): 1920, 2000, 2020

Women's National Team

• FIFA Women's World Cup
  • Winners (1): 2023
• UEFA Women's Nations League
  • Winners (1): 2024

National Youth Teams

Spain's youth teams have also had great success:

Men's Youth Teams

• FIFA U-20 World Cup
  • Winners (1): 1999
• FIFA U-17 World Cup
  • Runners-up (4): 1991, 2003, 2007, 2017
• UEFA U-21 Championship
  • Winners (5): 1986, 1998, 2011, 2013, 2019
• UEFA U-19/18 Championship
  • Winners (12): 1952, 1954, 1995, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2019, 2024
• UEFA U-17/16 Championship
  • Winners (9): 1986, 1988, 1991, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2007, 2008, 2017

Women's Youth Teams

• FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup
  • Winners (1): 2022
• FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup
  • Winners (2): 2018, 2022
• UEFA Women's U-19 Championship
  • Winners (7): 2004, 2017, 2018, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025
• UEFA Women's U-17 Championship
  • Winners (5): 2010, 2011, 2015, 2018, 2024

National Futsal Teams

Men's Futsal Team

• FIFA Futsal World Cup
  • Winners (2): 2000, 2004
• UEFA Futsal Championship
  • Winners (7): 1996, 2001, 2005, 2007, 2010, 2012, 2016

Women's Futsal Team

• UEFA Women's Futsal Championship
  • Winners (3): 2019, 2022, 2023

Regional Federations

The RFEF works with 19 regional football federations across Spain. These federations help manage football in different parts of the country, like Andalusia, Catalonia, and the Community of Madrid.

Presidents of the RFEF

Many people have led the RFEF since it began. Here is a list of its presidents:

See also

In Spanish: Real Federación Española de Fútbol para niños