Spanish Football Divided by War
Spanish Football Clubs Transformed During Civil War: Military Led National, Unions Republican
When the Spanish Civil War broke out on July 18, 1936, it didn't just stop football — it split it in two. The national league was suspended immediately, and Spain missed the 1938 World Cup entirely, the only major European power to do so because of internal conflict, according to Literary Hub. On one side, military officers took over clubs. On the other, workers' unions and club staff ran the game themselves.
The last match before the war was played on June 21, 1936 — a Copa del Presidente de la República final in Valencia, where Madrid FC beat FC Barcelona 2–1, according to Diario de Mallorca. Within weeks, football in Spain would look nothing like it ever had before.
Military Officers Seized Control of Nationalist Zone Clubs
In the Nationalist zone, clubs were placed under the direct control of military officers and Falangist loyalists. General José Moscardó ran the Nationalist sports department. He saw sport as a paramilitary tool — a way to build national strength, not just entertainment. Colonel Julián Troncoso ran the rival football federation based in San Sebastián and lobbied FIFA hard for sole recognition, according to La Opinión de Murcia.
Troncoso also founded a new club: Aviación Nacional, a team built around the Air Force. After the war ended, that club merged with Athletic Madrid. The new side — Athletic Aviación — was handed a spot in the First Division without earning it on the pitch. They then won the first two post-war league titles, according to El Correo Web.
Unions Ran Republican Zone Clubs to Keep Them Alive
In Republican cities like Barcelona and Valencia, clubs faced a different crisis. With the war raging and members fleeing, clubs risked total collapse. Workers' unions — including the CNT and UGT — stepped in and
took control to stop clubs from shutting down entirely, according to Diario Córdoba. Employee committees ran day-to-day operations. The goal was survival, not profit.
FC Barcelona's membership collapsed from over 12,000 before the war to just 3,486 by 1939, according to La Opinión de A Coruña. The club's president, Josep Suñol, a left-wing politician, was shot dead by Francoist troops on August 6, 1936, after his car accidentally entered Nationalist territory. He is now remembered as the 'Martyr President.'
FIFA Recognized Both Federations to Avoid Picking a Side
By November 1937, Spain had two rival football federations. FIFA's Executive Committee met in Paris and took an unusual step: it recognized both — the Republican federation in Barcelona and the Nationalist one in San Sebastián, according to Información. Experts describe this as a political dodge. By recognizing both, FIFA made sure neither could represent Spain at the 1938 World Cup in France.
Meanwhile, the Republican government backed a Basque national team called Euskadi to tour Europe and the Americas. The goal was propaganda — to win international sympathy for the Republic, according to El Periódico de Extremadura. Back inside Spain, Levante FC won the Copa de la España Libre in 1937, beating opponents 1–0 in front of a wartime crowd in Barcelona.
Post-War Purges Erased Republican Football From History
After the Nationalists won on April 1, 1939, football was rebuilt in their image. All clubs had to 'Hispanize' their names. FC Barcelona became CF Barcelona. Athletic Club became Atlético de Bilbao. Real Madrid got its royal crown back in 1941, according to LNE. Any English or foreign-sounding names were stripped away to match the regime's nationalist ideology.
Players who had toured Mexico with Barcelona during the war were suspended for two years when they returned, according to El Correo Gallego. For decades, the RFEF refused to recognize Republican-era titles at all. That changed recently: in 2023, the federation officially recognized Levante's 1937 cup win, finally giving wartime Republican football a place in the official record.
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