ABSTRACT
Though football has been popular in Spain since the end of the nineteenth century, with many clubs founded around the turn of the century (e.g. Club Recreativo de Huelva, 1889; Athletic de Bilbao, 1898; FC Barcelona, 1899; [Real] Madrid, 1902; Real Sociedad, 1909), the Spanish FA itself was not founded until 1913 and the National Spanish League (La Liga de Fútbol Profesional) did not begin until 1928-29. Since then, just nine clubs have been crowned League Champions, with Real Madrid and Barcelona dominating (winning 29 and 17 times respectively).
