ABSTRACT
Since the emergence of football in Spain towards the end of the nineteenth century, its organization on a local or regional basis has been strong. Regional football federations (of the Comunidades Autónomas, see Chapter 6) even today maintain a high level of control within the structures and organization of Spanish football. Football developed at different paces throughout the early quarter of the twentieth century and was particularly strong in the Basque Country and Catalunya where the cup competitions and championships were established earlier than in many other parts of Spain. These areas also had their own selecciones, teams who represented these regions. Because of Spain’s politico-administrative organization (see previous chapter) the status of such selecciones is ambiguous and open to interpretation. They might be teams representing the regions, or they might be perceived to represent the nation, according to the political perspective of each individual. An analysis of the football writing of the Spanish print media during the twentieth century in the cases of Catalunya and the Basque Country is illuminating.
