Arenas Club de Getxo

Origins of local football

The area of Greater Bilbao was deeply connected to Britain due to its iron ore mines and industry. Don Manuel, a priest in the local parish of the Las Arenas neighborhood, would gift balls to local children during Catechism lessons. Some of these boys would go on to study in England and learn about the local game of football. After their return to Getxo, they spread football to nearby neighborhoods. By 1901, weekly matches were played in the fields of Lamiako by youth from Las Arenas. In 1903, the same group would win the "Copa Athletic", the biggest local tournament at the juvenile level, as well as play a match against Club Ciclista de San Sebastián, the precursor to Real Sociedad. They eventually founded a local team in 1909 (encouraged by the recent creation of the Spanish Federation of Football Clubs) with the name of Arenas Football Club. It was renamed to Club Arenas three years later. In 1914, they moved their home ground to the local sports club Real Club Jolaseta in the Neguri neighborhood.

Early successes

In 1912, they started competing in the Campeonato Norte along with Real Sociedad, Athletic Bilbao, Racing de Santander, Sporting de Gijón and Celta, being crowned champion in 1917. During the 1916–17 season of the Campeonato, all the teams except for Arenas, Athletic, and Real Unión were suspended. The sporting committee of the tournament decided to play only the remaining matches between these three teams.…

Copa del Rey: 1919 Runners-up: 1917, 1925, 1927 Tercera División: 1945–46, 1946–47, 1959–60 North Regional Championship: 1916–17 Biscay Championship: 1918–19, 1921–22, 1926–27 Copa Vasca: 1935–36