On the night of 25 January 1890, while a group of friends celebrated the Scottish poet Robert Burns, Sevilla was born in an old café in the city. The club now reaches 137 years, although for decades its official birthday was a different date. Its white shirt, meanwhile, came about because of an order that never arrived.

Burns Night in a Seville café

The club was founded on a Burns Night, the Scottish celebration in honour of Burns. The group was half from Seville and half from Britain. The Scottish vice-consul Edward Farquharson Johnston became the first president, Hugh MacColl the captain and local man Isaías White Méndez the secretary. On 8 March 1890, at the Tablada racecourse, the new side beat Huelva Recreation Club 2-0 in what is considered the first official football match in Spain.

1905 or 1890? The date that changed

For many years Sevilla celebrated their birthday on 14 October 1905, the day the club's statutes were registered with the provincial authorities. The club's historians, however, found reports in the press of the time, in papers such as Scotland's Dundee Courier and La Provincia of Huelva, of matches and of a board with a president, captain and secretary as early as 1890. 1905 was simply the end of the paperwork. In 2014, with the approval of UEFA and then the Spanish Football Federation, 25 January 1890 officially became the founding date.

The Sunderland shirt that never came

In the early years Sevilla played in white, for the simple reason that white shirts were the easiest to get. In 1909, for a friendly against Huelva, the club ordered kits from England identical to Sunderland's, with red and white stripes. The order did not arrive in time and the team played in white once more. The fans liked it so much that white stayed for good as the home kit. The striped shirts were eventually used as the away strip, and over time an all-red kit became the usual alternative. Hence the nicknames Blanquirrojos and Rojiblancos. You can see the white tradition even in the little Sevilla baby kit.

Three saints on the badge

The first badge, the work of Juan Lafita, was a double circle with the initials SFC. The current one was designed in 1921 by Pablo Rodríguez Blanco, on his own initiative and without a commission from the club. It shows Saints Ferdinand, Isidore and Leander, as on the city's coat of arms, the interlaced letters S, F and C, red stripes on a silver field and an old leather ball. Red and white are shared by both the club and the city. As for manufacturers, Sevilla have worn Joma, Warrior, New Balance, Nike and Castore, and since 2025 they have been dressed by adidas.

Puerta and the Europa League empire

After their only league title in 1946, Sevilla lived their great era in the 21st century. On 27 April 2006 young Antonio Puerta struck with his left foot late in the semi-final against Schalke and sent the team to their first European final. In Eindhoven came a 4-0 win over Middlesbrough. A year later a second UEFA Cup followed in Glasgow, on penalties against Espanyol. In August 2007 Puerta collapsed on the pitch during a match against Getafe and died three days later, aged just 22. Then came three Europa League titles in a row (2014, 2015, 2016), another in 2020 against Inter and one more in 2023 on penalties against Roma: seven in total, a record in the competition.

Nervión, home of the Sevillistas

Since 7 September 1958 the team has played at the Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán, in the Nervión district, hence the nickname Los Nervionenses. Across town are Real Betis, with whom they share the city derby. If you want to build the stadium at home, there is the Sevilla 3D stadium puzzle.

Happy birthday to Sevilla, to Nervión and to the white shirt born from a parcel lost on the way. 137 years after that Burns Night, the celebration goes on.

See Sevilla shirts and merchandise at sportarena.gr.

Photo: Estadio Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán – Niels98, Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.