One of three teams to form part of La Liga in 1923, Barcelona has never been relegated from Spain´s first division and one of the richest teams in Europe. Currently enjoying a period of success both at home and internationally, Barcelona won La Liga in 2006 and the Champion´s League in the 2005-06 season.

During the Spanish Civil War the club was forced to remove the Catalan flag from its shield and forced to change its name to CF Barcelona (Club de Fútbol Barcelona). During those years when the language was banned, inside the team´s stadium was one of the few places Catalan could be spoken freely and today Barcelona remains one of the strongest symbols of Cataluña, rather than Spain. Barcelona´s greatest rivals in La Liga are Real Madrid and their games against each other are known as El Clasico.

The matches have great importance for both political and sporting reasons; Cataluña´s bid for separatism from the rest of Spain underlies each contest, whilst the teams are often competing against each other to win the title. Barcelona’s stadium, the Nou Camp, is famed for having the largest capacity in European football with a massive 98, 787 spectators cheering on their teams when completely full.