Valencia CF

Did You Know?

• Valencia CF was an official partner of Panasonic Toyota Racing from 2003 to 2008, commemorating Toyota as their shirt sponsor, and also sponsored Toyota-engined Formula Nippon teams and Toyota Super GT teams.
• In June 2016, Valencia opened an esports division with presences in Hearthstone, Rocket League, and League of Legends, joining clubs like Beşiktaş and PSG in acquiring League teams.
• In November 2020, Valencia CF eSports launched a team on Arena of Valor in Thailand, consisting of six Thai players competing in the RoV Pro League.

History

The club was established on 5 March 1919 and officially approved on 18 March 1919, with Octavio Augusto Milego Díaz as its first president; the presidency was decided by a coin toss. Valencia played its first competitive match away from home on 21 May 1919 against Valencia Gimnástico, losing 1–0. The club moved into Mestalla Stadium in 1923, having previously played at Algirós since 7 December 1919. Valencia won the Regional Championship in 1923, qualifying for the Copa del Rey for the first time. The Spanish Civil War halted progress until 1941, when the club won the Copa del Rey against RCD Espanyol. In the 1941–42 season, Valencia won its first La Liga title, followed by league championships in 1943–44 and 1946–47, and another Copa del Rey in 1949, ending the decade with three La Liga and two Copa del Rey titles. The 1950s saw less success, though the club finished runners-up in La Liga in 1952–53 and won the Copa del Rey the following season. In the early 1960s, Valencia achieved its first European success by winning the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup in 1961–62 against Barcelona and again in 1962–63 against Dinamo Zagreb. The club reached a third consecutive final in 1963–64 but lost 2–1 to Zaragoza.

Stadium

Valencia played its first years at Algirós before moving to Mestalla in 1923. The Mestalla pitch was inaugurated on 20 May 1923 with a friendly against Levante UD. Initially holding 17,000 spectators, the stadium underwent alterations in 1927, increasing capacity to 25,000. During the Civil War, Mestalla was used as a concentration camp and a junk warehouse, retaining only its structure. After renovation, the stadium hosted the team's first title in 1941. In the 1950s, a major restructuring raised capacity to 45,500, but a flood from the overflowing Turia River in October 1957 caused destruction. The stadium returned to normality and added artificial light, inaugurated during the 1959 Fallas festivities. During the 1960s, the urban view around Mestalla transformed, and the ground held its first European matches; Nottingham Forest was the first foreign team to play there on 15 September 1961. From 1969, the phrase "Anem a Mestalla" fell out of use due to a proposed name change to honor Luis Casanova Giner, the club's most successful president. Giner requested in 1994 that the original name Mestalla remain. Today the stadium holds 49,430 seats, making it the fifth largest in Spain, and is known for its steep terracing and intimidating atmosphere.

Club identity

Originally, Valencia's kit consisted of white shirts, black shorts, and black socks. Over time, these colours have alternated between white and black. The away kit has been shades of orange in recent years, while third kits have featured yellow, blood orange, and blue from the club crest. The team has attracted local sponsors such as Lamiplast, a Valencia-based furniture company. For the club's 75th anniversary, president Arturo Tuzón commissioned Pablo Sánchez Torella to compose an anthem, a pasodoble with lyrics later written by Ramón Gimeno Gil in the Valencian language; it was officially presented on 21 September 1993. The club's shield incorporates elements from the arms of Valencia, which show those of King James I of Aragon, who conquered Valencia and the Balearic Islands in the first half of the 13th century. The crowned letters "L" beside the shield were granted by Peter IV, signifying the city's loyalty twice to the king. The bat on the crest has several possible explanations: bats are common in the area, or a bat landed on James I's flag on 9 October 1238 as he entered the city, which he took as a good omen. In May 2013, DC Comics filed an objection to Valencia's trademark application for a revised bat logo, claiming similarity to Batman; the club stated the application was dropped after the objection, not a lawsuit. DC Comics later filed another complaint against Valencia's centennial logo trademark.

The Academy: Training Centre Foundation Valencia CF

Since May 2009, Valencia CF has operated a training centre, the first multidisciplinary training center for a football club in Spain. The Training Centre Foundation Valencia CF "The Academy" offers university education, classroom training, and online training related to sport and football. Valencia CF organizes a Sport Management MBA, the MBA in International Sport Management, in partnership with Valencia Catholic University Saint Vincent Martyr. On the club's 90th anniversary, the academy launched with the University of Valencia the first university course studying the history of a football club, making Valencia CF the first football club in Spain to be an object of study in college.