About Spain

The Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) was established on 29 September 1913, emerging from a merger of two rival organisations — the Federación Española de Clubs de Football (1909) and the Spanish Union of Football Clubs (1912) — that had created parallel tournaments and institutional conflict. Spain joined FIFA in 1914 and became a UEFA founding member in 1954. The national team's first official match was played on 28 August 1920 against Denmark, resulting in a 1–0 victory.

Spain is the most successful national team in the history of UEFA European Championships, having won the tournament four times: 1964, 2008, 2012, and 2024. Combined with their FIFA World Cup victory in 2010 — defeating the Netherlands 1–0 in the final with Andrés Iniesta's extra-time goal — Spain achieved an unprecedented three consecutive major international tournament victories between 2008 and 2012, a feat never before accomplished. The squad of that era, built around Xavi, Iniesta, and David Villa, and guided by Pep Guardiola's Barcelona philosophy, is widely regarded as one of the greatest international teams in football history.

The Spanish women's team won the FIFA Women's World Cup in 2023, with Spain becoming one of only two countries (alongside Germany) to have won both the men's and women's World Cups. Spanish club football, dominated by Real Madrid and FC Barcelona, has produced more UEFA Champions League titles than any other national league, reflecting the country's extraordinary depth of football excellence.