Barcelona (ECU)

Barcelona Sporting Club is an Ecuadorian sports club from the city of Guayaquil, founded on 1 May 1925. Its main discipline is football; its men's squad has played in the Ecuadorian Serie A since 1957 and, since 1965, it has been the only club to have competed in every season since the start of professionalism in 1957. The women's squad, for its part, competes in the Súperliga Femenina of Ecuador. In addition, the club takes part in other disciplines, such as basketball, baseball, volleyball and esports.

Owing to its long history in Ecuadorian football, it is the most popular club in the country, and its supporters are the most numerous in most of the Ecuadorian national territory. Founded by a group of young men from the Astillero neighbourhood, it was named in gratitude for the support given by the Catalan community to the city of Guayaquil, hence its copying of the name and crest of Fútbol Club Barcelona, besides the fact that several of the founding members were originally from that city. Because of the neighbourhood where the club was born, it was nicknamed “Ídolo del Astillero” (“Idol of the Astillero”), while because of its Hispanic name its members and supporters are known as “Toreros” (“Bullfighters”); moreover, because of its traditional yellow kit, it is also called “Canario” (“Canary”).

As for its sporting achievements, it is one of the most decorated and renowned institutions in Ecuadorian football, with 16 national titles and 13 national runners-up finishes, making it the team with the most Ecuadorian Serie A championships. It also has two international runners-up finishes, having been Copa Libertadores runners-up in 1990 and 1998, in addition to several youth-division titles. Its greatest rivalry is precisely with Emelec; as the two most decorated and popular teams in Guayaquil, together they contest the Clásico del Astillero, the most important derby in Ecuadorian football. It also has a great rivalry with El Nacional and Liga de Quito, the largest and most important clubs in the Ecuadorian capital.

It is one of the few Ecuadorian clubs with its own stadium; since 1988 it has played its home matches at the Estadio Monumental Isidro Romero Carbo, officially named Estadio Monumental Banco Pichincha for sponsorship reasons. This sports venue, next to the Estero Salado in Guayaquil, has a capacity of 57,267 people, making it the largest stadium in Ecuador. Adjoining the stadium, it has an extensive Predio Deportivo (sports grounds), which comprises the Sigifredo A. Chuchuca auxiliary pitch and the Octavio Hernández training-camp building, together with the Carlos Alfaro Moreno Gymnasium. It also has the Complejo de Formativas (youth academy complex), located in Parque Samanes, and the Museo de Barcelona SC, located in Puerto Santa Ana.