Hércules CF

Hércules de Alicante Club de Fútbol, S.A.D., or simply Hércules C.F., is a football club from the city of Alicante, Spain. It was founded in 1914 and affiliated to the federation on 20 October 1922. Its first team plays its home matches at the Estadio José Rico Pérez, which has a capacity of 29,500 spectators. It currently plays in Group II of the Primera Federación.

Hércules has played 20 seasons in the Primera División and 43 in the Segunda División, having won the latter championship three times, and occupies 29th place in the all-time table of the Campeonato Nacional de Liga. In the 1934-35 season it achieved its first promotion to the Primera División, reaching fifth place as its best finish in 1975. In the national cup competition (now the Copa del Rey), its greatest achievement dates from 1936, when it reached the semi-finals. Its history also includes the runner-up finish in the 1930 Spanish amateur championship, facing Sporting de Gijón (3-2) in the final played at the Estadio de Montjuïc.

The club's name, championed by its founder, was inspired by the values represented by the hero of Roman mythology, Hercules. The club maintains a historic rivalry with Elche Club de Fútbol, against whom it played the provincial derby.