Foundation to Civil War

The practice of football was introduced in Seville at the end of the 19th century by the large British expatriate population in the city, composed by owners or managers of manufacturing companies based in the capital of Andalusia. Sevilla Fútbol Club was founded on Burns Night 25 January 1890 as Sevilla Foot-ball Club (in English).

Sevilla FC was duly formed on 25 January 1890 while a group of young British, mainly Scots, along with other young men of Spanish origin, celebrated Burns Night in Seville. The club's founding document, published on the Dundee Courier's edition of 17 March 1890 describes in full detail the formation of the club and how those young founding members decided first to play under Association Rules, secondly to bear the word "football" within its name and thirdly, to elect their "office-bearers". The following paragraph is an extract of that article:

Some six weeks ago a few enthusiastic young residents of British origin met in one of the cafés for the purpose of considering a proposal that we should start an Athletic Association, the want of exercise being greatly felt by the majority of us, who are chiefly engaged in mercantile pursuits. After a deal of talk and limited consumption of small beer, the "Club de Football de Sevilla" was duly formed and office-bearers elected. It was decided we should play Association rules (...) We were about half and half Spanish and BritishThe club's first president was the Scot Mr. Edward Farquharson Johnston (Elgin, 14 October 1854), who was the British vice-consul in Seville and co-proprietor of the firm MacAndrews & Co., ship-owners with commercial lines between Spain and the UK, one of them being the transport of Seville oranges. Hugh MacColl, another Scottish young man (Glasgow, 9 June 1861), a marine engineer who at that time had moved to Seville to work as the technical manager of Portilla White foundry, was their first captain. One of Maccoll's partners in the Portilla White foundry in Seville, Isaias White junior, was the club's first secretary. He was the son of an English entrepreneur who founded the aforesaid company, one of the major foundries in Spain at the end of the 19th century.

To celebrate the foundation of the club, Isaias White sent a letter to Huelva Recreation Club, to invite them to play a football match in Seville. That letter was published by the Spanish newspaper La Provincia. The Huelva club accepted the invitation and the match took place on 8 March 1890, being thus the first official match ever played in Spain. Sevilla FC won that historical match 2–0, with the first goal in an official match in Spanish football history scored by the Seville team player Ritson. Isaias lived at Calle Bailen 41 in Seville (the house still exists but has since been renumbered) making this the first home of Sevilla FC.

In 1907, Sevilla Balompíe was founded, followed by Betis Football Club in 1909, Recreativo de Sevilla and Español de Sevilla. More clubs were formed as the years passed and more competitive matches were organized between the teams, although Sevilla FC, the oldest club of the city, imposed its supremacy over the other clubs in this early period.

In 1912, the first Copa de Sevilla was played and won by Sevilla FC. From 1915 to 1940, the Campeonato Regional Sur (also known as the Copa Andalucía) was organized by the "Federación Sur" (Andalusian FA) and these championships included Sevilla FC, Real Betis Balompié, Recreativo de Huelva, Español de Cádiz and the sporadic participation of other clubs such as Nacional de Sevilla and Córdoba. The domination of Sevilla was so evident that of the 20 championships played, 17 were won by Sevilla FC, (the three remaining being won by Español de de Cádiz, Recreativo de Huelva and Real Betis Balompié).

In 1917, Sevilla FC participated in the "Copa de España" for the first time and became the first Andalusian team to reach the final round of the competition. In 1928, when the "Campeonato Nacional de Liga" (National League Championships) was organized, Sevilla FC was not part of the First Division due to their defeat to Racing de Santander in an elimination game that was set up to decide which of the two teams would compete in the newly formed league.

At the end of the 1933–34 season, Sevilla FC was promoted to the First Division of the "Campeonato Nacional de Liga." In 1935, they were proclaimed "Campeón de Copa" (Cup Champions) for the first time by defeating Sabadell, repeated in 1939 against Racing de Ferrol and again in 1948 against Celta de Vigo. The club participated in two other finals, but conceded defeat to Athletic Bilbao in 1955 and to Real Madrid in 1962. Sevilla FC remained in the First Division from the 1933–34 season until 1968, when they were relegated to the Second Division, a tier from which they have never further been relegated from.

The 1945–46 season was one of high importance in the history of Sevilla, as it marked the first, and to date only, time in which Sevilla FC were League champions. On four other occasions, the club was proclaimed "subcampeón de Liga" (League Runner-up: 1939–40, 1942–43, 1950–51 and 1956–57).

Including the 2021–22 season, Sevilla has participated 78 times in the First Division and 13 in the Second Division, never dropping below the Second Division. Sevilla has also participated in four European tournaments, the "Copa de Europa" (European League Winners Cup) (1957–58); Recopa (Winners Cup) (1962–63) and UEFA Cup on nine occasions (1966–67, 1970–71, 1982–83, 1983–84, 1990–91, 1995–96, 2004–05, 2005–06 and 2006–07). Sevilla also participated in the UEFA Champions League in 2007–08.

There are more than 400 individuals who currently play for the Sevilla FC organization, which includes two semi-professional teams (in Second Division A – second national category) and 12 youth teams.

Sevilla has always counted on having international players within its ranks to aid in the pursuit of trophies. The first of these players were Spencer and Herminio in the 1920s. Juan Arza, an international player from the 1940s, was proclaimed top scorer of the Spanish League in the 1954–55 season, with 29 goals. About 30 Sevilla players have been chosen to play for the Spain national football team over the years.

Foreign players have always played an integral part in the success of Sevilla FC with Diego Maradona representing the most well known among them during his spell with the club during the 1992–93 season. During the same season, Sevilla FC was managed by Carlos Salvador Bilardo, a world champion manager.

Historically, Sevilla FC has fielded teams in a variety of other sports including: basketball, rugby, rowing, athletics, and weightlifting or petanca. Presently, Sevilla FC counts twenty-five professional teams on its ledgers (one of these being in the second national category) and a women's football team in the Honor Division.

Sevilla FC's stadium, the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán, was inaugurated in 1958 and is one of the largest stadiums in Spain, and has the honor of hosting a World Cup semi-final match in 1982. After its final completion, the stadium had a maximum capacity of 75,000 spectators, but since its latest remodelling, the stadium has been converted to an all-seat with a covering added to the main seating area, reducing the capacity to its current count of 45,000 spectators.