Editing Copa del Rey (section)

==History==
In 1902, a competition under the name '''[[1902 Copa de la Coronación|Copa de la Coronación]]''' was played after Juan de Astorquia, President of [[Bilbao Football Club]], and [[Carlos Padrós]], later president of [[Real Madrid CF|Real Madrid]], suggested a football tournament to celebrate the coronation of Spanish [[Alfonso XIII|King Alfonso XIII]]. Four other teams joined [[Real Madrid CF|Madrid FC]] for the competition: [[FC Barcelona]], [[RCD Espanyol|Club Español de Foot-Ball]], [[New Foot-Ball Club|New Foot-Ball de Madrid]] and [[Bizcaya (football team)|Club Bizcaya]] (a team made up of players from Athletic Club and Bilbao FC), which eventually defeated Barcelona in the final. That cup is on display in the [[Athletic Bilbao]] museum and the club includes the victory as the first of its Copa del Rey wins, but the [[Royal Spanish Football Federation]] officially does not recognise it as such, only considering it to be the forerunner of the Copa del Rey.<ref name=":0">{{cite web |url=https://www.rsssf.org/tabless/spancup1902.html |title=Spain – Cup 1902 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060917170030/http://www.rsssf.com/tabless/spancup1902.html |archive-date=17 September 2006 |url-status=live |df=dmy |website=[[RSSSF]] |access-date=5 September 2006 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.as.com/futbol/articulo/futbol-fef-reconocera-barca-liga/dasftb/20090403dasdaiftb_58/Tes| title=La FEF no reconocerá al Barça la Liga del año 37| trans-title=The FEF will not recognize Barça's League in 1937| date=3 April 2009| newspaper=Diario AS| access-date=25 May 2012| language=es| archive-date=6 April 2009| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090406044214/http://www.as.com/futbol/articulo/futbol-fef-reconocera-barca-liga/dasftb/20090403dasdaiftb_58/Tes| url-status=live}}</ref>

The Copa del Rey was effectively Spain's national football championship from 1903 (the first edition won by Athletic Bilbao with Juan de Astorquia as captain and president)<ref name="Marca-Palmarés">{{cite news|url=http://www.marca.com/deporte/futbol/copa-rey/palmares.html|title=Palmarés|newspaper=[[Diario Marca]]|access-date=6 January 2010|archive-date=15 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160615073042/http://www.marca.com/deporte/futbol/copa-rey/palmares.html|url-status=live}}</ref> until the foundation of the ''Campeonato de Liga''—League Championship ([[La Liga]])—in 1928. It was initially known as the ''Copa del Ayuntamiento de Madrid'' (Madrid City Council's Cup). Between 1905 and 1932, it was known as the ''Copa de Su Majestad El Rey Alfonso XIII'' (His Majesty King Alfonso XIII's Cup). During the [[Second Spanish Republic]], it was known as the ''Copa del Presidente de la República'' (President of the Republic Cup) or ''Copa de España'' (Spanish Cup) and during the years of [[Francisco Franco]]'s [[Spanish State]], it was known as the ''Copa de Su Excelencia El Generalísimo'' or ''Copa del Generalísimo'' (His Excellency, The Supreme General's Cup).<ref name="Marca-Palmarés" />

Athletic Bilbao were declared winners in 1904 after their opponents [[Club Español de Madrid|Español de Madrid]] failed to show up. Between 1903 and 1909 the competition was organized by [[Real Madrid|Madrid FC]] or by the Madrid Federation. Afterwards, it was taken over by the FECF (''Federación Española de Clubs de Football''), a forerunner of the RFEF.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.iffhs.de/?06fe3803e23c0bd32b0efa3800e42c0bf1685ca66817f7370eff3702bb0a35bb6d36fb3c0ce52d00e42a00 |title=Todos los campeonatos nacionales del mundo, sus equipos campeones y sus mejores goleadores 1901-10: Explicación, bases y comentarios |trans-title=All the world national championships, their champion teams and their best scorers 1901-10: Explanation, regulations and comments |author=[[IFFHS]] |language=es |accessdate=10 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090414143511/http://iffhs.de/?06fe3803e23c0bd32b0efa3800e42c0bf1685ca66817f7370eff3702bb0a35bb6d36fb3c0ce52d00e42a00 |archive-date=14 April 2009 |url-status=dead}}</ref> However, in both 1910 and 1913 there was a split among the clubs and two parallel competitions were held, one organized by the FECF and the other by the UECF (''Unión Española de Club de Football''). All these editions are officially recognized by the RFEF.<ref name="winners-rfef"/><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.rfef.es/FCKeditor/UserFiles/File/conferencia/REVISTA%20RFEF%20141%20OK.pdf#70|title=Historial|access-date=10 May 2023|author=Real Federación Española de Fútbol|date=March 2011|magazine=Revista Oficial de la R.F.E.F.|page=70|format=pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120718164817/http://www.rfef.es/FCKeditor/UserFiles/File/conferencia/REVISTA%20RFEF%20141%20OK.pdf|archive-date=18 July 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 1937, during the [[Spanish Civil War]], clubs in the [[Republican faction (Spanish Civil War)|Republican area of Spain]] entered the [[Copa de la España Libre]], with [[Levante FC]] (forerunner of the present [[Levante UD]]) beating their city rivals [[Valencia CF|Valencia]] 1–0 in the final. Although in 2007 the [[Congress of Deputies (Spain)|Congress of Deputies]] urged the [[Royal Spanish Football Federation]] to recognise it as a Copa del Rey win for Levante,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.elpais.com/articulo/deportes/Levante/paso/Copa/1937/elpepudep/20070925elpepudep_13/Tes |title=El Levante, a un paso de la Copa... de 1937 |work=El Pais |access-date=19 June 2009 |archive-date=20 May 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110520061739/http://www.elpais.com/articulo/deportes/Levante/paso/Copa/1937/elpepudep/20070925elpepudep_13/Tes |url-status=live }}</ref> for several years the governing body of Spanish football made no decision on the matter.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.levante-emv.com/secciones/noticia.jsp?pRef=3833_11_415089__Deportes-Villar-demora-Copa-Levante | title=Trophy Villar Cup delay Levante | publisher=www.levante-emv.com (News Sports) | access-date=4 March 2008 | archive-date=18 March 2012 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120318125755/http://www.levante-emv.com/secciones/noticia.jsp?pRef=3833_11_415089__Deportes-Villar-demora-Copa-Levante | url-status=dead }}</ref> On 25 March 2023, the tournament was officially recognized by the RFEF,<ref name="Copa España oficial">{{cite web |title=La RFEF reconoce al Levante como campeón de la Copa de la República de 1937; y al Deportivo, del Concurso de España 1912|trans-title=The RFEF recognizes Levante as the 1937 Republic Cup champion; and Deportivo, from the 1912 Spanish Contest|url=https://rfef.es/es/noticias/la-rfef-reconoce-al-levante-como-campeon-de-la-copa-de-la-republica-de-1937-y-al-deportivo |access-date=25 March 2023 |website=rfef.es |language=es }}</ref><ref name="reconoce 2023">[https://www.marca.com/futbol/copa-rey/2023/03/25/641ef935ca47410a6f8b4572.html La Federación reconoce la Copa del Levante de 1937 y la del Deportivo de 1912], [The Federation recognizes Levante's 1937 Cup and Deportivo's 1912 Cup], Noel Rodilla, Marca, 25 March 2023 (in Spanish)</ref> but not as a Copa del Rey.<ref name="winners-rfef"/>

Because of the dispute regarding the 1902 competition, the statistics regarding the leading winners are also disputed. Barcelona have won the Copa 32 times; Athletic Bilbao are in second place, with either 24 or 25 titles, depending on the source.

Before the formation of La Liga in 1929, the competition was in essence a national championship. Teams qualified to enter via their regional leagues. Over the years, various formats, including group stages have been used. [[Reserve team]]s of the professional clubs, who compete in lower divisions of the league pyramid, were permitted to take part until 1990. For a number of years, only teams from the [[La Liga|''Primera División'']], [[Segunda División|''Segunda A'']], about 23 teams from the [[Spanish Second Division B|''Segunda B'']] and the 17 ''[[Tercera División]]'' champions (or runners-up if the champion was a reserve team) were invited to enter, giving a total of 83. Amended rules for the 2019–20 edition led to the number of entrants increasing to 125, including winners of the [[Divisiones Regionales de Fútbol|regional divisions at the fifth level]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rfef.es/noticias/nueva-copa-del-rey-saldra-116-equipos|publisher=[[Royal Spanish Football Federation]]|date=29 April 2019|access-date=15 May 2019|language=es|title=La nueva Copa del Rey saldrá con 116 equipos|archive-date=9 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190509110001/https://www.rfef.es/noticias/nueva-copa-del-rey-saldra-116-equipos|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.marca.com/futbol/copa-rey/2019/04/29/5cc6ded2468aebde488b459c.html|publisher=[[Marca (newspaper)|Marca]]|date=29 April 2019|access-date=15 May 2019|language=es|title=Así quedan el calendario, y los nuevos formatos de Copa y Supercopa de la RFEF|archive-date=15 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190515013256/https://www.marca.com/futbol/copa-rey/2019/04/29/5cc6ded2468aebde488b459c.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Since the format overhaul, all rounds are single-leg ties with lower division teams hosting the match and the majority of the top-level clubs entering at the first Round (four teams taking part in the [[Supercopa de España]] entering in the third round – last 32), other than the semi-final stage which is played over two legs. This is another change introduced in 2019–20, with prior editions involving two legs from the point at which the top-tier clubs entered in the fourth round (last 32). Athletic Bilbao particularly embraced the new format, winning a total of 22 single-leg ties to reach the two-legged semi-finals in each of its first five seasons<ref>{{cite web|url=https://as.com/futbol/athletic-una-maquina-imparable-de-ganar-en-copa-n/|title=El Athletic es una máquina imparable de ganar partidos en la Copa|trans-title=Athletic is an unstoppable machine at winning matches in the Cup|website=Diario AS|date=25 January 2024|access-date=25 January 2024|language=es}}</ref> before losing to [[CA Osasuna|Osasuna]] in the [[2024–25 Copa del Rey|2024–25]] Round of 16. The final is a one-off game played at a neutral venue, with [[Seville]] becoming the regular home.

The winners qualify for both the following season's Supercopa de España and  [[UEFA Europa League]]; in the past, the runners-up often played in the Supercopa if the winners had also finished as league champions (although on some earlier occasions in these circumstances, no Supercopa match was played and the [[Double (association football)|double winners]] were awarded the title by default). From the [[2019–20 Supercopa de España]] edition onwards, the previous Copa del Rey runners-up automatically qualify in addition to the winners with four teams taking part in the event.

Throughout the history of the competition, there have been 12 actual trophies, which were permanently awarded to clubs for winning the competition either three times in a row or on five separate occasions, and for other special reasons. Thus, five trophies have been permanently awarded to Barcelona, three to Athletic Bilbao and one to Real Madrid (the last ''Copa de la República'' in 1936). Athletic kept the first trophy as inaugural winners, [[Sevilla FC|Sevilla]] were awarded the ''Trofeo del Generalísimo'' after its first edition in 1939 and [[Atlético Madrid]], winners the previous year, were awarded the 11th trophy following the death of Francisco Franco in 1976.

On 22 December 2010, at an [[extraordinary general meeting]] of the Royal Spanish Football Federation, Sevilla requested permission from the Federation to keep the trophy they had won in the [[2010 Copa del Rey Final|2010 final]] to commemorate the victory of the [[Spain men's national football team|Spain national team]] at the [[2010 FIFA World Cup]] in [[South Africa]].<ref>{{cite web|title=El Sevilla se queda en propiedad con la Copa del Rey gracias a España|url=http://www.marca.com/2010/12/22/futbol/equipos/sevilla/1293024353.html|publisher=MARCA.COM|language=es|date=22 December 2010|access-date=26 April 2011|archive-date=17 April 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110417174814/http://www.marca.com/2010/12/22/futbol/equipos/sevilla/1293024353.html|url-status=live}}</ref> A new trophy was made by [[Madrid]] jeweler Federico Alegre. The trophy, made of silver, weighs {{convert|15|kg|abbr=on}} and is {{convert|75|cm|abbr=on}} tall. On 21 April 2011, Real Madrid became the first recipients. During the post-game celebrations, the trophy was accidentally dropped by Real Madrid player [[Sergio Ramos]] from the top of a [[double-decker bus]], which then ran over it. Ten pieces were found by civil servicemen when they recovered it from the ground at [[Plaza de Cibeles]]. The club received a copy which is displayed at [[Santiago Bernabéu Stadium|Santiago Bernabéu]].<ref>{{cite web|title=La Copa 'suplente' ya está en la sala de trofeos del Bernabéu|url=http://www.marca.com/2011/04/21/futbol/copa_rey/1303394169.html|publisher=MARCA.COM|language=es|date=21 April 2011|access-date=26 April 2011|archive-date=24 April 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110424113605/http://www.marca.com/2011/04/21/futbol/copa_rey/1303394169.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Real Madrid player Sergio Ramos drops Spanish cup under a bus|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/apr/21/real-madrid-player-drops-cup-under-bus|access-date=26 April 2011|newspaper=The Guardian|location=London|first=Giles|last=Tremlett|date=21 April 2011|archive-date=30 September 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130930043748/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/apr/21/real-madrid-player-drops-cup-under-bus|url-status=live}}</ref>

The new presidency of [[Luis Rubiales]] initiated profound restructuring within the Federation.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Matilla |first=Alfredo |date=2019-04-29 |title=Rubiales aprueba sus cambios con mayoría, Cerezo y Bartomeu le apoyan y LaLiga impugnará |url=https://as.com/futbol/2019/04/29/primera/1556540891_901525.html |access-date=2024-03-13 |website=Diario AS |language=es}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Luis Rubiales, re-elected and strengthened within UEFA {{!}} www.rfef.es/en |url=https://rfef.es/en/noticias/luis-rubiales-re-elected-and-strengthened-within-uefa |access-date=2024-03-13 |website=EN Web oficial de la Real Federación Española de Fútbol. |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=UEFA.com |date=2020-09-22 |title=New term for Rubiales in Spain |url=https://www.uefa.com/news-media/news/0261-106f082ecf81-99aae80b78df-1000--new-term-for-rubiales-in-spain/ |access-date=2024-03-13 |website=[[UEFA]] |language=en}}</ref> These changes impacted competitions organized by the organization, specifically the Copa del Rey and the [[Supercopa de España]]. Both were reformed with new formats designed to increase competitiveness and attractiveness.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-01-24 |title=La Copa del Rey se pone emocionante |url=https://www.lavozdegalicia.es/noticia/deportes/2020/01/24/copa-rey-pone-emocionante/00031579885141663566103.htm |access-date=2024-03-13 |website=La Voz de Galicia |language=es}}</ref> In the case of the Supercopa, the changes had a reciprocal effect; the Copa champion and runner-up were included alongside the league championship's top two finishers, creating a four-team competition.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-01-12 |title=Supercopa de España 2019-20: cómo funciona, nuevo formato, resultads, cuándo se juega, dónde y equipos {{!}} Goal.com Espana |url=https://www.goal.com/es/noticias/supercopa-de-espana-2019-20-como-funciona-nuevo-formato-resultads-cuando-se-juega-donde-y-equipos/m2j7k71suaml1a1fzxjlcgs1k |access-date=2024-03-13 |website=www.goal.com |language=es}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=EP |date=2020-01-31 |title=Athletic-Barça, Madrid-Real Sociedad, Granada-Valencia y Mirandés-Villarreal, en copa |url=https://www.levante-emv.com/deportes/2020/01/31/athletic-barca-madrid-real-sociedad-11137988.html |access-date=2024-03-13 |website=Levante-EMV |language=es}}</ref><ref name="2019CAMBIOS">{{Cite web |editor=Official website of the RFEF |title=Mega Cricket World |url=https://megacricketworld.app/ |access-date=February 6, 2020}}</ref> Beginning with the 2019–20 edition, the cup championship introduced a significant change: the designation of a fixed venue for the final; the [[Estadio de La Cartuja]] in Seville was chosen to host the final for a four-year period.<ref name="2019CAMBIOS" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=OLAZABAL |first=PERU |date=2020-01-13 |title="No queríamos que se acabara el partido" |url=https://www.elcorreo.com/deportes/futbol/copa-del-rey/queriamos-acabara-partido-20200113203248-nt.html?ref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F |access-date=2024-03-13 |website=El Correo |language=es}}</ref>