The Biscay Regional Championship (Campeonato Regional de Vizcaya), also called the North Regional Championship (Campeonato Regional Norte) in its early editions, was an official football tournament in Spain organised by the North Football Federation.

It was played annually between 1913 and 1940 and served to elect the representatives of the region in the Spanish Cup, which at that time served as the overall annual national championship.

History The tournament was launched in 1913, following the creation of the North Football Federation (Federación Norte), initially consisting of clubs from the Basque provinces (Biscay, Gipuzkoa and Álava) and Cantabria (then the province of Santander). The first edition of the Northern Regional Championship started on 12 October 1913, with six teams: three from Biscay (Athletic Bilbao, Arenas Club de Getxo and Deportivo de Bilbao) and three from Gipuzkoa (Real Sociedad, Sporting de Irun and Racing de Irun – the latter two would soon merge as Real Unión). Athletic was the first champion.

In 1916 the Royal Spanish Football Federation permitted the clubs from the province of Santander to abandon the North Federation and join the new Cantabrian Regional Federation of Football, along with clubs from the province of Oviedo. But the situation was reversed again two years later.

After several disagreements between the clubs of Biscay and Gipuzkoa, culminating in a pivotal championship match between Athletic and Real Sociedad being abandoned, in 1918 the National Committee of the Spanish federation agreed to divide the Northern Federation in these two regions. Thus, in the 1918–19 season the Gipuzkoa clubs launched their own championship while the North Championship teams continued with other Basque teams and the return of Racing de Santander, representing the Cantabrian clubs.

In 1922 the clubs in the province of Santander finally left the North Federation to create its own umbrella organisation, which launched the Cantabrian Regional Championship. That same year, the Assembly of the Northern Federation agreed to the change of name to the Biscay Federation (Federación Vizcaína), being composed exclusively of clubs from the province (although Deportivo Alavés of Álava also participated in the championship).

In 1934 the Spanish federation undertook a major restructuring of the national tournaments, so that the regional championships were replaced by the superregional, which gathered the best clubs in various regional federations. In the case of the Basque Country, this was called the Basque Cup, launched in season 1934–35. This tournament was held for two years until being interrupted by the Spanish Civil War.

During the last months of the war in 1939, football resumed activity in some areas controlled by the National side, under the impetus of the Spanish Federation and the regional federations. Five teams participated in the reborn Biscay Championship, including its winners Bilbao Athletic (a team formed by Athletic Bilbao, who decided not to use the club's official title as they only had a makeshift squad and were worried about embarrassing results tarnishing their reputation) and runner-up Barakaldo Oriamendi, who both took part in the 1939 Copa del Generalísimo.

The last edition of the Championship of Biscay, which was also a qualifier for access to the 1940 Copa del Generalísimo, was played in the 1939–40 season. Another restructuring approved by the Spanish Federation in 1940 marked the demise of the regional championships.

Winners Season Champion Copa del Rey Runner-up Copa del Rey 1913–14 Athletic Club Winners Real Sociedad N/A 1914–15 Athletic Club Winners Arenas Club de Getxo N/A 1915–16 Athletic Club Winners Real Sociedad N/A 1916–17 Arenas Club de Getxo Runners-up Athletic Club N/A 1917–18 Real Unión Winners Arenas Club de Getxo N/A 1918–19 Arenas Club de Getxo Winners Racing de Santander N/A 1919–20 Athletic Club Runners-up Arenas Club de Getxo N/A 1920–21 Athletic Club Winners Arenas Club de Getxo N/A 1921–22 Arenas Club de Getxo Quarter-finals Racing de Santander N/A 1922–23 Athletic Club Winners Arenas Club de Getxo N/A 1923–24 Athletic Club Semi-finals Arenas Club de Getxo N/A 1924–25 Arenas Club de Getxo Runners-up Athletic Club N/A 1925–26 Athletic Club Group stage Arenas Club de Getxo Group stage 1926–27 Arenas Club de Getxo Runners-up Athletic Club Group stage 1927–28 Athletic Club Group stage Deportivo Alavés Semi-finals 1928–29 Athletic Club Semi-finals Arenas Club de Getxo Round of 16 1929–30 Deportivo Alavés Quarter-finals Athletic Club Winners 1930–31 Athletic Club Winners Arenas Club de Getxo Semi-finals 1931–32 Athletic Club Winners Arenas Club de Getxo Round of 32 1932–33 Athletic Club Winners Arenas Club de Getxo Round of 32 1933–34 Athletic Club Quarter-finals Barakaldo CF Round of 32 1934–35 Athletic Club Round of 16 CA Osasuna Semi-finals 1935–36 Arenas Club de Getxo Round of 16 Real Unión Group stage 1936–1939 No competition due to the Spanish Civil War 1939 Bilbao Athletic Round of 16 Barakaldo Oriamendi Semi-finals 1939–40 Athletic Club Round of 16 Barakaldo Oriamendi Round of 32

Notes

Summary of Champions Club Winners Runner-up Winning years Runner-up years Athletic Club1641913–14, 1914–15, 1915–16, 1919–20, 1920–21, 1922–23, 1923–24, 1925–26, 1927–28, 1928–29, 1930–31, 1931–32, 1932–33, 1933–34, 1934–35, 1939–401916–17, 1924–25, 1926–27, 1929–30 Arenas Club de Getxo6111916–17, 1918–19, 1921–22, 1924–25, 1926–27, 1935–361914–15, 1917–18, 1919–20, 1920–21, 1922–23, 1923–24, 1925–26, 1928–29, 1930–31, 1931–32, 1932–33 Deportivo Alavés111929–301927–28 Real Unión111917–181935–36 Bilbao Athletic1–1939– Barakaldo CF–3–1933–34, 1939, 1939–40 Racing de Santander–2–1918–19, 1921–22 Real Sociedad–2–1913–14, 1915–16 CA Osasuna–1–1934–35

Notes

See also Biscay autonomous football team History of Athletic Bilbao

References

Martínez Calatrava, Vicente (2001). Historia y estadística del fúbol español.