Franco's tactics to hide Barça's achievements

BarcelonaAfter the Civil War, FC Barcelona requested re-entry into the Catalan Basketball Federation on July 8, 1940. On October 20 of that year, the Blaugrana club resumed its activity with a friendly match played on the outdoor court of Les Corts. "That match came just five days after President Lluís Companys was shot at Montjuïc Castle, but Franco's regime wanted to give a veneer of normality to the situation," explains Francesc Fernández, a journalist who has just published the second volume ofHistory of Barça basketball (1941-1965).

The book, published by Editorial Base, accurately and rigorously describes Barça's trajectory during a period where the official narrative was dominated by the regime. "Basketball was nothing in a subjugated Catalonia where Franco's regime had taken control of the sport. Every Friday, the regime organized the Producers' Championship, a tournament they invented. They took players from Catalan teams and made them look like workers, forcing them to play for their teams. And woe betide anyone who opened their mouths," he explains.

Fernández's research has served to shed light on a period full of shadows. "Following the life of Barça basketball in the 1940s has been difficult. After the Civil War, the outlook was bleak; journalists were purged, there was a shortage of paper, and newspapers were getting smaller. Furthermore, the new state controlled the media. They often reported on Falange championships, tournaments, and the most important competition," he analyzes.

Fernández claims The League title won by Barça during the 1946-47 season, a trophy that the Spanish Federation does not consider official. restart the League, surprisingly the 46-47 championship had never existed," he explains.

"They say it was an experimental League, a phantom competition, but none of that is true. The documents that remain from that time show that the League was official and was played with all the érs and it was played with all the érs and Deportes. Perhaps the fact that Barça was proclaimed champion and Montgat finished second or that Real Madrid lost by 52 points in the Corts made the memory of that competition bitter in the offices of the capital and they wanted to erase it," he laments.

Restoration of the title

Barça requested the restoration of that title at the end of 2023, but has yet to receive a response. "Although it was a fully recognized title, a few years later it disappeared due to an arbitrary and shadowy decision made in Madrid. The regime decided to forget about that league and even today it does not appear in the official list of achievements," laments Josep Cubells, director of Barça's basketball section.

"Analyzing official documents from the time is difficult; the Spanish Federation does not keep records from the 1960s, so we basically have to turn to the press and publications of the time, which make it clear that that first league was played as normally as the situation allowed and was an official competition."