It followed the 1902 Copa de la Coronación, held to celebrate the coronation of King Alfonso XIII of Spain, which was won by Club Vizcaya de Bilbao (a temporary combination of Bilbao Football Club and Athletic Bilbao) and given to them permanently.

Three teams took part: Athletic Bilbao, Espanyol of Barcelona and Madrid FC.

[2] That match, held at the Hipódromo in Madrid, saw Athletic Bilbao take the trophy for the first time as a distinct club, beating Madrid 3–2 after trailing 2–0 at half time.

[2] As a result, the tally of Copa wins by Athletic Bilbao is disputed.

However, neither the Liga de Fútbol Profesional (LFP) nor the Real Federación Española de Fútbol (RFEF) official statistics include this as an Athletic win: they count the 1903 cup as its first.