Copa Macaya

[1] Notable figures of this tournament are Joan Gamper, Arthur Witty, Samuel Morris, Gustavo Green and Udo Steinberg.

Only a few days before the final match, the Cup was publicly presented, causing a certain disappointment due to its small size and for not being made of gold, but silver.

[1] Hispania AC became the first Catalan champions after winning the inaugural Copa Macaya after narrowly beating FC Barcelona.

The title was only decided on the last matchday of the tournament, held on 14 April 1901 at the Muntaner, in a game where Barcelona needed to defeat Hispania to at least force a playoff, but instead they drew at 1 after the referee controversially disallowed Barça's second goal, thus giving the hosts the only championship of its short history.

The inaugural Copa Macaya was surrounded by protests against the competition committee, as both Espanyol and Barça claimed that the refereeing had favored the hosts throughout the tournament.

[1][6] Gustavo Green was Hispania's captain and best player at the tournament, playing a pivotal role in helping his side become the very first Spanish club to win an official title.

[3] Remarkably, Gustavo Green won all three editions of the Copa Macaya with three different clubs (Hispania, Barça and Español).

[1] To resolve the situation, a championship between the previous three champions, Hispania AC, FC Barcelona and Club Español, was scheduled for November 1903, facing-off for the right to keep the trophy.

The Copa Macaya trophy.