Barcelona S.C.

Barcelona Sporting Club (Spanish: [baɾseˈlona]), internationally known as Barcelona de Guayaquil, is an Ecuadorian sports club based in Guayaquil, known best for its professional football team. They currently play in the Ecuadorian Serie A, the highest level of football in the country, and hold the distinction of being the only club in the Ecuadorian top flight to not have played in the Serie B. Barcelona Sporting Club is one of the most popular football teams in Ecuador, having won the Serie A title a record 16 times, most recently in 2020. They have also won six regional titles (five in the professional era), and were the first Ecuadorian club to make it to the Copa Libertadores finals, making it twice, but lost on both occasions. Barcelona Sporting Club was founded on 1 May 1925, by Eutimio Pérez, a Spanish immigrant who named the club after his home city of Barcelona. Since then, Barcelona Sporting Club has become the most popular club in the country. The club holds a long-standing rivalry with Emelec, where matches between the two teams are considered the most important derby in Ecuador, commonly referred to as "El Clásico del Astillero". The club plays their home matches in Estadio Monumental Banco Pichincha, the largest stadium in the country. In addition to football, the club has teams in professional basketball, bowling, boxing, swimming, volleyball, baseball, athletics, and tennis. In 2008, its basketball team was the champion in the Ecuadorian National Basketball League.