Political Football: CE Júpiter

*This post is a section from my second book, The Defiant: A History of Football Against Fascism

In April 2019, an interesting friendly match took place in the northern suburbs of Barcelona. Club Esportiu (CE) Júpiter of Spain’s fifth tier welcomed East London non-league side Clapton Community Football Club to its Camp Municipal La Verneda stadium. 

The visitors wore their away kit – a red, yellow and purple outfit with yellow tridents dotted throughout. The kit was inspired by the colours of the flag of the Second Spanish Republic (1931-39) and the International Brigades, overseas volunteers who travelled to Spain to fight for the Republic against the fascist coup d’etat led by General Francisco Franco. The shirt was designed to commemorate the 80^th anniversary of the end of the Spanish Civil War (17 July 1936 – 1 April 1939) and proved an instant hit with fans.

The CE Júpiter v Clapton match was part of Barcelona’s Primavera Republicana (Republican Spring) celebrations and entrance was free! The Catalan side won 5-0 to the chants of ‘¡No pasarán!’ (They shall not pass), a popular Republican battle cry.

CE Júpiter’s working class roots

Founded in the working class barri of Poblenou by Scots textile staff on 12 May 1909, Club Esportiu Júpiter’s early years coincided with rising Catalisme – a Catalan national awakening – and the club found itself on the frontline throughout periods of political upheaval in Spain. As was common in Barcelona at the start of the 20^thcentury, many of CE Júpiter’s playing staff and fans were linked to anarchist trade unions. The club was founded just two months before the Tragic Week, of late July 1909, when army reservists clashed with anarchists and socialists in the streets of Barcelona, leading more than 100 dead.

CE Júpiter’s crest features La Senyera – the red and gold strips of Catalonia – along with a blue star. This resembles the modern La Senyera Estelada – the starred Senyera – which includes a blue triangle and white star at one end. It is the flag of the Catalan independence movement and was inspired by the flags of Cuba and Puerto Rico, two countries that gained freedom from Spain.

Catalonia experienced a turbulent period from 1919 to 1923. The Conferación Nacional del Trabajo (CNT – The National Confederation of Work) called for strikes pushing for an eight-hour shift and better pay and conditions.^⁠1 The Spanish government of King Alfonso XIII – whose personal enthusiasm for football had bestowed the name Real (Royal) to many clubs – had no answer. The situation deteriorated into violent chaos on both sides and pistolerismo (gun violence) erupted throughout Spain. An estimated 424 people died in Barcelona alone.^⁠2

Those Club Esportiu Júpiter players who had links to anarchist trade unions, reputedly used the club’s facilities to store and smuggle weapons, even hiding guns in leather balls.^⁠3

The years of violent were brought to an end by a coup d’etat led by Captain General Miguel Primo de Rivera in 1923, which resulted in a period of military dictatorship. Primo de Rivera outlawed the CNT and set about the suppression of Catalan separatism.

On 30 April 1924, Judge Cristóbal Fernández, the Civil Governor of the province, denounced CE Júpiter’s crest as clearly alluding to the Catalan separatist flag – now banned by the Primo de Rivera dictatorship, along with the speaking of Catalan in public – and the club was forced to change it. A crown representing Barcelona replaced the star.^⁠4

Catalan awakening

The following year, CE Júpiter – champions of the Catalan Second Division – visited Catalan First Division champions, FC Barcelona at Barça’s Les Corts ground. The friendly was a benefit match for Catalan choral society Orfeó Català. A British Royal Navy band had been invited to provide crowd entertainment at half-time. Unaware of the internal tensions in Spain, the band struck up La Marcha Real (Royal March), the Spanish national anthem. 

Cue mayhem. The 14,000-strong crowd hurled down a derisory chorus of whistles until the bemused band stopped playing after just five bars. In its stead, the visiting musicians started playing God Save the King, which was received with rapturous applause.^⁠5

At the end of the decade, by which time Barcelona had a modern Metro system and hosted its International Exposition in 1929, Primo de Rivera’s grip on power was slipping. He lost the support of King Alfonso XIII, who himself was deposed in 1931 with the coming of the Second Spanish Republic. The new government was also good news for Catalonia, as it issued the region autonomy and CE Júpiter was able to revert to its original crest.

In 1931, Barcelona was also a contender to host the 1936 Olympic Games. The International Olympic Committee opted instead for Berlin, which was then the capital of the Weimar Republic. A lot changed in Germany in the five years between 1931 and 1936. Hitler’s ascent to power in 1933 ushered in a severe lurch to the right for Germany, resulting in organised, state-fuelled antisemitism and violence against left-wing activists and parties.

In response, the alternative ‘People’s Olympiad’ was organised to be held in Barcelona between 22-26 July, the month before the official games in Berlin. Thousands of sportsmen and women – including many Jewish athletes – travelled to the Catalan capital to take part. The French delegation alone was 1,500 strong.

One of the grounds chosen to host sports was CE Júpiter’s Poblenou base. However, the People’s Olympiad never happened. On 17 July 1936, Franco’s coup d’etat kicked off hostilities, and instead CE Júpiter become the meeting place for many local militants looking to organise the defence of Barcelona against the fascist coup. As in the years of pistolerismo, CE Júpiter’s home once again became the site of a small arsenal.^⁠6

CE Júpiter today

Natxo Parra is a Barcelona-based academic and author. He tells me that as FC Barcelona increasingly looks to expand internationally into new markets, so some fans have drifted away from Barça’s Camp Nou to smaller barrio clubs for a more authentic football experience.

‘There are people who are leaving following Barça to go to other stadiums, similar to what happened to FC St. Pauli in Germany in the 1980s,’ Parra explains. ‘They are going to the terraces at CE Júpiter, CE Europa and Sant Andreu – much smaller clubs than Barça. These are places with much closer connection with the local people. This is where people find the atmosphere they want – a connection with their political values, connection with the anti-fascist movement, enjoyment of football and sharing terraces with their comrades.’ 

Natxo Torné is a Barcelona-based football storyteller who attended the CE Júpiter v Clapton CFC match. 

‘I believe the choice of CE Júpiter as the representative team of the city was a success, due to its tragic history and the role that the stadium played in the Republican identity in the city,’ he tells me. ‘Football in Catalonia has a very politicised profile.’ 

Torné highlighted that a number of the city’s clubs from FC Barcelona at the top right down to the smaller barrio clubs like Sant Andreu deploy Catalan symbols on their shirts and crests.

Meanwhile in Poblenou, the republican spirit lives on.

¡No pasarán!

To learn more about football’s role in the fight against fascism and the far-right worldwide since 1922, please pick up a copy of my second book, The Defiant: A History of Football Against Fascism.

¹ https://www.elnacional.cat/es/cultura/los-anos-de-plomo-del-pistolerismo_367558_102.html

² https://www.elnacional.cat/es/cultura/los-anos-de-plomo-del-pistolerismo_367558_102.html

³ Usall, Ramon, Futbolítica: Històries de Clubs Politicament Singulars (Barcelona: Ara Llibres, 2017)

⁴ http://www.cejupiter.cat/club/1909

⁵ Ball, Phil, Morbo: The Story of Spanish Football (London, WSC Books, 2001, p109)

⁶ Usall, Ramon, Futbolítica: Històries de Clubs Politicament Singulars (Barcelona: Ara Llibres, 2017)