Enrique Pardiñas

Enrique Pardiñas y Barreiros was a Spanish sailor and sports leader who served as the second president of Real Sociedad between 1912 and 1915, and as the first president Unión Española de Clubes de Fútbol (UECF), the forerunner federation of the current Royal Spanish Football Federation between 1912 and 1914.

Sporting career Athlete At the end of the 19th century, Pardiñas was a member of the Spanish colonial administration of Cuba (acting secretary), and at the beginning of the 20th century, he was a member of San Sebastián's high society. He stood out in the sport of sailing, both as a sailor, winning the first edition of the Argentine Yacht Club Cup in 1908, but also as a skipper, federator, and mainly as commodore of the , a position he still held when he died in 1920.

Presidencial mandates In 1912, Pardiñas was appointed as the second president of Real Sociedad, replacing Adolfo Sáenz. He was elected president of this entity at the constitution assembly of this federation, held in San Sebastián at the end of December 1912. The Gipuzkoan teams joined it, with the notable exception of Racing de Irún, a part of the Catalans with FC Barcelona at the helm, and some clubs from other regions.

During 1913, a great rivalry arose between both federations, and two parallel Copa del Rey tournaments were held in March 1913, an "official", organized by FECF in Madrid, and an "unofficial", organized by the UECF in Barcelona. Pardiñas' personal friendship with Queen Victoria Eugenia made it possible for the queen to "donate" a Cup for the Copa del Rey sponsored by this federation, and likewise, Pardiñas managed to get King Alfonso XIII to grant the title of "Royal" to the UECF, before he did the same as compensation to the FECF. The UECF's attempt to affiliate with FIFA caused the international federation to issue an ultimatum to the two Spanish federations forcing them to merge if they wanted to be recognized by FIFA. During the summer of 1913, arduous negotiations were carried out between the two federations that finally led to the creation of several regional federations and the new Royal Spanish Football Federation in September 1913. The Royal Spanish Union of Clubs, although without activity since September, it was not officially dissolved until 5 February 1914. The RFEF recognized the title obtained by Barcelona in the UECF tournament as part of the Cup's record, as the 1913 UECF Copa del Rey.