Get the Glasgow stories that matter to you sent straight to your inbox with our daily newsletter Sign me up Thank you for subscribing See our privacy notice Invalid Email

Today might go by as another day chalked up of many without a ball being kicked in Scotland amid the current lockdown.

But it should be one celebrated by Scottish fans for an occasion which helps illustrate the importance our nation played in the beginnings of the beautiful game across the globe.

For today marks the 125th anniversary of the first ever match in Spain between football teams from two different locations - a match which featured a team which had a 1-11 of Scottish in it and another with players who would go on to help form FC Barcelona.

The remarkable piece of history, uncovered by Glasgow Live, is detailed within Javier Arranz Albó of the University Ramon Lull of Barcelona's study, entitled 'The Contribution of the Scottish Industrial Colony in the Genesis of Football in Catalonia, 1880-1906'.

To home in on the Scottish influence on Catalan, and wider Spanish, footballing history, we need visit the tiny village of Borgonya in Catalonia - just over an hour's drive from Barcelona.

(Image: Paul Hanna/Reuters)

The village became one of the key outposts of Paisley-based textile giant Coats, after it built a factory there (named Fabra and Coats) in 1885 to expand their operations - in a period of time where they produced 80% of Britain's sewing thread.

Between 100 and 300 workers from Paisley left to go work there and populate the village, which took on a distinct 'mini Paisley' feel to help accommodate the expat workers - with a shop, church, school and theatre, as well as houses built for them like back home.

Even the street names of the remote village were given names such as Coats Street, Scotland Street and Paisley Street.

But most importantly, they also built a football pitch for the workers to give them something to do, which gave birth to local football team Association Torelló.

Cut to a period of time later in March of 1895, when la Societat de Football de Barcelona, which was considered "an embyro" of the FC Barcelona side of the likes of Messi and Ronaldinho that we all know of today, invited the team to play a match in Barcelona.

The invitation was reported in the 'sports notes' of newspaper La Vanguardia, who emphasised and publicised the event as being the very first time two sides from different places had played one another in the whole of Spain.

And so the team made the hour-long trip to the Catalan capital to participate in the game the following month on April 25 at the Velanova Velodrome - a place of much significance to FC Barcelona.

The ground in question would become FC Barcelona's first ever home ground and where they played at for approximately nine months, and it was also the place where Barca lifted their first ever trophy - namely an artistic object by José Canalejas (President of the Spanish Gymnastic Federation), in a friendly match won against Catalá in September, 1900.

Approximately 100 people attended the match, which ended in a victory for the Barcelona select side against the team made up entirely of Scottish factory workers - many of whom were presumably from the Paisley area.

The names of those who took the field for Association Torelló were as follows: Cochrane (captain), Paton, English, Munro, Lyies, Gerard, Cooper, Al. Nicol, A.Tong, H. Tong, Rushtong and King (sub).

​With the Barcelona side fielding several players, including the Parsons brothers, who would accompany Joan Gamper in later forming FC Barcelona - being two of the 12 men who signed the founding act of the club in 1899.

Later the Scottish team would morph in to Borgonya, who played (and still do) with black and white jerseys, the only two colours in which the factory thread was dyed and the same jerseys that, incidentally, Paisley team St Mirren play in.

The factory would close its doors 1999, but the houses in the village remain occupied, with the football team still flying the Paisley flag and a Scottish restaurant to be found there.

(Image: David Campbell)

It's worth remembering that, thanks to the team that was born in the town and made up of the Scottish workers, football was helped to spread all over the Catalan region.

And it wouldn't be long before a worker from Motherwell would soon head over to Barcelona to work in a factory.

Someone who would go on to score FC Barcelona's first official goal.

But that's a story for another day...