CE Andratx
Wikipedia - CE Andratx
Club Esportiu Andratx is a Spanish football team based in Andratx, Mallorca, Balearic Islands. Founded in 1957, its first team plays in the Segunda Federación – Group 3, the fourth tier of Spanish football. Moreover, its youth academy consists of a dozen of teams. The club's home ground is the Camp Municipal de Sa Plana, the only football stadium in the town of Andratx since 1924.
The highest competition in which Andratx has competed is the Segunda Federación. Moreover, the club has played 15 seasons in the Tercera División and one in the Tercera Federación. Andratx has been crowned champion on five occasions, the last one in the 2022-23 Tercera Federación.
History
Name evolution
- Unión Deportiva Andraitx (1957-1967)
- Club Deportivo Andraitx (1967-1980)
- Club Deportivo Andratx (1980-1996)
- Club Esportiu Andratx (1996-present)
Beginnings of football in Andratx
After the birth of the first Mallorca football clubs in Palma during the first years of the 20th century, the first team from Andratx was created in 1923: Juventud Andritxola FC, a club that would change its name to CD Andraitx the same year after continuing independently of the recreative club Juventud Andritxola. CD Andraitx was responsible for the construction of the Camp Municipal de Sa Plana in 1924. The club was dissolved in 1930.
Other football clubs created in Andratx before the creation of the current club were Centre Recreatiu Cultural d'Andratx (1932), CD Huracán (around 1940-41), CF Morralla (around 1940-41), and Sociedad Deportiva Andratx (1941). No team from Andratx ever reached the first division of the regional Campionat de Mallorca de futbol.
Birth of CE Andratx
In the winter of 1957, three new clubs were created in Andratx: Club Deportivo Andraitx, Club de Futbol S'Arracó (from S'Arracó), and Club Morralla (from the Port d'Andratx). These clubs decided to merge, to create a sole club in the town, a club that would be stronger and more representative of Andratx. This club was created on the 1st of July 1957 under the name Unión Deportiva Andraitx.
Rest of the 20th century. Four promotions to the Tercera
During most of the 20th century, Andratx played in regional amateur divisions, but the club also played some seasons in the Tercera División, a total of 10 seasons in different decades without ever participating in the playoffs for promotion. Moreover, the club participated in some editions of the Copa Uruguay, an important local competition at the time.
2000s and 2010s. A classic Mallorca football team
Already in the 21st century, Andratx continued competing mainly in the Regional Preferent, except for a handful of seasons in the Tercera División. The club's dynamic changed with the promotion to the Tercera in 2019, because Andratx would obtain its best classification so far one year later: 6th.
2020s. The glorious era
The 2020-21 season, defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, ended in an ever higher classification. The team finished in second place, which resulted in direct promotion to the new Segunda Federación, a competition that would be inaugurated with the presence of Andratx.
In 2021-22, Andratx played against teams from the Iberian Peninsula in the regular league for the first time in its history, after only having played local competitions. During most of the season, the club occupied positions in the middle of the classification, but it finally finished 14th and got relegated to the Tercera División.
During the 2022-23 season, Andratx made its debut in the Tercera Federación (formally a new competition, but it is considered a continuation of the Tercera División). The club aimed to return to the fourth category and achieved its goal by being crowned champion of the Tercera for the first time in its history.
The 2023-24 season started similarly to the one two years before, as Andratx seemed to avoid relegation for most of the season, but this season ended differently, as the club finished in 12th place and stayed up.
Historic results in the Copa del Rey
Andratx passed the first round of the Copa del Rey on two occasions, feats that caused nationwide repercussion. In the 2021-22 season, the Balearic club eliminated the Asturian club Real Oviedo (2-1 in Andratx), a club that was active in the Segunda División. However, Andratx was defeated in the second round by the Andalusian club Sevilla FC, active in the Primera División, after penalties (1-1, 5-6 after penalties, in Andratx).
Two seasons later, concretely in 2023-24, Andratx qualified again for the second round, this time by beating the Aragonese club SD Tarazona (3-2, after extra time, in Andratx). However, the club lost in the second round to the Basque club Real Sociedad (0-1 in Andratx), another game considered one of the most memorable moments in the club's history.