Until the 1980s, the number of sports facilities in Aragon was much lower than in most of the autonomous communities. The volume of federated athletes was also very small, a consequence of the demographic problems that have always plagued the region -an invertebrate territory, with low population density-. Nevertheless, a series of historic events would soon take place, all of outstanding impact, which would greatly help the expansion of sport in the Community.
Two of them attend basketball. The triumph of CAI Zaragoza in the Copa del Rey, in December 1983, after beating Barcelona in the final, and the silver medal won by Spain at the Olympic Games in Los Angeles, in August 1984, represented the turning point in the sport of the basket. These two feats meant a before and after: the starting point of basketball as a social phenomenon in Spain, and also in Aragon. From there, the federative licenses multiplied.
In this way, CAI Zaragoza (CBZ), a club chaired by José Luis Rubio, was one of Spain’s greats. He added two Copa del Rey trophies, in 1983 and 1990, a tournament in which he was runner-up on two other occasions (1992 and 1995); and he also had an impeccable career in the ACB until, already in 1996, he disappeared from the elite, a victim of his financial problems and unfulfilled sponsorship promises. In Europe, moreover, he was a finalist in the Cup Winners’ Cup in 1991, where he faced PAOK from Thessaloniki. The Greeks surpassed the people of Zaragoza with controversy and bad arts in the last stages of the contest.
by then CB Huesca, founding club of the ACB, also competed in the elite and had a continuous presence for twelve seasons in the highest category. It was relegated in 1996. Also in basketball, Banco Zaragozano won the Copa de la Reina against Masnou (95-94), in Jerez de la Frontera, in May 1990. The Argentinian Karina Rodríguez stood out with a colossal performance. At only 18 years old, she assumed the offensive responsibility of the Aragonese team and she did it with a devastating success: she finished the contest with 48 points, which were crucial for Banco Zaragozano to win the title.
Later, in 2002the basketball club Zaragoza was born, present Casademont. The project, born from the hand of a group of Aragonese businessmen, recovered elite basketball in the city and restored the enthusiasm of the fans. At that time, Zaragoza had spent six years without a benchmark in the sport of the basket.
Casademont were promoted to the ACB League in 2008, although they were relegated a year later. However, he returned to the elite in 2010 and, since then, not only has he remained, but has also seen spectacular growth, although this year he is struggling to avoid the rest of the category. In fact, It has been a finalist in the Endesa League twice (2013 and 2019), and a Cup semifinalist in the 2014 edition; and has expanded its borders with different European participations. His greatest continental success came in May 2021, when he won bronze in the Champions League. The club also now has representation in the Endesa Women’s League.
In football, Real Zaragoza also collected major successes, and also with a dynamic and cheerful football proposal, very attractive for the spectator. In 1986 he won the Copa del Rey, after beating Barcelona in the final (1-0) with a Rubén Sosa free kick; he was runner-up in the 1993 edition, by giving in to Real Madrid (2-0) in the decisive match; he lifted the trophy a year later, at the Vicente Calderón, by defeating Celta de Vigo on penalties; and reigned in Europe in 1995, when he won the Recopa against Arsenal, in the Parc des Princes in Paris (2-1), thanks to Nayim’s impossible parable, from 45 meters away, in the last breath of extra time. He then won his fifth Cup, at the La Cartuja stadium in Seville, against Celta de Vigo (3-1), as well as the 2004 edition, against Real Madrid, thanks to a powerful shot by Luciano Galletti in the extension. Months later he won the Spanish Super Cup against Valencia. Likewise, he reached the cup final in 2006, which he finally lost against Espanyol.
SD Huesca, for its part, has been obtaining important revenues in recent years, the result of a solid, ambitious and exemplary project. Historical was his promotion to First Division, which was mathematically consummated on May 21, 2018, by beating Lugo 0-2. His debut in the top flight came three months later, on August 19, and he did so with a win in Éibar (1-2). SD Huesca were relegated at the end of the 2018-19 season, although they returned to the elite in July 2020, with their victory at home against Numancia (3-0). The Alto Aragonese team went down again in 2021, and now competes again in the Second Division.
The Aragonese futsal also carried out great deeds, in the mid-90s. In fact, Lepanto Zaragoza won the League Cup in 1993, and two seasons later they were crowned League champions. Special recognition deserves the trajectory of Club Hielo Jaca, winner of the national championship on 13 occasions and which also counts 16 Copa del Rey. Also in team sports, it is necessary to underline the successes of CV Teruel, which has seven Super Leagues, six Copas del Rey, nine Spanish Super Cups and one FEV League in its showcases. Likewise, BM Aragón was runner-up in the Recopa in 2007 -fell in the final against Magdeburg-. The team remained among the best teams in Spanish handball for years, but later disappeared, in April 2016, a victim of its financial problems. Bada Huesca, meanwhile, rose to the elite in May 2011 and has remained since then.
A gap in federal licenses
For every federated female athlete in Aragon, there are 3.73 federated men. The calculation comes from the Kelbet betting guide, which was based on the ‘Sports Statistics Yearbook 2021’ prepared by the Ministry of Culture and Sport with data from 2019, just before the coronavirus pandemic – the latest sample of a reality without restrictions–. And it shows a gender gap in the number of federative licenses.
The difference is especially significant in hunting, where for every federated woman there are 171.12 federative licenses for men. Behind is the pigeon fancier, with one woman for every 62 men, and later the ball, with a ratio of 1 to 27.75. Conversely, the sport with the highest number of women with respect to men attends gymnastics, discipline in which for every federated man there are 21.32 federated athletes in Aragon.
Meanwhile, the sport with the most federations in the Community is basketball, with 20.48% of all athletes, and where for every man there are 0.74 women. Then there is mountain and climbing, which represents 15.13%, with 0.5 female licenses for each registered male license. In the case of men, the most practiced disciplines are soccer (31.38%) and hunting (22.86), with rates of 17.73 and 171.12 men for each woman, respectively. Regarding the national average, for every federated female athlete in Spain there are 3.26 men with a federative license. The sports with the greatest difference between men and women are hunting, motorcycling and billiards. On the contrary, the disciplines where more women compete than men are gymnastics, sports dance and volleyball.
Likewise, the integration of women in the management teams also presents numerous obstacles: dOf the 66 sports federations that currently exist in Spain, only two –3% of the total– are chaired by a woman: rowing (Asunción Loriente) and lifeguard (Isabel García). Women’s sport is making its way in Spain in an unstoppable way, although with significant difficulties to overcome.
All the reports of the 40th anniversary of the Statute of Autonomy of Aragon.
