John S. Langdon: the creator of football in Seville

The name of John Sydney Langdon may not be too familiar to many Brits living in Spain, although in Seville he is remembered for playing a crucial role in the amateur beginnings of Seville FC, being one of the club's founders in 1890.

The son of an English soldier, Langdon was born in Gibraltar in 1854. At the beginning of the last quarter of the 19th century, Langdon, and his brother, William, arrived in Andalucía, as noted by Juan Castro and Agustín Rodríguez, researchers of football history in Seville.

Langdon, who died in Seville in 1899, worked as a doctor in the capital of Andalucía, residing in Calle Don Remondo, 9, a house that still stands today.

After the founding of the Seville club, Langdon, who, along with his brother, almost certainly organised football matches between the British community and Gibraltar, became the club's first doctor.

Around the beginning of 1890, Langdon was working on the creation of a football club for the practice and promotion of this sport with a group of young men from Seville, mainly sons of English industrialists who had settled in the city years earlier.

On 8 March 1890, Langdon, who was 36 years old at the time, took part as a referee in what is officially regarded as the first football match ever played in Spain, between Sevilla FC and Huelva Recreation.

Langdon and his young French wife had one son, Charles Gustave, known as Carlos Gustavo, who was born in Seville 1887, and who became a doctor at the British consulate.

Langdon died at the age of 45 and was buried in the Cementerio de San Jorge in Seville, known locally as the 'English cemetery'. His son, together with José Luis Gallegos, a Spanish ship owner and commercial entrepreneur, played a fundamental role in the registration of Seville FC in 1905, thus finally making it an official football club.