Constància

Full name	Club Esportiu Constància
Nickname(s)	Constanciers Inquers Blanc-i-negres
Founded	2 December 1922
Ground	Nou Camp, Inca, Balearic Islands, Spain
Capacity	10,000[1]
President	Valeria Bouzada
Head Coach	Guillem Llaneras[2]
League	Tercera Federación – Group 11
2022–23	Tercera Federación – Group 11, 6th of 16
Home colours Away colours Third colours

Club Esportiu Constància is a Spanish football team based in Inca, Mallorca, in the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. Founded in 1922, it's first men's team currently plays in the Tercera Federación – Group 11, the fifth division. Its first women's team is active in the Primera Autonómica, the fourth tier, and its first u-19 team is active in the División de Honor, the highest category. Moreover, Constància has dozens of teams in its youth academy.^[3]

Constància has played 11 seasons in the Segunda División during the 20th century, becoming the second-most successful football club in the history of the Balearic Islands. Moreover, the club has played over 60 seasons in the Tercera División, being the Balearic team with most seasons in this competition.

Its home matches are played at the Nou Camp d'Inca, in the city of Inca, the club's stadium since its inauguration in 1964.^[4] The stadium has a capacity of 10,000 seats, which makes it the second biggest stadium on the Balearic Islands.

History

Name evolution

• Constancia Foot-ball Club (1922-1941)
• Club Deportivo Constancia (1941-2010)
• Club Esportiu Constància (2010-present)^[5]

Beginnings of football in Inca

The first football team in Inca was FC Inca (1910), the football section of the recreation organisation Centro Recreativo in the same city, but this stop ceased its activity a few months after its creation.^[6] Inca was left without a football club during many years, something that only changed in 1921 with the creation of FC Inquense, related to the same recreation organisation.^[7]

Foundation of CE Constància (1922)

Club Esportiu Constància was founded on 2 December 1922 as the football section of the provident society with the same name.^[8] Initially, there existed a rivalry between Constància and Inquense, but when the former outgrew the latter, Inquense was dissolved and many of its players joined Constància.^[9]

In 1924, Constància made its debut in the Mallorcan Championship, where the club obtained much influence in the footballing panorama of Mallorca. Meanwhile, Constància developed as a club with a working-class base, given that Inca used to be a town with a high number of factories.^[10] Moreover, the club became a symbol of football in the Part Forana (the parts of Mallorca outside of Palma), being the most potent football club outside of the capital.^[11]

The 1930s. Development, titles, and war

During the 1930s, Constància was already the main competitor of Alfons XIII (the current RCD Mallorca), which fueled their rivalry, accentuated by the socioeconomic and political differences between the supporters of Alfons XIII and Constància. In the same decade, Constància won the Mallorcan Championship on three consecutive occasions (1933, 1934, and 1935), while being crowned champion of the Balearic Islands on one occasion (1935).

The outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in 1936 had a significant influence on the club's development. According to recent investigations, Constància was one of the most retaliated football clubs in Spain, and four of its players were executed by the Francoist troops.^[12] During the war, the competities continued, and Constància won the Mallorcan Championship for the fourth time in 1939.

The 1940s. Promotion to the second tier and almost to the first one

After the end of the Civil War in 1939, the Spanish football competitions were restructured, and Constància was selected to play in the Segunda División because of its championship the season before. In 1939-40, the club was relegated, but returned for the 1941-42 season.^[13] Constància maintained the category for four consecutive seasons, of which 1943-44 stood out, as the club finished third and almost achieved promotion to La Liga.^[14] The following season, Constància played the final match of the regular season against CD Mallorca with both teams close to the relegation zone, and the match ended in favor of Mallorca after many controversial decisions by referee Agustí Cruellas, remembered in Inca for decades, after which Constància had to participate in the relegation play-off. The club lost and got relegated to the Tercera División.^[15]

The 1950s. Hitting rock bottom

After the relegation to the Tercera División in 1945, Constància was not able to return to the second tier quickly and even had to temporarily cease its activity after a severe institutional and economic crisis. The club was relegated to the regional categories, but recovered the third division some years later.^[14]

The 1960s. Last years in the Segunda División

After a strong season, Constància achieved promotion to the Segunda División for the third time in 1962. Despite players more consecutive seasons in the second division than during the 1940s, the six seasons between 1962 and 1968 consisted of more disappointing classifications. The 1967-68 season would be the last one of the 11 seasons that Constància has played in the second tier.^[14] Another highlight of this decade, concretely on 29 August 1965, was the opening of the Nou Camp d'Inca stadium.^[16]

Rest of the 20th century. Going down and consolidation in the Tercera División

The 1968 relegation caused a new crisis at the club, which ended in another successive relegation, this time to the regional amateur competitions. Constància needed five years to go back up to the Tercera División, a competition that it has rarely escaped since.

Moreover, the rivalry between Constància and RCD Mallorca was lost after the 1960s because of the lack of direct confrontations and the geographical distance between Palma and Inca.

During the rest of the 20th century, Constància only played in the Tercera División, except for one season in the Segunda División B (1987-88) and two seasons in the Regional Preferente (1990-92).

21st century. A new promotion and the centenary

The dynamics of the last decades of the 20th century did not change during the first decades of the 21st century. Constància has almost only played in the Tercera División (until 2021) and the replacing Tercera Federación (after 2021), except for two seasons in the Segunda División B (2012-13 and 2013-14), its last seasons outside of the current fifth tier of Spanish football.^[17]

In 2022, the year of the celebrations of the club's centenary, Constància was awarded the Medal of Honour and Gratitude of the Island of Mallorca by the Insular Council of Mallorca.^[18] Moreover, the club designed a commemorative crest and shirt for its centenary.^[19]

Season to season