The followers of FC Barcelona, as it happens with those of other soccer teams, are known by a peculiar nickname. The club’s fans are called culés, which is also applied to the players. What is the origin of this name? The official website of La Liga shares that you have to go back to the beginning of the 20th century to find the explanation.
Between 1909 and 1922, FC Barcelona played its matches at Campo de la Industria street, which is currently París street in the Catalan capital. This stadium was popularly known as La Escopidora due to its small size. It is estimated that it accommodated about 6,000 spectators.
The Barca team’s fame grew until the team’s fans filled the stadium every Sunday. The venue became so crowded that many visitors had to sit on top of its two-story grandstand. People passing by the vicinity of the venue during matches would see fans’ buttocks sticking out.
This is how the nickname culers arose, a term that in Catalan is used to refer to those who show their ass. The nickname culés derives from its pronunciation, which became popular and integrated into the language. The RAE dictionary includes this word and indicates that it is an adjective to define players and followers of FC Barcelona.
FC Barcelona was founded in 1899, but at the beginning it did not have its own stadium. The first one he owned was the aforementioned Campo de la calle Industria, where the soccer players played between 1909 and 1922.
Later they moved to Campo de Les Corts, located in the neighborhood of the same name. On its inauguration day it had a capacity for 22,000 spectators, but this figure rose to 48,000 after several extensions. The team left in 1957 for the Camp Nou, which can hold more than 99,000 people. The famous stadium is under construction in 2023.