Pioneers: celebrating 125 years of Catalan football in an immersive exhibition

Johan Cruyff, Pep Guardiola, Lionel Messi – there’s no doubt that football has been shaped in Catalonia more than most places. 

Lamine Yamal may be one of the most recognizable faces in world sport right now, but the Barça superstar comes from a long, proud history of Catalan football heritage, forged over the course of more than a century and a quarter. 

In 2025, the Catalan Football Federation celebrates its 125th anniversary, and IDEAL Digital Arts Centre in Barcelona are celebrating it with them with a special immersive exhibition on the history of the beautiful game on these shores.

The exhibit takes a look at the proud history of the game here, spanning all the way from factory workers kicking a ball around lumpy fields, to Catalans being crowned kings and queens of the continent. 

The main attraction in IDEAL is the huge immersive space with over 1,000m² of screens. This latest exhibition shows a 15-minute film looking back at 125 years of football in Catalonia through a selection of 125 of the most important goals in Catalan football, spanning from 1900 to 2025.

This film explores five main themes: the pitch, the popularity of football, the lessons of defeat, the euphoria of victory, and the thrill of living one's true colors. It features many of the key players who have made today's football possible, covering the entire grassroots scene and the milestones of the Catalan national team.

Also on display are dozens of Catalan Football Federation trophies, medals, and jerseys from teams up and down the land, original century-old documents on the foundations of the game in Catalonia, registration documents from legends like Johan Cruyff, and even early 20th-century trading cards. 

While women’s football is currently booming in popularity, it is not a recent phenomenon, as it too has its roots in the early 20th century. Learn about the foundations of the women’s game, stretching back to the Spanish Girl’s Club, a club formed all the way back in 1914 in Barcelona. That a group of women aspired to play what was seen as a men’s game at the time was met with disbelief and disparagement in the press of the day. 

The exhibition also features a virtual reality experience, a chance to get your own photo celebrating a trophy for your favourite team, and a huge wall of posters of games that the Catalan national side has played down the years. 

Pioneers: 125 Years of Catalan Football is open in IDEAL Digital Arts Centre in Barcelona now until August 3.