The ‘Enclave Derby’: The Curious Story behind Spain’s Two North African Clubs

In football, derbies usually denote a rivalry between two clubs of the same region, and in most cases, of the same town. They also produce some of the most heated clashes in the sport, independently of the country. In La Liga, there is a variety, perhaps none more heated than the one opposing Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid. In Catalonia, Barcelona and Espanyol have often seen the wife of the then Barcelona player Gerard Pique, Shakira, insulted by Espanyol fans, with him and hers sizes of just about everything under the sun. Further down the East Coast, Levante and Valencia also produced heated derbies.

If all of these clashes bring thousands of fans together, there is one curious clash in Spain’s lower divisions that is rarely mentioned – if even heard of. Ceuta and Melilla are the names. Both cities are located in… North Africa, in Spain’s portion that borders Morocco’s lands. A.D Ceuta and Melilla C.F are two clubs that became a headache for Spanish administration. After the creation of both clubs — respectively in the 1940’s and in the 1950’s, a ‘Moroccan League’ was created, with both a west and east division. This was where both Ceuta and Melilla participated. In 1956, Morocco’s independence forced a drastic change, as Ceuta and Melilla needed to integrate the Spanish league system, a major logistical problem.

For Melilla, the start was horrific. The club suffered regional success prior to Morocco’s independence, but in 1951, a bus accident in Alicante saw the death of a physio as well as two players. In addition to several transfers, it forced Melilla into decline. As the team joined the Spanish league system in 1956, it was merged with Tangier’s football club. Unfortunately for Melilla, the merger also meant