Abstract

This essay focuses on the birth, in 1909, of the Bologna Football Club, underlining the decisive role played by students in the foundation of the club, starting with some students of the Royal College of Spain, a prestigious institute founded in Bologna by Cardinal Albornoz in the 14th century to encourage the studies of young compatriots at the Alma Mater Studiorum. This paper underlines how the rapid consolidation of the club, which would have led Bologna FC 1909 to reach the top of Italian football in little more than a decade, was accompanied by the rise of this sport in the national and city scene and by an initial professionalization of the figure of the footballer, who in this short span of time would have contributed to significantly reducing student representation within the team.