Mallorca Sends Five Teams to the Copa del Rey First Round

Five Mallorcan Teams Start in the First Round of the Copa del Rey

It is not every day that five teams from the island appear in the first round of the Copa del Rey. For us here, that means more than a game: small towns, big nights, buses full of fans and this special mix of pride and nerves. The match dates are set, the fixtures decided – and already the weekends in October feel a little bit like club life again.

The pairings and what lies behind them

It starts on Tuesday, October 28, at 19:00 in Inca: CE Constància hosts first-division Girona. For Constància this is a rare experience – the last meeting with a Primera División club feels like decades ago. I can already see Plaça de Sant Francesc, the regulars' pub Sa Cova will be full, and the older generation of fans will tell how it was in the past.

On Wednesday there are two matches: Poblense meets Sabadell at 18:00, followed by Sant Jordi at 19:00 against Osasuna. And then the familiar face: RCD Mallorca plays away at 20:00 against Atlètic Sant Just. Four games in two days — long evenings for referees, club buses and families who bring their kids to the stadium.

What it means for the island

Practically, that means more traffic on the rural roads, full stands in the smaller stadiums and a few good hours for local businesses—from the bakery to the gas station. Older fans travel with packed backpacks, youths with train tickets in their pockets. Sportily, it is a huge opportunity for the smaller teams to show themselves and perhaps to pull off a surprise. For Girona and Osasuna it will be more routine, but cup matches have their own head.

I heard from a player of CE Constància who on Sunday visited his parents at the market hall to find a bit of calm before the game. Such scenes are typical: a few autographs, handshakes, a couple planning where to eat after the game — no matter what the result is.

Dates, voices and expectations

The exact times are known, tickets are expected to go quickly, especially in Inca and Sa Pobla. Coaches will dish out tactical chaos, but in the end the mood in the stadium often decides. If the weather cooperates – a clear evening, mild, a light north wind – then the support will be palpable.

So: grab the calendar, plan your trip, maybe leave a bit earlier. This is cup time on Mallorca: no long analyses, but real evenings with local flavor, fan chants and the crack of floodlights above the grass. And who knows – perhaps one or another surprise that we will tell about for a long time.