Real Betis even when they lose!"). The name "Betis" is derived from "Baetis", the Roman name for the Guadalquivir river which passes through Seville and which the Roman province there was named after. "Real" was added in 1914 after the club received patronage from King Alfonso XIII. Betis' city rivals Sevilla FC were the first club in Sevilla, founded in October 1905, while a second club, "Sevilla Balompié" were established in September 1907. ""Balompié"" translates literally as "football", as opposed to the most commonly adopted anglicised version, ""fútbol"". Balompié was founded by students from the local Polytechnic Academy, and were in operation
Alfonso XIII of Spain sport of football led to the patronage of several "Royal" ("Real" in Spanish) football clubs, the first being Real Club Deportivo de La Coruña in 1907. Selected others include Real Madrid, Real Sociedad, Real Betis, Real Unión, Espanyol and Real Zaragoza. An avenue in the northern Madrid neighbourhood of Chamartín, Avenida de Alfonso XIII, is named after him. A plaza or town center in Iloilo City, Philippines (now Plaza Libertad) was named in his honour called Plaza Alfonso XIII. A street in Merthyr Tydfil, in Wales, was built especially to house Spanish immigrants in the mining industry and named Alphonso