Elche CF is celebrating a century of history this season, and the centennial is being marked with a series of commemorative events that highlight the club’s enduring connection to the city. A key element of the program features the Pere Ibarra Chair at the Miguel Hernández University (UMH), which will take an active role in the centennial celebrations. The inaugural gathering is planned for this coming Monday, October 3, starting at seven in the evening. It will be held in the new classroom space leased by UMH in the Baix Square, adjacent to the City Council, and will begin with remarks from the journalist Santiago Gambín Hernández, setting the tone for a night of historical reflection and community tribute.
The evening will feature a veteran sports journalist who has spent more than four decades reporting on Elche’s sports scene. He will guide attendees through a broad review of Elche’s story—from its founding to the present—placing particular emphasis on the club’s remarkable journey over a hundred years. The discussion will touch on pivotal moments such as the co-operative era, the cup final exploits, the club’s memorable ascent to the Premier League’s top flight, and the challenging promotions that eventually defined the club’s status. The speaker will also address both sporting and financial challenges the organization has faced and overcome, illustrating how resilience and strategic leadership helped Elche reach its Centennial milestone. A curated collection of images will accompany the dialogue, enriching the storytelling and giving the audience a vivid, visual sense of the club’s evolution as the conversation unfolds.
Within the centennial year, the UMH Pere Ibarra Chair and the involvement of a prominent professor from Miguel Hernández University add weight to the commemorations. This year is especially meaningful for the university, underscoring its long-standing commitment to education and sport, and reinforcing the way the club’s image helps project the city’s profile abroad—especially as Elche again contemplates the paths of top-tier football in the modern era.
Beyond the Monday talk, the centenary program includes a broader slate of initiatives. UMH students and alumni will participate in a sequence of posts that expand on the club’s history and the people who shaped it. A biography project titled The Big Captain is in the works, chronicling the life and leadership of Miguel Quirant, with publication planned in the near future. Another forthcoming biography will compile the stories of the most outstanding players who have worn the Elche shirt over the past century, undertaken under the guidance of Gonzalo Escudero. An archival exhibit curated by the Pere Ibarra Chair will feature a permanent collection of striking photographs documenting the club’s journey, with the images to be displayed in the heart of the city’s downtown area, making the history accessible to both residents and visitors.
On the speaker’s own initiative, Santiago Gambín is finalizing a significant publication devoted to the Centenary. His upcoming address on Monday will be complemented by deeper coverage of the central themes that underpin the centennial narrative, offering attendees a richer understanding of how Elche’s past informs its present and future. The collaboration among the university, the chair, and the club’s community efforts reflects a shared dedication to preserving a storied chapter of city and sports history while inspiring ongoing engagement with Elche’s football culture.