Elche Football Club (Elche CF), founded in 1922, is a professional football club based in Elche, Alicante province, Valencia region. The club is affectionately known as the "Green Stripes" by fans due to its iconic green striped jersey. Its most glorious period was in the 1960s, when they played in La Liga for 12 consecutive seasons and achieved a fifth-place finish. The club is also known for being the first in La Liga history to be relegated due to financial problems. After being relegated in 2023, they returned to the top league in just one year, and in 2025, they were promoted to La Liga for the seventh time as runners-up in the Segunda Division.
The club, known affectionately by fans as the "Green Stripes Legion" for its iconic green striped jersey, experienced its most glorious period in the 1960s, when it competed in La Liga for 12 consecutive seasons and achieved a fifth-place finish. The club is also famous for being the first in La Liga history to be relegated due to financial problems. After being relegated in 2023, it returned to the top league in just one year, and in 2025, it was promoted to La Liga for the seventh time as the runner-up in the second division.
Elche's trophy cabinet holds two Segunda División titles and a Copa del Rey runner-up trophy. Despite consistently being in the second tier of Spanish football, this century-old club has always maintained a strong spirit. In 2025, the team strengthened its squad by signing players like Balera and Iturbe. Elche's story exemplifies the unyielding fighting spirit of those "smaller" teams in the Spanish football pyramid.