On a day like today, August 18, in the year 1971, the Federación Asturiana de Peñas Azules (FAPA) was officially established, a group created to channel popular support for Real Oviedo.
That day, at 8:30 PM, Manuel García Rodríguez, as the founder and promoter of FAPA, along with Emilio Peñarroya Corrales, Ángel Alonso Fernández, Manuel Álvarez Menéndez, José Luis Barcia, Javier Chércoles, Ángel del Valle González, Juan Luis González Castaño, Alfonso Pérez Berrocal, Gonzalo Luis López, Saturnino Escobedo Álvarez, Manuel Menéndez, Alejandro González Lamuño, José Manuel Rubio, and Ángel García Fernández, gathered at the Mesón Feudal, located on Covadonga Street in Oviedo, to approve the statutes of the new entity and sign its constitutional act.
A few months earlier, specifically on May 29, 1971, after the Real Oviedo-Betis match, due to the poor standings of the Asturian team, a small group of fans had distributed a letter to promote support for the team through a fan club movement.
This letter was signed by seven devoted Oviedo fans: Enrique Miranda Blanco, Benjamín García García, Emilio Peñarroya Corrales, Manuel Menéndez Álvarez, Ángel Alonso Fernández, Segundo Rodríguez Menéndez, and Saturnino Escobedo Álvarez.
Days later, on June 13, FAPA was present for the first time at a Real Oviedo match. That day, the "carbayón" team played the first leg of a playoff against Palencia at the Carlos Tartiere stadium. At stake was a spot in the Second Division for the winner. The loser would play in the Third Division the following season.
Real Oviedo had finished the National League Championship of the Second Division in fourteenth place and had to face Palencia, which had ranked among the top positions in the Third Division.
The match against Palencia, played on June 13, 1971, was won by Real Oviedo 2-0. In the return match, held in Castilian territory, the Asturian team won again, securing a 1-2 victory.
In that return match, Real Oviedo enjoyed strong support, as the fan club movement brought numerous fans to the capital of Palencia, like those seen waving their team's flag on the field in the photo illustrating this text.