In Switzerland, he was highly regarded as a footballer and was club captain at FC Basel. In 1897, work took him to Lyon in France, where he played rugby for Athletique Union.
In 1898 he went to Barcelona to visit his uncle, Emili Gaissert, who was living there. He was on his way to Africa to help set up some sugar trading companies but fell in love with the Spanish city and decided to stay put. He would later become a fluent Catalan speaker and adopt the Catalan version of his name, Joan Gamper. As an accountant, he found work with Crédit Lyonnais, the Sarria Railway Company and as a sports columnist, he worked for two Swiss newspapers. He joined the local Swiss Evangelical Church and began playing football within the local Protestant community in the district of Sarrià-Sant Gervasi. He also attended the Gimnasio Solé and helped publish a magazine, Los Deportes.
The ad in Los DeportesOn 22 October 1899 Gamper placed an advert in Los Deportes declaring his wish to form a football club. A positive response resulted in a meeting at the Gimnasio Solé on November 29 and Football Club Barcelona was born. The founders included a collection of Swiss, British and Spanish enthusiasts. It is not known, if Gamper chose the legendary club colours, blaugrana, after FC Basel or his local Club FC Excelsior Zurich. However, the other Swiss teams Gamper played for, his home canton of Zürich, and Merchant Taylors' School in Crosby, Merseyside have all been credited and/or claimed to be the inspiration. Although Gamper was the driving force behind the club, initially he chose only to be a board member and club captain. He was still only 22 and wanted to concentrate on playing the game he loved. He played 48 games for FC Barcelona between 1899 and 1903, scoring over 100 goals. His team mates included Arthur Witty. In 1900-01 he was a member of the FC Barcelona team that won the clubs first trophy, the Copa Macaya. This competition is now recognised as the first Catalan championship. In 1902 he played in the very first Copa del Rey final. Barca lost 2-1 to Club Vizcaya.
