At the beginning of the 1920s, a small group of Vila-real residents with a passion for sport in general, and football in particular, decided to organise themselves to promote the practice of the game. Thus, on 10th March 1923, they founded Club Deportivo Villarreal. Although the club did not take part in official competitions until the following decade, it organised numerous friendly matches during its early years.

The club’s first board meeting, held on 24th May 1923, was made up of pharmacist José Calduch Almela as president, bank employee José Martínez Aguilar as secretary, postal administrator Carlos Calatayud Jordá as treasurer, and board members Juan Nebot, Alfonso Saera, Manuel Calduch, Pascual Arrufat Catalá, Vicente Cabedo Meseguer and Manuel Amorós Fortuño.

According to José Calduch, the club’s first president, in order to play football, “we bought about three acres of land planted with carob trees, levelled the ground, built the perimeter fencing and constructed a small building for the players”. The sports ground, initially leased by the club from its owners, first José Calduch and later Vicente Marmaneu Ballester, was always located in the El Madrigal area. It would eventually take the name El Madrigal after an initial period in which it was simply known as Campo de Deportes.

Admission prices were set at 0.5 pesetas for adults and half that amount for children. Women were granted free entry to the ground. At the same meeting, it was decided to purchase the club’s first 12 kits using the most common and readily available fabrics of the time. As a result, white shirts and black shorts were chosen. These were the club’s original colours and remained in place until 1946, when the shirts changed to yellow, while the shorts remained black during that period.

The inaugural match was played on 17th June 1923 between CD Castellón and Cervantes, both from Castellón, with referee Farnós officiating. Four months later, Villarreal played their first friendly match. On 21st August 1923, the local side faced Red y Star de Castellón.

The team soon began competing in provincial and regional championships. Various local supporters’ clubs also emerged, fielding teams that played during the periods left free by the official competitions, which at the time were relatively short.

One of Villarreal’s first major milestones came during the 1935/36 season, when the team contested the promotion play-off for a place in the Second Division. After being crowned Primera Regional champions in a group featuring sides such as Alcoyano, Gandía, Alcira, Olímpico de Játiva and Sport de la Plana, CD Villarreal faced Cartagena over two legs in a promotion play-off to the Second Division, as the Third Division did not yet exist.

The first leg was played on 26th January 1936, with the return match taking place on 2nd February. Following a heavy 5-0 defeat away from home, Villarreal’s 3-1 victory in the second leg was not enough to secure the long-awaited promotion. Cartagena’s professional players ultimately proved decisive in winning the tie.

A year later, the Vila-real side were crowned Primera Regional champions once again, but the Spanish Civil War brought all sporting competition to a halt. Following the interruption caused by the war, football returned to the town with the team competing in Segunda Regional. However, CD Villarreal was forced into dissolution in 1942.