The first Olympic Committee of Catalonia was founded in 1913 in order to participate in the 1916 Olympic Games of Berlin, but only existed during a brief period. In 1922 it was founded the Sports Confederation of Catalonia, seen as heir to the now defunct Catalan Olympic Committee and was chaired by Joan Ventosa i Calvell. The Confederation did not use the word "Olympic" because of the reluctance of the IOC to recognize an entity outside of international institutions. In 1923, however, it received the Olympic Cup in recognition of its work in promoting sport. However, during the dictatorship of Primo de Rivera (1923-1930) the Confederation lost most of its functions.