1.
Argentine Football Association
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The Argentine Football Association is the governing body of football in Argentina. It organises the Primera División and lower divisions, the Argentine Cup, Supercopa Argentina, the association is based in the city of Buenos Aires. Secondly, it organizes the amateur leagues for women, children, youth, Futsal. The Argentine Association Football League was founded on 21 February 1893 by Alexander Watson Hutton, the Argentine Association is the oldest in South America and one of the oldest to be formed outside Europe. In 1906 Florencio Martínez de Hoz became the first Argentine-born President of the Association, some teams moved to the FAF were Gimnasia y Esgrima, Independiente, Estudiantes de La Plata and Atlanta. The league lasted until 1914 when rejoining Asociación Argentina de Football forming a league for the 1915 season. The second dissident league was formed in 1919 and named Asociacion Amateurs de Football, the first round of the recently created professional championship was on 31 May 1931. With 75 presidents of different Argentine clubs voting, the day of the elections something went wrong when the final count resulted in a draw of 38 to 38, the explanation given was that one of the electors put a double vote and that mistake was not reported. As a result, the committee decided to postpone the election. After some meetings to put an end to the conflict, both agreed to have another election in June 2016. In June 2016, AFA president Luis Segura was charged with aggravated administrative fraud, Segura has been replaced on an interim basis by the AFAs executive secretary, Damián Dupiellet. The body has been renamed several times since its establishment in 1893,3 Expelled by the Argentine military dictatorship. 5 Then translated into Spanish as Asociación del Fútbol Argentino in 1946, official site Argentina at FIFA site
2.
Argentina
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Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a federal republic in the southern half of South America. With a mainland area of 2,780,400 km2, Argentina is the eighth-largest country in the world, the second largest in Latin America, and the largest Spanish-speaking one. The country is subdivided into provinces and one autonomous city, Buenos Aires. The provinces and the capital have their own constitutions, but exist under a federal system, Argentina claims sovereignty over part of Antarctica, the Falkland Islands, and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. The earliest recorded presence in the area of modern-day Argentina dates back to the Paleolithic period. The country has its roots in Spanish colonization of the region during the 16th century, Argentina rose as the successor state of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, a Spanish overseas viceroyalty founded in 1776. The country thereafter enjoyed relative peace and stability, with waves of European immigration radically reshaping its cultural. The almost-unparalleled increase in prosperity led to Argentina becoming the seventh wealthiest developed nation in the world by the early 20th century, Argentina retains its historic status as a middle power in international affairs, and is a prominent regional power in the Southern Cone and Latin America. Argentina has the second largest economy in South America, the third-largest in Latin America and is a member of the G-15 and it is the country with the second highest Human Development Index in Latin America with a rating of very high. Because of its stability, market size and growing high-tech sector, the description of the country by the word Argentina has to be found on a Venice map in 1536. In English the name Argentina probably comes from the Spanish language, however the naming itself is not Spanish, Argentina means in Italian of silver, silver coloured, probably borrowed from the Old French adjective argentine of silver > silver coloured already mentioned in the 12th century. The French word argentine is the form of argentin and derives of argent silver with the suffix -in. The Italian naming Argentina for the country implies Argentina Terra land of silver or Argentina costa coast of silver, in Italian, the adjective or the proper noun is often used in an autonomous way as a substantive and replaces it and it is said lArgentina. The name Argentina was probably first given by the Venitian and Genoese navigators, in Spanish and Portuguese, the words for silver are respectively plata and prata and of silver is said plateado and prateado. Argentina was first associated with the silver mountains legend, widespread among the first European explorers of the La Plata Basin. The first written use of the name in Spanish can be traced to La Argentina, a 1602 poem by Martín del Barco Centenera describing the region, the 1826 constitution included the first use of the name Argentine Republic in legal documents. The name Argentine Confederation was also used and was formalized in the Argentine Constitution of 1853. In 1860 a presidential decree settled the name as Argentine Republic
3.
San Lorenzo de Almagro
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Club Atlético San Lorenzo de Almagro, known as San Lorenzo de Almagro or San Lorenzo, is an Argentine sports club based in the Boedo, neighbourhood of Buenos Aires. It is best known for its team, which plays in the Primera División. San Lorenzo is also considered one of the big five of Argentine football by Argentine press, with Independiente, River Plate, Boca Juniors, San Lorenzo plays its home games at Estadio Pedro Bidegain, popularly known as Nuevo Gasómetro. The stadium and sports facilities are located in Bajo Flores, neighborhood of the city of Buenos Aires, Clubs previous stadium was the Viejo Gasómetro, located in Boedo neighborhood. After the match was played there in 1979, the Gasómetro was expropriated by the de facto Government of Argentina, the club currently has five headquarters, three in Boedo, one in Monserrat, and one at Bajo Flores, all of them in the city of Buenos Aires. San Lorenzo also plans to expand its main seat on La Plata Avenue, San Lorenzos historical rival is Huracán, located in Parque Patricios. The two clubs play one of the older derbies in Argentina, some supporters consider this derby as the third most important after Superclásico and Clásico de Avellaneda, in addition to being one of the most uneven derbies of Argentine Soccer. Other sports practised at the club are artistic roller skating, basketball, field hockey, futsal, handball, martial arts, roller hockey, swimming, tennis, some years ago, San Lorenzo had also opened a rugby union section, but it is no longer active. San Lorenzo gained international recognition in March 2013 with the election of Pope Francis, the players played with the Popes photo on their shirts during a league match against Colón de Santa Fe on 16 March 2013. The institution is known because of the actor Viggo Mortensen, supporter of the team. The roots of the institution can be found in a formed by a group of kids that used to play football in the corner of México. Due to the traffic in the city, playing football at the streets became a risky activity for the boys. Lorenzo Massa, the catholic priest of the church, saw how a tram almost knocked down one of the boys while they were playing in the streets. As a way to prevent more accidents, he offered the boys to play in the churchs backyard, on 1 April 1908, an assemble was held in the Almagro district of Buenos Aires with the purpose of establishing a club. During the meeting, several names were proposed, the first option was Los Forzosos de Almagro, which did not sound good to Father Massa. The other proposal was to name the club San Lorenzo as an homage to Massa, other founder member, Federico Monti, suggested to add the name of the neighbourhood, Almagro where most of the members lived in, which was accepted by the assemble. Due to the not having its own a stadium, San Lorenzo began to play its home games in a field property of the Club Martínez. The squad played its first match on 26 April 1914, and this title allowed San Lorenzo to dispute the playoffs in order to promote to the Argentine Primera División, which finally obtained after beating Club Honor y Patria by a score of 3–0
4.
Estudiantes de La Plata
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Club Estudiantes de La Plata, simply referred to as Estudiantes, is an Argentine sports club based in La Plata. The clubs football team competes in the Primera División, where it has spent most of its history. The club is amongst the most successful teams in Argentina, in 1967, Estudiantes was the first team outside of the traditional big five to win a professional league title. Since then, the squad has won four league titles to bring the total to five. It has had even greater success, having won six international titles. Estudiantes international silverware consists of four Copa Libertadores, an Intercontinental Cup, the club was founded in 1905 when a group of players and fans decided to break away from Gimnasia de La Plata, which favored indoor sports over football. Matches between the two clubs are known as the Clásico Platense, the Estudiantes home stadium is undergoing renovations, so the team plays in the city-owned Estadio Único de La Plata. Other sports where Estudiantes competes are basketball, team handball, field hockey, golf, swimming, judo, and volleyball. Thus, on August 4,1905, in the shoestore New York on 7th Street and its first president, Miguel Gutiérrez, was elected on the very same night, when the club charter was drafted by card-carrying member #1, Alfredo Lartigue. In those days, teams like Lomas A. C. Quilmes, on 28 February 1906 Estudiantes adopted a jersey design of striped red and white, in honor of Alumni, that had won ten championships between 1900 and 1911. However, during the years, Estudiantes had to use a red shirt with a white stripe in the chest. A year later, Estudiantes enrolled in the Associación Amateurs de Football, the stadium on 1st Avenue opened on 25 December 1907. Estudiantes first achievement was the 1911 Primera B title which allowed the team to play at the top division of Argentine football, just two years later Estudiantes won its first title in Primera, playing at the dissident Federación Argentina de Football. That season the team disputed 18 matches, winning 14 with only 1 lost, in 1914 Estudiantes made another great campaign but the team finished 2nd to Porteño. 1919 saw Estudiantes finishing 2nd to champion Boca Juniors although the Association put an end to the tournament with 14 fixtures still to be played, the Association alleged that the championship took longer than expected so it was suddenly finished. In subsequent years, Estudiantes made irregular campaigns, in some cases finishing at the bottom of the table, nevertheless, the team made a great performance in 1928 when finishing 3rd to champion Huracán and Boca Juniors. The last year of amateur era saw Estudiantes being runner-up to Boca Juniors, the team totalized 56 points in 35 matches, with 27 won and 7 losses. Alberto Zozaya scored the first goal of professional football in Argentina and was the top goalscorer of the first professional tournament
5.
Newell's Old Boys
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Club Atlético Newells Old Boys is an Argentine sports club based in Rosario, Santa Fe. The club was founded on 3 November 1903, and is named after Isaac Newell, originally a member of Rosarios Football Association, Newells affiliated to the Argentine Football Association in 1939. They were the 2013 champions in Argentine football, and have won AFAs Primera División six times throughout their history, Newells has also been twice Copa Libertadores runner-up. The clubs football stadium is the Estadio Marcelo Bielsa, named after the former player and manager Marcelo Bielsa. Newells plays the Rosario derby against Rosario Central, a club with which they have a historical rivalry. Newells is also notable for its youth divisions, being the club with most national titles in AFAs youth tournaments. Lionel Messi also played in the youths, but left at a young age to Barcelona to seek treatment for his growth hormone deficiency. Other sports practised at this club are basketball, boxing, field hockey, martial arts, roller skating, club Atlético Newells Old Boys was established on 3 November 1903. Claudio Newell was one of the founding members, Newell called teachers, pupils and alumni of the school to sign the act of foundation of the club. The name chosen paid tribute to Isaac Newells life, the first president was Víctor Heitz. The name old boys is referred to graduates of a school, therefore, Newells Old Boys would mean Graduates of Newells school or something similar. In fact, the players of the first football team were graduates of that school, the colours of the club were taken from the Colegio Comercial Anglicano Argentino emblem that were red and black inspired in the colours of the English and German flags respectively. Newells Old Boys is often referred to as leprosos because the team was invited to a charity match to raise funds for a leprosy sufferers of Hospital Carrasco, in the 1920s. The club immediately accepted to take part in the event, but Rosario Central did not so, the main objective was to organise a championship, so a trophy was donated by the major of Rosario, Santiago Pinasco. The trophy was named in his honour. Newells was the winner of the first edition, having won eight games, the team also scored 39 goals, conceding just 4. Previously, the historic first Rosarino derby had been held, Newells won 1–0 with a goal scored by Faustino González. The next year Newells won its second championship, in 1907, the Liga Rosarina established a second division
6.
Racing Club de Avellaneda
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Racing Club, also known simply as Racing, is an Argentine professional sports club based in Avellaneda, a city of Greater Buenos Aires. Founded in 1903, Racing has been considered one of the big five clubs of Argentine football. Racing currently plays in the Primera División, the top division of the Argentine league system, Racing has won the Primera División 17 times, apart from winning 12 National cups such as five Copa Ibarguren, four Copa de Honor Municipalidad de Buenos Aires and one Copa Beccar Varela. Due to those achievements the team was nicknamed La Academia which still identifies the club, in addition, Racing won two Campeonato Rioplatense Copa Dr. Ricardo C. Aldao and one Copa de Honor Cousenier, the first team plays its home games in the Estadio Presidente Juan Domingo Perón, nicknamed El Cilindro de Avellaneda. Apart from football, other sports practised at Racing are artistic gymnastics, basketball, boxing, field hockey, handball, martial arts, roller skating, tennis and volleyball. On 12 May 1901, a group of students of Colegio Nacional Central founded the Football Club Barracas al Sud, with Pedro Werner becoming its first president. Less than one year after the establishment, a conflict about what color of jersey should be adopted caused a group of members to found Colorados Unidos. This division did not last too long, and in March 1903, the club took its name from a French car racing magazine, brought to Argentina by Germán Vidaillac. The suggestion was received and the name Racing Club was immediately approved. Racing was the first football team formed by criollos. The first shirts worn by Racing were white, until 25 July 1904, nevertheless, the new jersey only lasted a week, being replaced by a design proposed by president Luis Carbone. The jersey had four squares, two blue and two pink. This light blue and pink design would be worn until 1908, finally, Racing adopted the light blue and white colors in 1910, in commemoration of the May Revolutions 100th anniversary that same year. Racing affiliated to the Argentine Football Association in 1905, and began playing in the divisions of Argentine football league system. One year later Racing competed in a playoff for a place in the Primera División, Racing were promoted to Primera in 1910, winning the playoff final against Boca Juniors with an attendance of 4,000. The line-up that won the promotion was, Fernández, Seminario, Allan, Winne, Juan Ohaco, Angel Betular, Oyarzábal, A. Ohaco, Firpo, Frers, Frers and Ohaco were the scorers for Racing. In 1911 they competed in the AFA Championship Cup, finishing in fourth place, one year later, Racing won its first domestic cup, the Copa de Honor Municipalidad de Buenos Aires
7.
Copa Argentina
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The tournament was re-launched in 2011, with teams of all divisions that form the Argentine football league system taking part of the championship. The winner of Copa Argentina qualifies for the Supercopa Argentina against the champions of Primera División. Boca Juniors is the most successful team with three titles, a new international competition, Copa Ganadores de Copa, would be held by CONMEBOL in 1970 as the South American equivalence of UEFA Cup Winners Cup. AFA thus started a cup competition, the Copa Argentina, in 1969, the competition was contested by 32 teams using a two-legged elimination format. Two points were awarded for winning a leg, one for a draw, the teams having more points would qualify to the next round. If both teams had numbers of point, it would be determined by the total number of goals, total number of goals conceded. Boca Juniors and Atlanta entered the final, Boca won the tournament by defeating Atlanta 3-2 on aggregate after two matches were played. However, as Boca later won the 1969 Nacional and qualified to the 1970 Copa Libertadores, the champions of Primera B, Ferro, also took part in the tournament, along with 13 top clubs from regional leagues. 32 teams played the competition and San Lorenzo and Vélez Sársfield entered the final, the tournament had been lasting for a long period in that year. Starting in March 1970, the first leg of the final was played in March 1971, at that time, the Copa Ganadores de Copa, which the winner of Copa Argentina would be qualifying for, had already started. Therefore, after the first leg of the Copa Argentina final was held, which the teams drew 2-2, no Argentine teams participated in the Copa Ganadores de Copa 1971. The reschedule of the Copa Argentina -officialized in 2011- includes 186 teams of 7 divisions of the Argentine football league system in a knock-out system competition, all the matches are disputed in neutral locations. The teams of the first division are included in rounds of 32, the champion of the tournament will qualify for the next edition of Copa Sudamericana. For the relaunching of the tournament, a new trophy was designed, the cup, made of aluminium, was manufactured at the Norberto Ambrosetti factory of Lobos, Buenos Aires. The 2012 final between Boca and Racing was scheduled many times due to fixture congestion, the match was finally played on August 8,2012, at the Estadio del Bicentenario in San Juan. Boca Juniors won its second trophy after defeating Racing Club by 2-1, the 2012–13 Copa Argentina was scheduled to begin October 23,2012 in a new two-phase knock-out competition. Arsenal defeated San Lorenzo and won its first trophy of this competition, the 2013–14 Copa Argentina began in October 30,2013 The following is the list with the finals played, Notes,1 San Lorenzo and Vélez Sarsfield qualified to play the finals. The first match ended 2–2, and the leg was never played so there was not a champion
8.
Copa de Honor Municipalidad de Buenos Aires
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Copa de Honor Municipalidad de Buenos Aires was an Argentine official football cup competition. It was contested fourteen times between 1905 and 1920 and this cup was played by teams from Buenos Aires and Rosario. The champion of this tournament qualified to play the Copa de Honor Cousenier versus the winner of Uruguayan Copa de Honor representing the Association of that country. In 1936, a new Copa de Honor was played under a regular Primera División season, san Lorenzo finished 1st and was awarded the cup. In July 2013, the Argentine Football Association recognized the 1936 edition as a Primera División honour awarded to the club, the following list includes all the editions of the Copa de Honor, Copa de Honor Cousenier Copa de Honor
9.
Copa de Competencia Jockey Club
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Copa de Competencia Jockey Club is a defunct official football tournament which took place in Argentina between 1907 and 1933. The winner of this Cup was allowed to play the Tie Cup against the Uruguayan champion of Copa de Competencia, the Copa de Competencia Jockey Club was first awarded in 1907, being Alumni its first winner. Teams affiliated to the Argentine Football Association and Federación Rosarina de Football were allowed to enter to this competition, rosarian teams participated until the 1919 edition. From the 1921 edition, only teams from the cities of Buenos Aires, after the final edition of the Tie Cup in 1919, the Copa de Competencia Jockey Club was played on four more occasions in 1921,1925,1931 and 1936. It was contested on a total of 17 occasions and the most successful teams were Alumni, the following list includes all the editions of the Copa de Competencia, Copa de Competencia Tie Cup Copa de Competencia overview page at RSSSF
10.
Copa Beccar Varela
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The Copa de Honor Adrián Beccar Varela was an Argentine official football competition organized by dissident Liga Amateur de Football. The trophy was named after Adrián Beccar Varela, president of both bodies, dissident Associación Amateur and official association, the first edition was contested by 18 Primera División teams. The format of the tournament was a stage where teams competed within 3 groups of 6 teams each. Each group played a tournament, in which each team was scheduled for three matches against other teams in the same group. The team finishing first of each group advanced to the stage where they played each other. For the second edition played in 1933, four Uruguayan clubs took part of the competition, otherwise, there was another trophy also named Copa Adrián Beccar Varela but organized by the official association and played by teams of regional leagues. The first edition was held in 1929 and won by a combined from Liga Rosarina de Football
11.
Copa Suecia
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The Copa Suecia was an official football tournament held once from 1958 to 1960 by the Argentine Football Association. It was competed by clubs in the Primera División Argentina, Atlanta won the tournament in the final held in 1960. Given that the World Cup was held in faraway Sweden in 1958, as a result, AFA organized a cup competition in order to keep the teams in readiness and also let the clubs receive some economic benefits throughout the prolonged intermission. The Swedish Embassy in Argentina donated the trophy and hence the name of the tournament, the 16 teams of the Primera División were divided into two groups, and each group played a round-robin. The top team from each group would contest a single-legged final, if two teams had the same number of points in a group, a single-legged play-off would be competed to determine the qualification. Atlanta started very well in this year by three wins in the league. It also made a debut in the Group B of the Copa Suecia by defeating River Plate 4,1. Eventually it was the top team of its group, having the number of points with Rosario Central. A play-off was contested and Atlanta won by 1,0, racing Club was the qualified team in the Group A and they played the final in 1960. Atlanta won the match 3,1 and was crowned the champion and it remains the only official top flight tournament title in Atlantas history. Moreover, it was the first time one of the so-called little teams of Argentina won an official cup in the professional era. Initially, the tournament drew strong crowds, however, public interest declined soon due to various factors. The competition was harmed by the lack of commitment of some of the clubs that presented too many substitutes. Moreover, interest was lost due to the performance of the Argentina national football team in World Cup 1958. Last but not least, once the Primera División was resumed, there was a lack of available match dates and the scheduling of the remaining part of the tournament became very difficult. As a result, the tournament became a competition, with some matches played in 1959
12.
Copa Centenario de la AFA
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The Copa Centenario de la AFA was a no-official football tournament among Primera División teams, organized by the Argentine Football Association in 1993 in order to celebrate its 100th anniversary. The winner of tournament was the Gimnasia y Esgrima, who defeated River Plate in the final match. Afterwards, teams played two rounds, following a system of double elimination. Gimnasia y Esgrima was the winner on the Winners bracket, while River Plate won the Losers bracket, the final match was played on January 1994 at Gimnasia y Esgrima s Stadium. Gimnasia needed to win the match to become the champion, while River Plate had to defeat The Wolf in two opportunities, as River Plate had accessed to the final by winning the Losers Round. However, an additional match became unnecessary, as Gimnasia defeated River by 3-1 and this Cup constitutes until today one of the two official titles that Gimnasia y Esgrima has won in the Argentine top-tier competitions, the other one being the 1929 First Division Championship. These conquests are celebrated with the two stars often displayed on the teams jerseys, as winners of the Centenario Cup, Gimnasia y Esgrima had the privilege to play the friendly Sanwa Bank Cup against the First Division Champion of Japan, the Verdy Kawasaki. That game finished in a 2-2 draw, and it was decided on penalties, Verdy Kawasaki being the winners
13.
Alumni Athletic Club
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Alumni Athletic Club, or simply Alumni, was an Argentine football team active during the first years of the sport in that country. The squad was active until 1911 and was disbanded in 1913 due to internal problems, during its run in Primera División, Alumni achieved 10 championships and many national and international cups, becoming one of the most important clubs in the history of Argentine football. On 25 February 1882, Scottish Professor Alexander Watson Hutton arrived to Buenos Aires, Watson Hutton then created the Buenos Aires English High School to put in practise his ideas about education, with a special predilection for football. The BAEHS opened on 1 February 1884, to start with the practise of football in Argentina, Waton Hutton brought William Watters from Scotland, to work as a trainer. It was Watters who brought the first footballs from Great Britain to Argentina, in 1891 Alec Lamont, from St. Andrews, created the Argentine Football Association League. The following teams were registered, St. Andrews Scots School, Old Caledonians, Buenos Aires and Rosario Railway, nevertheless, this new tournament was badly criticized and was boycotted by most of the clubs. The title was won by St. Andrews, considered today as the first Argentine Primera División champion ever being recognised even by the Argentine Football Association, the Argentine Association Football League was dissolved after the 1891 season. As a result, in 1892 no championship was held, on 21 February 1893, Watson Hutton created a new football league with the same name, with himself as its first president. The BAEHS decided not to part in the 1894 championship. The BAEHS team returned to Primera División for the 1895 championship, the team made a poor campaign, finishing in the last position. The BAESH would not take part in a Primera División tournament until 1900, as they had done in 1894, the students of the school played for other teams during this period. In 1898 the Minister of Justice and Public Instruction ruled that teaching of physical exercises would be obligatory for all the schools programs. Furthermore, it was required each school had to create a sports club formed by their current. As a result, on 3 October 1898, English High School Athletic Club was founded, the championship was won by Banfield, English High School A. C. was the runner up. In 1900 the club decided to compete at the Primera División tournaments again and it began the long series of titles won by the team during its short existence in Argentine football. At the end of the season, the Buenos Aires Herald newspaper decided to award a trophy to the most popular team of Argentina, to establish this, the Herald made a survey among its readers, who had to send a voucher indicating their favorite team. The survey finished on 31 July 1900, and the English High School AC was awarded as the most popular team with 6.942 votes, followed by Quilmes and Belgrano Athletic. In 1901 the Association forbade football teams to use names of Schools so BAEHS had to register a new name to play at football tournaments
14.
Sportivo Balcarce
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Club Sportivo Balcarce, or simply Sportivo Balcarce, is an Argentine sports club located in Florida, Buenos Aires. Although other disciplines are held in the club, Football was the most predominant sport while the squad was affiliated to the Argentine Football Association in the 1920s and 1930s. Other sports practised at the club includes gymnastics, taekwondo and swimming, having been founded in 1919, the football squad promoted to the first division of Argentine football league system in 1925, as División Intermedia champion. The club debuted in Primera División in 1926, finishing in the 4th, over 17 matches played, the squad won 10 with 4 games lost. Sportivo Balcarce scored 29 goals and conceded 19, the other teams relegated were Alvear, Argentino de Banfield, Boca Alumni, Del Plata, General San Martín, Palermo, Progresista, Dock Sud, Sportsman and Universal. In the 1927 championship, Sportivo Balcarce did not a good campaign, in 1931, Sportivo Balcarce won its only official title, the Copa de Competencia Jockey Club, after beating Defensores de Belgrano by 4–1 in the second leg final. That was the last official tournament played by Sportivo Balcarce, never returning for any competition organized by the Argentine Association, nevertheless, the institution continued its activities, focusing on youth and amateur levels. The club has been active to present days, Copa de Competencia Jockey Club,1931 División Intermedia,1925
15.
Sportivo Barracas
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Club Sportivo Barracas is an Argentine sports club from Buenos Aires. The institution was born as a club, nevertheless it is mostly known for its football activities nowadays. The team currently plays in Primera C, the division of the Argentine football league system. The club was founded in 1913 in its headquarters located in the barrio of Barracas in Buenos Aires. The football squad made its debut in the Argentine Primera División in 1917, the team played in Primera until the league became professional in 1931. Sportivo became one of the clubs to make the decision of staying amateur so it remained at the official body and this decision paid dividends because the following year Sportivo Barracas won the 1932 championship. It remained unaffiliated to Argentine Football Association from 1936 to 1967, however, all other activities of the club remained in Buenos Aires. In 2010, the left the city of Bolívar, playing its home games at Acassuso stadium of San Isidro. Sportivo Barracas has a rivalry with Barracas Central, the other team in the Barracas neighbourhood. On March 2011, the club put the image of former President of Argentina Néstor Kirchner on the jersey as a tribute to him, in May 2012, Sportivo Barracas was disaffiliated for one season after finishing last in the Primera D championship. The vacant place was filled by Puerto Nuevo which returned to the division, in 2015, Sportivo Barracas won the Primera D championship, promoting to the upper level. In the 1920s and 1930s the Sportivo Barracas stadium was one of the most important stadiums in Argentina and it held 30,000 spectators and was used as a venue for the South American Championship 1921 and South American Championship 1925. The field was used in 1925 for the first boxing fight in open space of Luis Ángel Firpo. From 2003 to 2010 the club played its games at the Estadio Municipal de Bolívar. Primera División,1932 Copa de Competencia Jockey Club,1921 División Intermedia,1916 Primera C,1919 AAm Primera D,1931,1932, 2003–04,2015 Sportivo Barracas
16.
Belgrano Athletic Club
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Belgrano Athletic Club is an Argentine amateur sports club from Belgrano, Buenos Aires. One of Argentinas oldest institutions still in existence, Belgrano was one of the four clubs that founded the Argentine Rugby Union in 1899, the senior team currently competes at Grupo I, the first division of Unión de Rugby de Buenos Aires. Belgrano Athletic was one of the most prominent teams during the first years of football in Argentina, Belgranos arch-rival during those years was Alumni, also from Belgrano neighborhood. Belgrano disaffiliated from the Argentine Association in late 1910s, focusing on rugby union, Association football is no longer practised at the club. Belgranos field hockey team takes part of Metropolitano championships organised by the Buenos Aires Hockey Association. Apart from the sports detailed below, several activities are practised at the nowadays, such as bowls, cricket, squash, swimming. The club facilities are divided between two locations, its main building sited in Belgrano and another one located in Pilar. The facilities at Belgranos headquarters include a rugby union pitch, a field hockey pitch, twelve tennis courts, an olympic size swimming pool. The facility in Pilar has three full size pitches, six youth pitches another hockey pitch and another swimming pool. There are records of a match played by the members of the Club Inglés de Belgrano in 1894. Belgrano AC participated in the Primera División from 1896 to 1916, the squad won three league titles in 1899,1904 and 1908, and also won a number of other tournaments including National cup Copa de Honor Cousenier in 1907 and international Tie Cup in 1900. Belgrano Athletic played one of the earliest football rivalries against Belgrano neighbours Alumni, both teams were so strong that they won all of the thirteen league titles contested between 1899 and 1911. Belgrano AC would achieve a victory over River Plate, defeating the Millonario 10–1 in 1912. That was the worst defeat of River Plate in clubs history, despite of being one of the most notable football teams during the first years of that sport in Argentina, Belgrano was relegated from the Argentine Primera División, along with Quilmes in 1916. Belgrano never returned to the first division, and the club disaffiliated from the Argentine Association, focusing on the practise of other sports. Belgrano Athletic rugby union team is one of the most successful teams in the Unión de Rugby de Buenos Aires, having won a total of 10 provincial titles. In 1899, along with Buenos Aires FC, Lomas and Rosario AC, the club would become a member of the River Plate Rugby Championship. The first title obtained in rugby union was in 1907, playing 16 matches with 13 victories,1 drew, the team scored 233 points and only received 29 at the end of the tournament
17.
Boca Juniors
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Club Atlético Boca Juniors is an Argentine sports club based in the La Boca neighbourhood of Buenos Aires. National titles won by Boca Juniors include 31 Primera División championships, Boca Juniors also owns an honorary title awarded by the Argentine Football Association for their successful tour of Europe in 1925. Internationally, the Boca Juniors have won a total of 22 international titles, with 18 recognized by FIFA and CONMEBOL. According to that, Boca is ranked third in the world in terms of number of internationally recognized titles, together with A. C. Milan and behind Real Madrid and Egyptian side Al Ahly. Boca Juniors international achievements also include Tie Cup, Copa de Honor Cousenier, Boca Juniors is also one of only eight teams to have won CONMEBOLs treble. Their success usually has Boca ranked among the IFFHSs Club World Ranking Top 25, Boca was also named by the IFFHS as the top South American club of the first decade of the 21st century. Boca Juniors is also known to be the one of the most popular clubs in Argentina. Boca juniors is one of the most popular clubs in South America, Boca has always had a fierce rivalry with River Plate, as both clubs were established in La Boca. Matches between them are known as the Superclásico, and are one of the most heated rivalries in Argentina, Bocas home stadium is Estadio Alberto J. Armando, which is colloquially known as La Bombonera. In addition to football, Boca Juniors also has basketball and volleyball teams. Other activities held in the club are, athletics, futsal, artistic and rhythmic gymnastics, martial arts, on 3 April 1905, a group of Italian boys met in order to find a club. The house where the meeting was arranged was Esteban Bagliettos and the four people who attended were Alfredo Scarpatti, Santiago Sana and brothers Juan. This was possible when the Asociación Argentina de Fútbol decided to increase the number of teams in the league from 6 to 15, in 1925, Boca made its first trip to Europe to play in Spain, Germany and France. The squad played a total of 19 games, winning 15 of them, for that reason Boca was declared Campeón de Honor for the 1925 season by the Association. During successive years, Boca consolidated as one of the most popular teams of Argentina, with a number of fans not only in Argentina. The club is one of the most successful teams in Argentine football, having won 31 Primera División titles, second only to River Plate with 36. In South American and international football, Boca Juniors have won 18 titles. Those honors include 1919 Tie Cup,1920 Copa de Honor Cousenier and 1945 and 1946 Copa Escobar-Gerona, legend has it that in 1906, Boca played Nottingham de Almagro
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Estudiantes de Buenos Aires
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Club Atlético Estudiantes, usually called Estudiantes de Caseros or Estudiantes de Buenos Aires, is an Argentine football club from Caseros, Buenos Aires. The club is known for its football team, which currently plays in the Primera B Metropolitana. Apart from football, the club hosts other disciplines such as handball, karate, roller skating, by 1897 football in Argentina was practised almost exclusively by English people that lived in Buenos Aires. Three of those immigrants, called Hansen, McHardy and Fitz Simons, the club was officially founded on August 15,1898, and the name was taken from the High School they attended, Colegion Nacional Sur. The young native players soon learned from the English men, who taught them the basics of playing football, by 1899 the name had been changed to Estudiantes, which was easier to pronounce by teams followers from the standgrounds. In 1904 Estudiantes promoted to Primera División, by then, the club had built a stadium, placed in Palermo, Buenos Aires where it played its home games. During the amateur years Estudiantes won its first title, the Copa de Competencia Jockey Club in 1910, the team also reached three Copa de Honor Municipalidad de Buenos Aires finals in 1906,1909 and 1913 but could not won the trophy. The recognition earned during those years encouraged the managers to put the team on tours over other provinces of Argentina and these tours would also help to spread the playing of football in the rest of Argentina, increasing the popularity of this sport amongst its population. The first tour was in 1907 where Estudiantes played some matches against local teams, one of them was on May 5,1907, when Estudiantes defeated Newells Old Boys by 3–2. That was the first team the Rosarino team faced a squad from Buenos Aires, nevertheless, the most important tour took part in Brazil in 1910. Never before an Argentine football team had played outside the Río de la Plata, Estudiantes played four matches in Brazil, winning all of them. The squad scored 24 goals and conceded 3, back in Buenos Aires, the players were received and acclaimed by a crowd and were also invited to numerous receptions due to their great performance. In 1928 Estudiantes merged with Sportivo Devoto, which allowed the club to some players from that club who would become notable playing for Estudiantes. Some of them were wing Nardini, forward Luis Sánchez and midfielders Horacio Méndez and those players, along with Estudiantes former players such as Muschetti, Closas and Camilo Méndez formed a team that played memorable matches against Boca Juniors and River Plate. Nevertheless, the difference between called small teams and the big ones was considerable and that was more visible when the Professional era began in 1931 in Argentina with the creation of Liga Argentina. Estudiantes remained in the league, which soon lost interest so fans choose the professional championship. Moreover, most of Estudiantes notable players were seduced by good offers from other clubs, some of the footballers that left Estudiantes were Nardini and Martínez, Huesito Sánchez, Closas and Camilo Méndez. Once the fusion the between Professional League and Amateur League was done, Estudiantes started its run at the second division, in 1940 the club was sent down to the third division after finishing in the penultimate position of the tournament
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Club de Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata
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Apart from football, GELP also hosts other activities such as athletics, basketball, fencing, futsal, gymnastics, field hockey, martial arts, tennis, roller skating and volleyball. The Club de Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata was founded on 3 June 1887 as a civil association, the club also claims to be the oldest football club in the Americas, despite other football clubs, such as Peruvian Lima Cricket F. C. have older foundation dates. Its foundation came barely five years after the creation of the City of La Plata in 1882, the first sports offered to its members were, as its Spanish name indicates, gymnastics and fencing. Clubs supporting these sports were common among the classes at the end of the 19th century. Later on, other disciplines were added, including track and field, football, basketball, the institution changed name a few times, from April to December 1897 it was called a Club de Esgrima because fencing was the only activity practised at that moment. On 17 December 1897 it returned to its name, Club de Gimnasia y Esgrima. From July 1952 to 30 September 1955, the club was named Club de Gimnasia y Esgrima de Eva Perón, because the city of La Plata itself had been renamed Eva Perón in 1952, after Eva Peróns death. The city returned to its previous name during the government of the Liberating Revolution, however, it remained unduly identified legally as Club de Gimnasia y Esgrima de La Plata, a mistake that was corrected on 7 August 1964 after the new statute was approved. Gimnasia y Esgrima was promoted to the first division after becoming champions of the División Intermedia of Argentine football in 1915, later, in 1929, the club won its first Primera División championship. During successive years, Gimnasia became champion of Primera B in 1944,1947 and 1952, additionally, the squad has been a runner-up in the Primera División on five occasions. The club has remained at the top level of Argentine football for 73 seasons, the Clásico Platense is the nickname given to the match between La Platas two main football teams, Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata and Estudiantes de La Plata. The first official derby took place as part of the Primera División season on 27 August 1916, on that occasion, Gimnasia won 1–0 over Estudiantes, with an own goal by Ludovico Pastor. The first derby of the era took place on 14 June 1931. Between 12 August 1932 and 9 September 1934 Gimnasia won five consecutive La Plata derbies, on 25 June 1963 Gimnasia obtained a 5–2 victory, this being the best result so far against Estudiantes. On the other hand, Gimnasias worst result was a 7–0 defeat on 15 October 2006, a curiosity among the derbies occurred on 5 April 1992, when Gimnasia won over Estudiantes 1–0 at the latters stadium. On that date, as the stands erupted and Gimnasias fans shouted in celebration at the goal being scored and that goal was scored by the Uruguayan José Perdomo on a freekick, and it has been known ever since as El gol del terremoto. Through more than 120 years of history, the Club de Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata has had 56 Presidents, many of them contributed to the growth of the club over the years. Some of them have remained vivid in the fans memory for their achievements or outstanding works
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Rosario Central
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Club Atlético Rosario Central is a sports club based in Rosario, Argentina, that plays in the Argentine Primera División. The club was officially founded December 24,1889 by a group of railway workers, originally member of the Rosarios Football Association, the club affiliated to the Argentine Football Association in 1939. Since then, Rosario Central has won the Argentines First Division four times, in addition, Rosario Central won the Conmebol Cup once, in 1995, being the only team in Santa Fe province which has won an official international title recognised by FIFA. In 2012, the club was considered by FIFA as one of the 11 most classical clubs in Argentine football, Rosario Central has a strong rivalry with Newells Old Boys. The matches played between them are named El Clasico Rosarino, and is amongst the most heated rivalries in Argentina due to teams and due to Rosario Centrals local popularity. Rosario Centrals home stadium is Estadio Dr. Lisandro de la Torre, the club was founded as the Central Argentine Railway Athletic Club on December 24,1889, by 16 British railway workers of the British-owned Central Argentine Railway company as a football club. They wanted to be unlike Rosario Cricket Club which was focused on rugby union, both the first president and the first vice-president were British. The recently created club played its first match with the crew of a British ship, the game ended 1–1 so a new game was played, that was won by the Argentine club by 2–1. During many years Central Argentine played only internal matches or faced the Rosario Cricket Club occasionally, the British-owned railway did not allow people from outside the company to become a member. In 1904 the railway companies Central Argentino and Buenos Aires merged so the members decided to modify the name of the institution. The club changed to Club Atlético Rosario Central and also decided to accept new members with no restrictions, the Liga Rosarina de Football was created in March 1905, formed by teams from the city of Rosario, Santa Fe. The first tournament managed by the league was the Copa Santiago Pinasco, named that way because the Mayor of Rosario, Santiago Pinasco, Central debuted on May 21,1905, defeating Rosario Athletic by 3–1. On June, Central played a match against English team Nottingham Forest. Rosario Central won its first regional title in 1908, in 1913 the club disaffiliated from the Liga Rosarina, founding with other clubs the dissident Federación Rosarina de Football. Central won this league in 1913, in 1914 Central would return to Liga Rosarina, winning the championship after playing 20 matches, winning 19 games with 1 draw. The team scored 99 goals and only conceded 10, being Harry Hayes the top scorer of the tournament with 51 goals, the squad also would win the 1915,1916 and 1917 regional titles, becoming four-champion of the Rosarian League. In 1919, Central won the Rosario´s league title again, winning 3–2 the final match against their rivals, Newells Old Boys. In 1920 Rosario Central left the again, and joined other clubs to form the Asociación Amateur
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Tiro Federal
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Club Atlético Tiro Federal Argentino is an Argentine football club from the city of Rosario, in Santa Fe Province. The team currently plays in Torneo Argentino A, the division of the Argentine football league system. Founded on March 29,1905, Tiro Federal was one of the members of the Rosario amateur league in 1907. In 1962 Tiro Federal withdrew its team 12 rounds before the end of the competition and was expelled from the AFA, Tiro then returned to play in the Rosario league, but then financial problems made the club leave the local league. Businessman Carlos Dávola took over the management of the club at the end the 1990s, in 1997 Tiro won the local second division, and then the first division in 1999,2000 and 2001. At the same time it participated in Torneo Argentino B in the 1998–99 season, finishing in second place, at the end of their first tournament in the First Division, in the 2005 season, Tiro Federal ended 19th out of 20 teams. However, one of its players, Javier Cámpora, ended as the top scorer of the tournament, on April 8,2006, Tiro Federal was relegated to Primera B Nacional, the second division of Argentine football. At the end of 2010–11 season, after spending four years in the second division, Tiro Federals stadium is located at the Ludueña neighborhood of Rosario. Known as El Fortín de Ludueña, the stadium doesnt comply with regulations for first division matches and it currently plays at the Club Real Arroyo Secos stadium in the nearby city of Arroyo Seco, and for specially important matches, at Newells Old Boys stadium. Note, Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules, players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality. Primera B Nacional, 2004–05 Torneo Argentino A, 2002–03 Torneo Argentino B, 1998–99 Primera C,1952 Copa Dr
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Football in Argentina
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Football is Argentinas most popular sport, the one with the most players and is the most popular recreational sport, played from childhood into old age. The percentage of Argentines that declare allegiance to an Argentine football club is about 90%, Football was introduced to Argentina in the later half of the 19th century by the British immigrants in Buenos Aires. The first Argentine league was contested in 1891, making it the fifth oldest recognised league of a FIFA member, the Argentine Football Association was formed in 1893 and is the eighth oldest in the world. The Argentine national team is one of the eight to have won the football World Cup, having done so in 1978 and 1986, and also being runner-up in 1930,1990, and 2014. They have also won the top tournament, the Copa América, on fourteen occasions. The nations Olympic representative has won two Gold Medals, while the team has won a record six U-20 World Cups. At club level, Argentine teams have won the most Intercontinental Cups, womens football has a national league since 1991, the Campeonato de Fútbol Feminino. In turn, the national representative qualified for the World Cup for the first time in 2007. In futsal, Argentina were FIFUSA/AMF Futsal World Cup champions in 1994 and they also compete in the FIFA code of futsal, where they finished third in the 2004 FIFA Futsal World Cup. The team also won the FIFA Futsal Copa América in 2003, moreover, Argentina was world champion in futsal for the visually impaired in 1998. Argentina also compete in the beach football World Cup, where their best finish was third in 2001. British citizens founded social and sports clubs where they could practise their sports, such as bowls, cricket, football, golf, horse riding, rugby union and tennis amongst others. Two English immigrants Thomas and James Hogg organized a meeting on 9 May 1867 in Buenos Aires where the Buenos Aires Football Club was founded. The first recorded match in Argentina took place on this pitch on 20 June 1867. This newspaper, published in Argentina, was the first one to cover football matches in the country, the game was played between two teams of British merchants, the White Caps and the Red Caps. In the 19th century it was practice for teams to be distinguished by caps rather than jerseys. The teams consisted of 8 players each as the organisers were unable to more players for the match. The line-ups were, Thomas Hogg, James Hogg, William Forrester, T. B. Smith, J. W. Bond, Smith, William Heald, T. R. Best, U
