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.
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
8.
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
9.
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
