page_title: Football in Argentina
section_title: First league and development
hierarchical_section_title: Football in Argentina / History / First league and development
caption_attribution_description: English: Argentine football team Alumni A.C. (in white jersey) before the match played vs. Southampton F.C. in Sociedad Hipica Argentina.
context_page_description: Association football is the most popular sport in the Argentine Republic and part of the culture in Argentina. It is 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 Argentina national team is one of the eight to have won the FIFA World Cup, having done so in 1978 and 1986, and also being runner-up in 1930, 1990 and 2014. Argentina has also won the top continental tournament, the Copa América, 14 times, and the FIFA Confederations Cup in 1992. The nation's Olympic representative has won two Gold Medals, while the under-20 team has won a record six U-20 World Cups. At club level, Argentine teams have won the most Intercontinental Cups and the most Copa Libertadores.
context_section_description: The so-called "father of Argentine football" was a Glaswegian schoolteacher Alexander Watson Hutton, who first taught football at St Andrew's School in Buenos Aires in the early 1880s. On 4 February 1884, he founded the Buenos Aires English High School, where he continued to instruct the pupils in the game. In 1891, the "Association Argentine Football League" was established by F.L. Wooley, with Alex Lamont of St. Andrew's Scots School as one of its members. The AAFL was the first football league outside of the British Isles. Five clubs competed but only one season was ever played.
  In this early period, a number of football clubs were set up by the employees of the various British-owned railway companies in Argentina and a number of these teams have survived to the present day, including Ferro Carril Oeste, Ferrocarril Midland, Rosario Central and Talleres.
  A new league with the same name as its predecessor, was formed on 21 February 1893. It eventually became the Argentine Football Association (AFA). In these early days of football in Argentina, nearly all of the players and officials were expatriate Britons or of British extraction and the oldest football clubs in Argentina like Rosario Central, Newell's Old Boys and Quilmes were all founded by British expatriates.
  The most successful and admired team of this early period was Alumni, founded by graduates and students of Watson Hutton's English High School. Like all of the early clubs, it was composed mainly of British players.
  Towards the end of the 19th century, the game became increasingly popular amongst other European immigrants, especially Italians.
  Most of the early clubs had a policy of excluding the local creole population. The backlash against this policy at Quilmes Athletic Club resulted in the formation of Argentino de Quilmes in 1899, the first of many Argentine clubs for Argentine players. The name Argentino or Argentinos has remained popular in Argentine football. The most famous team with the name is Argentinos Juniors who won the Copa Libertadores in 1985.
  British football clubs tours over South America contributed to the spread and develop of football in Argentina during the first years of the 20th century. The first club to tour on the country was Southampton F.C. in 1904, followed by several teams (mainly from England although some Scotland clubs also visited South America) until 1929 with Chelsea F.C. being the last team to tour.
  British teams were considered the best in the world by then, and some of them served as inspiration to establish football clubs in Argentina, helped by the immigration of British citizens that had arrived to worked for British companies (mostly in railway construction). Belgrano A.C., Rosario A.C., Alumni and Quilmes are some examples of clubs established by British immigrants to South America.
caption: Alumni before playing Southampton in Buenos Aires, 1904
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