football in Uruguay

{{See also|British football clubs tours to South America}}

File:Estacion penarol 1900s.jpg (CUR) at Peñarol station. Railway workers spread the practice of football in Uruguay]]

The sport was introduced by British immigrants and expatriates in the 19th century. Some references say that the game had been introduced in 1880, at the English High School by Henry Castle Ayre,{{cite web|url=http://www.nacionaldigital.com/biblioteca/carta-+puppo.htm|title=Sobre la fundación de Nacional — Carta del Sr. Sebastián Puppo, primer Presidente del Club|language=es|date=January 21, 1919|access-date=19 June 2017|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030325201558/http://www.nacionaldigital.com/biblioteca/carta-%20puppo.htm|archive-date=25 March 2003|via=NacionalDigital.com}} born in Bedminster in March 1852.{{cite web|url=http://www.freebmd.org.uk/cgi/districts.pl?r=17861206&d=bmd_1235512333|title=FreeBMD District Info|website=Freebmd.org.uk|access-date=4 March 2017}}

The first recorded football match in Uruguay was played in 1881 between Montevideo Rowing Club (established in 1874) and Montevideo Cricket Club (1861),[https://www.marca.com/futbol/resto-america/2017/01/22/5884dbb4268e3eec258b4595.html Diego Forlán: "Montevideo es un campo de fútbol gigante"] by Fabián Torres and Juan Castro, Marca.com, 22 Jan 2017[http://www.mvcc.com.uy/espanol/historia_del_mvcc-8 HISTORIA DEL MVCC] on MVCC website while Albion F.C. –established in Montevideo in 1891– was the first football club in the country.{{refn|Another source states that Albion F.C. was founded by an English teacher at the William Leslie Poole School in 1882.Football: The first Hundred Years. The Untold Story. Adrian Harvey. Routledge 2005{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LTAWBQAAQBAJ&q=Uruguayan+Football+Association&pg=PA33 |title=The Cambridge Companion to Football |page=33 |date= 4 July 2013|isbn=9781107014848 |access-date=2017-03-04|last1=Steen |first1=Rob |last2=Novick |first2=Jed |last3=Richards |first3=Huw |publisher=Cambridge University Press }}|group=note|name=albionorigin}}

File:CURCC equipo.jpg]]

British football clubs tours over South America contributed to the spread and development of football in Uruguay during the first years of the 20th century. The first club to tour was Southampton in 1904, followed by several teams (mainly from England although some Scotland clubs also visited South America) until 1929 with Chelsea being the last team to tour.[https://www.rsssf.org/tablesc/chelsea-satrip29.html South American Trip of Chelsea FC 1929] by Pablo Ciullini on RSSSF

British teams were considered the best in the world by then, and some of them served as inspiration to establish football clubs in Uruguay and Argentina, helped by the immigration of British citizens that had arrived to work for British companies (mostly in railway construction). CURCC and Albion are some examples of clubs established by British immigrants to South America.Historia del Fútbol Amateur en la Argentina, by Jorge Iwanczuk. Published by Autores Editores (1992) - {{ISBN|9504343848}}[https://www.lacapital.com.ar/ovacion/plaza-jewell-el-club-donde-nacioacute-el-deporte-rosarino-cumple-hoy-145-antildeos-n361847.html Plaza Jewell, el club donde nació el deporte rosarino, cumple hoy 145 años], La Capital, 27 Mar 2012

Uruguay is a country with a population that does not exceed more than three and a half million,{{cite web|url=http://data.un.org/CountryProfile.aspx?crName=uruguay|title=UNdata - country profile - Uruguay|website=Data.un.org|access-date=4 March 2017}} and features a large concentration of professional football teams in the city of Montevideo. The two biggest club teams in the country's Primera División are Peñarol, the continuation of CURCC{{refn|Controversy exists on the date of the founding of C.A. Peñarol. The club's official position assumes a change of name of CURCC (founded on September 28, 1891). On the other hand, some historians state that "C.A. Peñarol" was established on December 13, 1913.[http://www.futbol.com.uy/Deportes/Discusiones-por-el-decanato-uc93150 Discusiones por el decanato] on Fútbol.uy, 29 Sep 2009|group=note|name=continuity}}, and Nacional, founded in 1899 as a result of the fusion between Montevideo Football Club and Uruguay Athletic Club.

File:Club Nacional Football 1905.jpg

Club football in Uruguay is dominated by two big Montevideo clubs, Peñarol and Nacional, which compete in the AUF Championships (Primera División).{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/americas/uruguay-football-team-argentina-euros-luis-suarez-a7125561.html|title=Exploring Uruguay, the world's most successful footballing nation|date=7 July 2016|website=Independent.co.uk|access-date=4 March 2017}} Peñarol have won the tournament 51 times (including titles by its predecessor, CURRC) and Nacional 49 times, since it began in 1900. Other teams winning the league have been Danubio (4 times), Defensor Sporting (4 times), River Plate F.C. (4 times), Montevideo Wanderers (3 times), Rampla Juniors (1 time), Bella Vista (1 time), Progreso (1 time), Central Español (1 time). Also, during 1923 and 1924, there existed another Uruguayan football league, the FUF (Uruguayan Football Federation). Said league only held two tournaments, however, won by Atlético Wanderers and Peñarol.

Nacional and Peñarol have each won the Intercontinental Cup three times and have also been successful in South American competition, with Nacional having won the Copa Interamericana twice, the Recopa Sudamericana once, and Copa Libertadores thrice, and Peñarol having conquered Copa Libertadores five times. In 2011, Peñarol reached the finals before falling to Brazilian side Santos.

Matches between Peñarol and Nacional are termed the Uruguayan Clásico, the longest running football derby outside Great Britain.{{citation needed|date=March 2023}}

Most other clubs in top division are also from Montevideo. In the 2015–16 Uruguayan Primera División season, only two clubs, Plaza Colonia and Juventud de Las Piedras, came from outside the capital. As of 2023, Colonia, Maldonado and Cerro Largo are the only departments that are represented in Uruguay's First Division.

Danubio Football Club is a club of professional football of the Montevieo-Uruguay. It was founded on March 1, 1932 and it plays in the First Division. It obtained four Uruguayan Championships at the First Division in 1988, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2013 and 2014. At international competitions it reached the semi-final in the Copa Libertadores in 1989. In addition to that, according to the IFFHS Danubio is the third best Uruguayan club of the 20th century, just behind the two big Uruguayan teams.

Its debut was in the Plaza de deportes en La Unión, which finished with a defeat scoring 1-0, but they did not give up themselves and it managed to turn itself a great club of the Uruguayan football. The team has 17 national titles and 17 official{{?|official what}}. Its stadium was inaugurated on August 25, 1957.

Another notable first division team is Defensor Sporting Club, a professional club of Montevideo, Uruguay. It won four Uruguayan Championships, in 1976, 1987, 1991 and 2007-08. At international competitions it reached the semi-final in the Copa Libertadores in 2014. In addition to that, according to the IFFHS, Defensor Sporting was the best club of the world during September 2007.

Many Uruguayan footballers have been successful in European club football, including current players Luis Suárez and Edinson Cavani and also retired players such as Diego Forlán. Forlán had a successful career in Spain with Atlético Madrid, where he won both the European Golden Shoe and Pichichi Trophy twice. Suárez has had a successful career in England (with Liverpool) and Spain (with Barcelona), where he won the European Golden Shoe twice and the Pichichi Trophy.

File:Diego Forlán 2012.jpg with the Uruguay national team, winner of the Golden Ball in the 2010 FIFA World Cup]]

The Uruguay national team have won more international tournaments than any other country. In the Copa América, they are the most successful team, having won 15 titles. Uruguay won the first FIFA World Cup in 1930, defeating fierce rivals Argentina in the final.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=V4FCBAAAQBAJ&q=Uruguayan+Football+Association&pg=PA169 |title=Lessons from Latin America: Innovations in Politics, Culture, and Development |author1=Felipe Arocena |author2=Kirk Bowman |page=169 |date= 5 August 2014|publisher=University of Toronto Press |isbn=9781442605497 |access-date=2017-03-04}}{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2010/jul/06/world-cup-2010-uruguay-history|title=World Cup 2010: Uruguay is a small nation with a great football history|first=Richard|last=Williams|date=5 July 2010|website=Theguardian.com|access-date=4 March 2017|via=The Guardian}} In 1950, they won their second World Cup, defeating Brazil in the Maracanã in the final.{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/21740913|title=How did Uruguay lose status as world's best?|date=11 March 2013|website=Bbc.co.uk|access-date=4 March 2017}} They have also won two Olympic gold medals in 1924 and 1928.{{cite web|url=http://www.worldsoccer.com/features/footballs-greatest-rivalries-argentina-v-uruguay-366678|title=Football's Greatest Rivalries: Argentina v Uruguay|date=31 December 2015|website=Worldsoccer.com|access-date=4 March 2017}} Finally, they also won the 1980 Mundialito, a competition in Montevideo for all of the countries that had ever won the World Cup.

Between 1970 and 2010, they failed to reach the semi-finals of the World CupFletcher, Paul. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/world_cup_2010/matches/match_58/default.stm Uruguay 1-1 Ghana (aet)]. BBC. 2 July 2010. until 2010, when they finished fourth.

The women's football national team of the AUF started in 1996 and the first official competition of the national team took place in 1998.

They have played against national teams of South America and teams of other continents.

Their most remarkable matches were against teams such as Argentina, Peru, Ecuador, and China.

They have never participated in a World cup, but they have participated in the Southamerican championship.

This team consists of players aged 16 to 30 years. Its more recent games were against Brazil, on March 8, Colombia on March 10 and Venezuela on March 12, all in the same year.

{{row counter|

• Sport in Uruguay
• Uruguayan football league system
• Uruguayan Primera División
• List of football stadiums in Uruguay

{{Reflist|group=note}}

{{Reflist}}

{{Commons category|Association football in Uruguay}}

{{Football in Uruguay}}

{{Football in South America}}