William Paats (b. ''Friedrich Wilhelm Paats Hantelmann'', 12 January 1876,

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"Ne ...

– d. 28 August 1946,

Asunción Asunción (, , , Guarani: Paraguay) is the capital and the largest city of Paraguay. The city stands on the eastern bank of the Paraguay River, almost at the confluence of this river with the Pilcomayo River. The Paraguay River and the Bay o ...

) was a

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

-born

Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...

an sports instructor. Often regarded as "the father of

an football", Paats' family moved to

, Paraguay in 1894. At that time, William was 18 years old and soon noticed the lack in the formal practice of any sport in Paraguay. After a few years, he became a

physical education Physical education, often abbreviated to Phys Ed. or P.E., is a subject taught in schools around the world. It is usually taught during primary and secondary education, and encourages psychomotor learning by using a play and movement explorat ...

instructor at the Escuela Normal de Maestros in Asunción. In one of his trips to

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

, he bought a ball and brought it back to Paraguay; and soon after he started teaching the practice of football to his students. The popularity of football in Paraguay rose immediately. Due to the success and enormous interest of the people, Paats impulsed the foundation of the first Paraguayan football club, and so on 25 July 1902 Club Olimpia was born. Paats was also a founding member of the Liga Paraguaya de Fútbol (Paraguayan Football League) in 1906 and served as President of the mentioned organisation from 1909 to 1910. He also promoted and taught the practice of other sports disciplines such as

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by str ...

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, or other liquid, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Locomotion is achieved through coordinated movement of the limbs and the body to achieve hydrodynamic thrust that r ...

and

rowing Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to be mechanically ...

. His passion for sports and social activities led him to found the social and sports club Sajonia in 1921 and the Touring y Automóvil Club Paraguayo in 1924. He also served as a

consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states throu ...

for the Netherlands until 1935. Paats died on 28 August 1946, in Asunción, leaving his legacy as one of the most important sports personalities in Paraguay.

References

1876 births 1946 deaths Dutch emigrants to Paraguay Football in Paraguay Club Olimpia Club Olimpia presidents Sportspeople from Rotterdam Sportspeople from Asunción {{Netherlands-footy-bio-stub