Association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

is the most popular

sport in Argentina The practice of sports in Argentina is varied due to the population's diverse European origins and the mostly mild climate. Association football is the most popular discipline and other sports played both professionally and recreatively athlet ...

and part of the culture in the country. It is the one with the most players (2,658,811 total, 331,811 of which are registered and 2,327,000 unregistered; with 3,377 clubs and 37,161 officials, all according to

FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...

)Country info
on FIFA website 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 Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

. The first Argentine league was contested in

1891 Events January * January 1 ** A strike of 500 Hungarian steel workers occurs; 3,000 men are out of work as a consequence. **Germany takes formal possession of its new African territories. * January 4 – The Earl of Zetland issues a ...

, making it the fifth-oldest recognised league of a

member (after

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

and the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

). The

Argentine Football Association The Argentine Football Association (, ; AFA) is the governing body of football in Argentina based in Buenos Aires. It organises the main divisions of Argentine football league system, Argentine league system (from Argentine Primera División, Pri ...

(AFA) 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 The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...

, having done so in

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd ...

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. ** Spain and Portugal en ...

, and

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

, while being runner-up in

1930 Events January * January 15 – The Moon moves into its nearest point to Earth, called perigee, at the same time as its fullest phase of the Lunar Cycle. This is the closest moon distance at in recent history, and the next one will be on J ...

1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...

and

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

. Argentina has also won the top continental tournament, the

Copa América The CONMEBOL Copa América (; known until 1975 as the South American Football Championship), often simply called the Copa America, is the top men's quadrennial association football, football tournament contested among list of men's national ass ...

, 16 times, and the

FIFA Confederations Cup The FIFA Confederations Cup was an international association football tournament for men's national teams, held every four years by FIFA. It was contested by the holders of each of the six continental championships ( AFC, CAF, CONCACAF, CONMEBO ...

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

. It also holds the record for having more official titles than any other nation with 23. The nation's Olympic representative has won two Gold Medals (in

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

and

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

), 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 (9) and the most

Copa Libertadores The CONMEBOL Libertadores, also known as Copa Libertadores de América (), is an annual continental club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 1960. It is the highest level of competition in South American club football. The tournam ...

(25).

Women's football Women's football most often refers to: * Women's association football Women's football may also refer to: * Women's gridiron football * Women's Australian rules football * Ladies' Gaelic football * Women's rugby league * Women's rugby union ...

has a national league since 1991, the

Campeonato de Fútbol Femenino The Primera División A (; ), known officially as Campeonato Femenino YPF for sponsorship reasons, is a semi-professional women's football league in Argentina. The tournament is ruled by the Argentine Football Association (AFA), with its first se ...

. In turn, the female national representative qualified for the

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...

for the first time in

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

and won their first Campeonato Sudamericano Femenino (top continental competition) in

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

. In

futsal Futsal is a variant of association football played between two teams of five players each on a court smaller than a football pitch. Its rules are based on the Laws of the Game (association football), Laws of the Game of association football, and i ...

, Argentina were FIFUSA/AMF Futsal World Cup champions in

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

and

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

. They also compete in the FIFA code of futsal, where they finished champions in

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

, runner-up in

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

and fourth place in

.FIFA.com
/ref> The team also won the FIFA Futsal Copa América in

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

and

. Moreover, Argentina was world champion in futsal for the visually impaired in

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

and

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

, and also won the Gold Medal at the IBSA World Blind Games

, a Silver Medal (

) and two Bronze (

and

) in the Paralympic Games, three runner-up world championships (

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

and

), three championships of the Copa América (1999, 2005, 2017), three Silver Medals in the Parapan American Games (

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

) and two runners-up of the Copa América (2009 and 2013). Argentina also compete in the

beach football Beach soccer, also known as beach football, sand football or sand soccer, is a variant of association football played on a beach or some form of sand between two teams of five players each. Association football has long been played informally on ...

, where their best finish was third in 2001.

History

The beginning

Recovering from an oppressive dictatorship spanning from 1829 to 1852, Argentine leaders aspired to reconstruct their nation's reputation as a symbol of progress and democracy. Domingo Faustino Sarmiento, a highly influential intellectual and former president of Argentina, argued in favour of emulating the path taken by Western Europe and the United States. By 1867, there was a large British community in Buenos Aires. Most of them had established themselves in Argentina coming from the United Kingdom as managers and workers of the British-owned railway companies that operated in Argentina. British citizens founded social and sports clubs where they could practise their sports, such as

bowls Bowls, also known as lawn bowls or lawn bowling, is a sport in which players try to roll their ball (called a bowl) closest to a smaller ball (known as a "jack" or sometimes a "kitty"). The bowls are shaped (biased), so that they follow a curve ...

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...

horse riding Equestrianism (from Latin , , , 'horseman', 'horse'), commonly known as horse riding ( Commonwealth English) or horseback riding (American English), includes the disciplines of riding, driving, and vaulting. This broad description includes the ...

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

and

tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...

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 The Buenos Aires Football Club (frequently abbreviated as "BAFC") was an Argentine club from Buenos Aires, considered the first to play any form of ''football'' club not only in Argentina but in South America.Buenos Aires Cricket Club to make use of the cricket field in

Parque Tres de Febrero Parque Tres de Febrero, popularly known as Bosques de Palermo (Palermo Woods), is an urban park of approximately 400 hectares (about 989 acres) located in the neighborhood of Palermo in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Located between Libertador and F ...

Palermo, Buenos Aires Palermo is a or neighborhood of Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is located in the north of the city, near the Río de la Plata. It has a total land area of 17.4 km2 and a population of 249,016. It is the only within the administrative division ...

, on the site now occupied by the Galileo Galilei planetarium. The first recorded football match in Argentina took place on this pitch on 20 June 1867, being covered by

English language English is a West Germanic language that developed in early medieval England and has since become a English as a lingua franca, global lingua franca. The namesake of the language is the Angles (tribe), Angles, one of the Germanic peoples th ...

daily newspaper ''

The Standard The Standard may refer to: Entertainment * The Standard (band), an indie rock band from Portland, Oregon * ''The Standard'' (novel), a 1934 novel by the Austrian writer Alexander Lernet-Holenia * ''The Standard'' (Tommy Flanagan album), 1980 * ...

''. This newspaper, published in Argentina, was the first one to cover football matches in the country. That first match, originally scheduled for May 25 in

La Boca La Boca (; "the Mouth", probably of the Matanza River) is a neighborhood (''Barrios of Buenos Aires, barrio'') of Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina. Its location near the Port of Buenos Aires meant the neighbourhood became a melting pot of ...

, had to be postponed due to bad weather. The match started at 12.30 and was played between two teams of British merchants, the ''White'' Caps and the ''Red'' Caps. (In the 19th century, it was common practice for teams to be distinguished by caps rather than shirts). The teams consisted of eight players each as the organisers were unable to find more players for the match. The line-ups were: Thomas Hogg, James Hogg, William Forrester, T. B. Smith, J. W. Bond, E. S. Smith, J. Rabsbottom and N. H. Smith (one team); William Heald, T. R. Best, U. Smith, H. J. Barge, H. Willmont, R. M. Ramsay, J. Simpson and W. Boschetti (second team). The team led by Hogg won 4–0, according to ''The Standard'' newspaper published on June 23. The match played was a blend of both

association Association may refer to: *Club (organization), an association of two or more people united by a common interest or goal *Trade association, an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry *Voluntary associatio ...

and

rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby union: 15 players per side *** American flag rugby *** Beach rugby *** Mini rugby *** Rugby sevens, 7 players per side *** Rugby tens, 10 players per side *** Snow rugby *** Tou ...

footballs, with no goals on the field. The use of hands was also allowed.150 años del primer partido de fútbol en Argentina
by Jorge Gallego on Telam, 20 June 2017 The first chronicle of a football match written in Spanish was published by local newspaper ''El Nacional'' on September 11, 1880. The chronicle referred to a ''"foot-ball"'' match played in a

cricket field A cricket field or cricket oval is a large grass field on which the game of cricket is played. Although generally oval in shape, there is a wide variety within this: perfect circles, elongated ovals, rounded rectangles, or irregular shapes with ...

Montevideo Montevideo (, ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2023 census, the city proper has a population of 1,302,954 (about 37.2% of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...

between an Uruguayan-Argentine combined vs a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

team. The attendance was estimated in 1,000 people. Nevertheless, it is unclear what form of "

" was played due to the number of players on the field (15 per side). Great southern railway fc 1888

The "Southern Railway Athletic Club" (not related with the British railway company) might have been the first organised team under the "Association" rules, according to ''The Standard'', that published a chronicle describing the existence of that team, with records of a match played at Lanús A.C. field in 1888. The chronicle also named Alexander Watson Hutton as one of the GSRFC players. The early matches of the team, in fact, were against

Buenos Aires English High School The Buenos Aires English High School, also known for its abbreviation BAEHS, is a bilingual school established in Belgrano, Buenos Aires in 1884 by Alexander Watson Hutton, considered "the father" of Argentine football. Watson Hutton was born in S ...

First league and development

The so-called "father of Argentine football" was a Glaswegian schoolteacher

Alexander Watson Hutton Alexander Watson Hutton (10 June 1853 – 9 March 1936) was a Scottish teacher and sportsman who is considered "The Father of Argentine football". In 1893 he founded the "Argentine Association Football League" (current Argentine Football Ass ...

, who first taught football at St Andrew's School in Buenos Aires in the early 1880s. On 4 February 1884, he founded the

, 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.''Historia del Fútbol Amateur en la Argentina'', by Jorge Iwanczuk. Published by Autores Editores (1992) - 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 Club Ferro Carril Oeste, known simply as Ferro Carril Oeste or familiarly, Ferro, is an Argentine sports club from the neighbourhood of Caballito, Buenos Aires. Although many activities are hosted by the club, Ferro is mostly known for its assoc ...

, Ferrocarril Midland,

Rosario Central Club Atlético Rosario Central (), more commonly referred to as Rosario Central, or simply Central, is a sports club based in Rosario, Argentina, that plays in the Argentine Primera División. The club was officially founded on 24 December 1889, ...

and Talleres. A new league with the same name as its predecessor, was formed on 21 February 1893. It eventually became the

(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

Newell's Old Boys Club Atlético Newell's 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 of the English county of Kent, one of the pioneers of Argentine football. A ...

and

Quilmes Quilmes () is a city on the coast of the Rio de la Plata, in the , on the southeast end of the Greater Buenos Aires, being some away from the urban centre area of Buenos Aires. The city was founded in 1666 and is the seat of the eponymous '' ...

were all founded by British expatriates. Alumni AC 1904

The most successful and admired team of this early period was

Alumni Alumni (: alumnus () or alumna ()) are former students or graduates of a school, college, or university. The feminine plural alumnae is sometimes used for groups of women, and alums (: alum) or alumns (: alumn) as gender-neutral alternatives. Th ...

, 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 Club Atlético Argentino de Quilmes, simply known as Argentino de Quilmes, is an Argentine association football, football club from Quilmes, Buenos Aires. The team currently plays in Primera B Metropolitana, Primera B, the third division of the ...

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 Asociación Atlética Argentinos Juniors is an Argentine sports club based in La Paternal, Buenos Aires. The club is mostly known for its association football, football team, which currently plays in the Argentine Primera División, and was reco ...

who won the

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...

football clubs A football team is a group of players selected to play together in the various team sports known as football. Such teams could be selected to play in a match against an opposing team, to represent a football club, group, state or nation, an All-st ...

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. Southampton Football Club is a professional football club based in Southampton, Hampshire, England. The club competes in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. Their home ground since 2001 has been St Mary's Stadium, befor ...

in 1904 who were captained by George Molyneaux. They beat the Buenos Aires High School Alumni team 3-0 with Molyneaux remarking 'how far the Argentines were ahead of their European counterparts in France and Denmark.' Several other teams came afterwards (mainly from England although some Scotland clubs also visited South America) until 1929 with

Chelsea F.C. Chelsea Football Club is a professional football club based in Fulham, West London, England. The club was founded in 1905 and named after neighbouring area Chelsea. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football, pl ...

being the last team to tour.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 Argentina, helped by the immigration of British citizens that had arrived to work for British companies (mostly in railway construction). Belgrano A.C., Rosario A.C.,

and

are some examples of clubs established by British immigrants to South America.Plaza Jewell, el club donde nació el deporte rosarino, cumple hoy 145 años
, ''La Capital'', 27 Mar 2012

Consolidation

The early years of the 20th century saw a large number of new clubs formed; by 1907, there were over 300 teams in

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

. Most of the major clubs were created around this period; they played in the national amateur tournament or in local championships. By this time, matches had a considerable attendance and as the popularity of the game increased the British influence on the game waned. In 1911, Alumni folded and by 1912 the Association was renamed in

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

as the Asociación Argentina de Football, although the tradition of giving the clubs English names continued for many years. During the early 20th century, many new football leagues were started in cities across Argentina as the popularity of the game spread out from

Greater Buenos Aires Greater Buenos Aires (, GBA), also known as the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area (, AMBA), refers to the urban agglomeration comprising the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of B ...

, these include

Rosario Rosario () is the largest city in the central provinces of Argentina, Argentine province of Santa Fe Province, Santa Fe. The city, located northwest of Buenos Aires on the west bank of the Paraná River, is the third-most populous city in the ...

(with the establishment of Liga Rosarina in 1905), Córdoba (1912), Santa Fe (1913), Tucumán (1919), San Luis (1920) and

Salta Salta () is the capital and largest city in the Provinces of Argentina, Argentine province of Salta Province, the same name. With a population of 618,375 according to the 2010 census, it is also the List of cities in Argentina, 7th most-populous ...

(1921). Although the city of Rosario did not have an organised league, since 1900 the football squads of Rosario A.C. and

had taken part of the first international tournament in South America, the

Tie Cup The Tie Cup Competition (also known as Copa de Competencia Chevallier Boutell) was an international Association football, football tournament played between representatives of the Argentine Football Association, Argentina and Uruguayan Football Ass ...

, played by teams of

and

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

leagues. Rosario A.C. became the first Rosarian team to win an international competition after winning the cup in 1902, defeating legendary Alumni 2–1 in the playoff match. The squad would win two cups else, in 1904 (beating Uruguayan CURCC 3–2) and 1905 (winning over CURCC again by 4–3) editions, totalling three championships in six years."Cuando el Rosario Athletic salió campeón... de fútbol", CIHF Argentina
Teams from

had also participated in the first National Cups organised by the Argentine Football Association, such as

Copa de Honor Municipalidad de Buenos Aires The Copa de Honor Municipalidad de Buenos Aires was an Argentine official football cup competition. It was contested fourteen times between 1905 and 1920. Racing is the most winning team of the competition, with 4 titles. Overview This cup wa ...

, (which

and

would later win in 1911 and 1916 respectively) The first official match played by the Argentina national team took place on 16 May 1901 against

, a 3–2 win for Argentina. This game marked the beginning of the Argentina and Uruguay football rivalry. The first trophy won by

was the

Copa Lipton The Copa Lipton or Copa de Caridad Lipton was a Association football, football friendly competition contested between Argentina national football team, Argentina and Uruguay national football team, Uruguay national teams. The competition was hel ...

in 1905. They won their first tournament in 1910 (Copa Centenario de la Revolución de Mayo) which was contested between

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

and

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

. Victories and defeats on the soccer field are sometimes seen as symbolic of the country's broader triumphs and challenges. In

1916 Events Below, the events of the First World War have the "WWI" prefix. January * January 1 – The British Empire, British Royal Army Medical Corps carries out the first successful blood transfusion, using blood that has been stored ...

competed in the first

which was won by

would win the tournament for the first time in

1921 Events January * January 2 ** The Association football club Cruzeiro Esporte Clube, from Belo Horizonte, is founded as the multi-sports club Palestra Italia by Italian expatriates in First Brazilian Republic, Brazil. ** The Spanish lin ...

, and have gone on to win it a total of 16 times. During the 1920s decade,

Huracan Huracán (; ; , "one legged"), often referred to as ''U Kʼux Kaj'', the "Heart of Sky", is a Kʼicheʼ people, Kʼicheʼ Maya mythology, Maya god of wind, storm, fire and one of the creator deities who participated in all three attempts at crea ...

was a strong competitor, winning most of the annual championships, as Racing Club did during the 1910s. To mention a tradition, the Huracán footballers and fans used to meet at the historical Japanese Cafe. In

1928 Events January * January – British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith reports the results of Griffith's experiment, indirectly demonstrating that DNA is the genetic material. * January 1 – Eastern Bloc emigration and defection: Boris B ...

, Argentina Olympic football team competed at the 1928 Olympics in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

, where they finished runners-up to

. Two years later, they competed in the first

, again finishing runners up to hosts

. Following two seasons of disrupted play due to mass cancellation and suspension of matches and the mid-season withdrawal of teams in the 1929, and 1930, 18 teams decided to form a breakaway professional league for the 1931 season. The amateur league carried on in parallel until it folded in 1934 with many of the teams joining the new professional second division The creation of the professional league helped curb the exodus of Argentine talent to high paying European football clubs. The

1934 World Cup The 1934 FIFA World Cup was the 2nd edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football championship for senior men's national teams. It took place in Italy from 27 May to 10 June 1934. The 1934 World Cup was the first in whi ...

Italy national team championship side featured several '' Oriundo'' in the squad composed of Argentine-born players such as

Raimundo Orsi Raimundo Bibiani "Mumo" Orsi (2 December 1901 – 6 April 1986) was an Italian Argentine footballer who played as a winger or as a forward. At the international level, he represented both Argentina and Italy, winning the 1927 Copa América a ...

Enrique Guaita Enrique Guaita (; 11 July 1910 – 18 May 1959), also known as Enrico Guaita (), was an Italian Argentine footballer who played for both Argentina and Italy as a forward. He helped win the 1933–35 Central European International Cup & the Wo ...

, and

Luis Monti Luis Felipe Monti (15 May 1901 – 9 September 1983) was an Italian Argentine footballer who played as a midfielder and an Olympian. Monti has the distinction of having played in two FIFA World Cup final matches with two different national teams ...

who also played for Argentina in the 1930 World Cup. In

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 – In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patria ...

, Independiente became the first Argentine club to win the

, Argentine clubs have won the competition a total of 25 times. In

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation, Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 6 – Vietnam War: United States Marine Corps and Army of ...

Racing In sports, racing is a competition of speed, in which competitors try to complete a given task in the shortest amount of time. Typically this involves traversing some distance, but it can be any other task involving speed to reach a specific g ...

became the first Argentine team to win the Intercontinental Cup. Argentine clubs have won the tournament a record 9 times. In

, Argentina hosted the

, where the team defeated the

3–1

after extra time Overtime (OT) or extra time (ET) is an additional period of play to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a Tie (draw), tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played only if the game is ...

in the final to win their first World Cup. In

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

, a young

Diego Maradona Diego Armando Maradona Franco (30 October 196025 November 2020) was an Argentine professional association football, football player and manager. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport, he was one of the two ...

was part of the Argentina under-20 team which won the

FIFA Under-20 World Cup The FIFA U-20 World Cup is the biennial football world championship tournament for FIFA members' men's national teams with players under the age of 20. The competition has been staged every two years since the inaugural tournament in 1977 when i ...

. Argentina have gone on to win a record six U-20 World Cups. Soccer has been intertwined with national identity in many countries, including Argentina. The sport serves as a reflection of national pride, and the success or failure of the national team often mirrors the socio-political climate of the time. Political leaders, such as Perón, recognized the potential of soccer as a tool for promoting nationalism and unity among the population. In the article “Argentine Soccer and Political Power, 1930-1946,” Arkhurst explores how the Argentine government, particularly during Perón's rule, utilized soccer to further political agendas and cultivate a sense of national identity. This could involve examining how political power influenced soccer policies, team selections, or the portrayal of the sport in the media. Historical events, such as the infamous "Dirty War" and the military junta's use of the 1978 World Cup for political purposes, underscore the complex relationship between soccer and politics. The World Cup became a powerful propaganda tool for the government. The authorities utilized the success of the national team to convey an image of normalcy and stability, downplaying the grim reality of the political situation at home. The Argentine victory in the 1978 World Cup final against the Netherlands was strategically exploited by the military junta. The celebration of the triumph was intended to symbolize not only athletic achievement but also political success and control. In 1982, due to an uncertain political atmosphere and an extremely unstable government with multiple presidents over the span of a short time, most football clubs were lacking the money to keep top domestic players. 1982 saw a whole slew of players leave

for

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

: players like

Mario Kempes Mario Alberto Kempes Chiodi (, ; born 15 July 1954) is an Argentine former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football)#Striker, striker or Attacking Midfielder, attacking midfielder. A prolific g ...

(who had already played in

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

and had briefly returned to

Daniel Passarella Daniel Alberto Passarella (born 25 May 1953) is an Argentine former Association football, footballer and Manager (association football), manager, who is considered one of the greatest Defender (association football), defenders of all time. As a ...

and many others leave for

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. In

, Argentina would win their second World Cup in the

1986 World Cup The 1986 FIFA World Cup was the 13th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was played in Mexico from 31 May to 29 June 1986. The tournament was the second to feature a 24-team format. Colombia had ...

, where the team defeated to

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

3–2. In

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

became the first club not based in

to win an international cup recognised by FIFA, the

Conmebol Cup The Copa CONMEBOL () was an annual Association football, football cup competition organized by CONMEBOL between 1992 and 1999 for South American football clubs. During its time of existence, it was a very prestigious South American club football c ...

. Argentine clubs have won the tournament a record three times. In

, the Argentina Olympic football team won Gold at the Athens Olympic games; they defended their title in

to become the first team to defend the Olympic football title since Hungary in 1968. In

, Argentina won the World Cup for the third time, beating

4–2 on penalties following a 3–3 draw after extra time.

Clubs

League system

Around 520 registered football clubs play in the

(AFA) league system, which is organized in a pyramid of seven leagues divided from the third level between ''clubs directly affiliated to AFA ( es)'' and ''clubs indirectly affiliated to AFA ( es)''. In the branch of clubs indirectly affiliated to AFA below the fourth level, there are 250 other Regional Leagues that are affiliated with AFA and compete for the right to enter the league system at the lowest tier. The Primera División is the highest level of club football in Argentina. It was founded in

as an amateur competition, becoming professional in

1931 Events January * January 2 – South Dakota native Ernest Lawrence invents the cyclotron, used to accelerate particles to study nuclear physics. * January 4 – German pilot Elly Beinhorn begins her flight to Africa. * January 22 – Sir I ...

with a league by 18 teams which were dissatisfied with the amateur system they were participating on until

. This group of 18 founding members of the present league included nearly all of the most prominent clubs of those times, unified by the idea that full and compulsory amateurism was no longer sustainable (many of those teams are still today among the most popular clubs in Argentina). For many years, the only winners were the so-called " big five"Argentina - List of champions
at

rsssf The Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation (''RSSSF'') is an international organisation dedicated to collecting statistics about association football. The foundation aims to build an exhaustive archive of football-related information from around ...

(

Boca Juniors Club Atlético Boca Juniors () is an Argentine professional sports club based in La Boca, a neighbourhood of Buenos Aires. The club is best known for its men's professional Association football, football team which, since its promotion in 1913 ...

, Independiente, Racing Club, River Plate and

San Lorenzo de Almagro Club Atlético San Lorenzo de Almagro is an Argentine professional sports club based in the Boedo neighborhood of Buenos Aires. It is best known for its football team, which plays in the Primera División, the first tier of the Argentine foot ...

). This dominance was finally broken in 1967 by

Estudiantes de La Plata ( lit. "La Plata Students"), simply referred to as Estudiantes de La Plata, is an Argentine professional sports club based in La Plata. The club's football team currently competes in the Primera División, where it has spent most of its histo ...

. Since then, ten other teams have won the championship, resulting in a total of 28 teams having been champions of Argentina as of 2021. River Plate has won the most championships with 38. The only teams outside the

and

to have won the championship are

and

from

and Estudiantes and Gimnasia y Esgrima from

La Plata La Plata () is the capital city of Buenos Aires province, Argentina. According to the 2022 Argentina census, census, the La Plata Partido, Partido has a population of 772,618 and its metropolitan area, the Greater La Plata, has 938,287 inhabit ...

. Below the second division,

Primera Nacional Primera Nacional (usually called simply Nacional B, (English "National B Division"), and known as Primera B Nacional until the 2019–20 season) is the second division of the Argentine football league system. The competition is made up of 38 teams ...

, the league system is regionalized with three divisions for ''clubs directly affiliated to AFA ( es)'' of

and twenty one clubs from the cities of

, Santa Fe,

, Zarate, Campana, Luján, Junín,

General Rodríguez General Rodríguez is a city in the urban agglomeration of Greater Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It is the administrative centre An administrative centre is a seat of regional administration or local government, or a county ...

, Cañuelas, Pilar and Mercedes; and two divisions for ''clubs indirectly affiliated to AFA ( es)'' that cover the rest of the country. Even below these seven leagues, Argentine football is regionalized into almost 250 Regional Leagues, which consist of teams that participate in championships and tournaments organized by the Consejo Federal del Fútbol Argentino ( es) (CFFA), internal organ of the

(AFA), to obtain the right to enter the

Torneo Regional Federal Amateur The Torneo Regional Federal Amateur (in English "Regional Federal Amateur Tournament") is one of the two professional leagues that form the regionalised fourth level of the Argentine football league system, along with Primera C Metropolitana. The c ...

, established in 2018.

League championships

The Primera División has been using different formats for its championships, from a double

round-robin tournament A round-robin tournament or all-play-all tournament is a competition format in which each contestant meets every other participant, usually in turn.''Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged'' (1971, G. & ...

(1891 to 1966) to a single round-robin that would become the standard in Latin America, the

Apertura and Clausura The ' () and ' () tournaments is a split Season (sports), season format for Spanish-speaking sports leagues. It is a relatively recent innovation for many Latin American soccer, football sports league, leagues in which the traditional association ...

. In the particular case of Argentina, the Apertura was contested in the second half of the calendar year, and the Clausura was played in the first half of the following year (in order to synchronize the seasons with those of the European football). Different formats used also included the organization of

Metropolitano Metropolitano S.A. was a privately owned consortium formed in 1994 to take over concessions granted by the Argentine government as part of railway privatisation during the presidency of Carlos Menem for the operation of commuter rail services i ...

and

Nacional Nacional, the Portuguese and Spanish word for "national", may refer to: Airlines * Nacional Transportes Aéreos, a Brazilian airline defunct in 2002 * Transportes Aéreos Nacional, a Brazilian airline defunct in 1961 Bank * Banco Nacional, a ...

championships, that lasted from 1967 to 1985. As of 2024 season, the Argentine Primera División league is made up of 28 teams, with a championship organized in a single round-robin schedule, resulting in a total of 27 rounds per team. Six teams from Argentina are eligible to play the

, four from the league championship and the rest from the

Copa Argentina The Copa Argentina (English: ''Argentine Cup''), officially known as the "Copa Argentina AXION energy" due to sponsorship reasons, is an official football cup competition organized by the Argentine Football Association (AFA). The first editions ...

and

Copa de la Liga Profesional The Copa de la Liga Profesional (English: ''Professional League Cup''; officially named "Copa Diego Armando Maradona" in its first edition) was an official Argentine football cup competition. The cup was planned and organised by the "Liga Profes ...

. The following six teams in the general table of the league championship are eligible to play the

Copa Sudamericana The CONMEBOL Sudamericana, also known as Copa Sudamericana (; ), is an annual international club football competition organized by CONMEBOL, the governing body of football in South America, since 2002. It is the second-most prestigious club com ...

. From 1891 to date, River Plate is the most winning team with 38 domestic championships, followed by

with 35 titles.

holds the third position with 18 titles.

Domestic cups

Since the creation of the first league in 1891, several cups have been played in Argentine apart from the main competition, the Primera División. The first cup held in the country was the

; first contested in 1905, it was played until 1936. As of the present, four domestic cups are held in Argentina: the

, that includes teams of all divisions of Argentine football, and the

Supercopa Argentina The Supercopa Argentina (English: Argentine Super Cup) is an official national association football cup of Argentina organized by the Argentine Football Association (AFA). The annual football match was played for the first time in 2012, being con ...

–contested by the reigning champions of Primera División and Copa Argentina, organised by the AFA. The third and fourth one are the

and Trofeo de Campeones, both organised by the Liga Profesional de Fútbol body. The annual football match was played for the first time in 2019, being played by the champions of Primera División and Copa de la Superliga Argentina respectively. The

Copa Campeonato The Copa Campeonato Primera División (familiarly known as Superfinal) was an official Argentine football cup competition organized by the Argentine Football Association. It was played in a single match format between the Torneo Inicial and Torne ...

, originally awarded to Primera División champion, is the oldest trophy of Argentine football,"El trofeo más añejo del fútbol argentino" at AFA website
, 26 Jun 2013 having been established in 1896, three year after the AFA was created, and played without interruption until 1926. The Cup received several names, such as "Championship Cup", "Copa Campeonato", "Challenge Cup" and "Copa Alumni", due to the association offered legendary team

to keep the Cup definitely for having won it three consecutive times (1900–02), but the club from Belgrano declined the honour to keep the trophy under dispute. All those competitions, although not considered league tournaments, are regarded as official titles.

Rivalries

There are many local rivalries in Argentine football. The most important is the ''Superderby'', which is contested between Argentina's two most popular and successful teams,

rivals River Plate and

. The English newspaper ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...

'' put the ''superclásico'' (name in Spanish) at the top of their list of "The 50 Sporting Things You Must Do Before You Die". The second-most important rivalry in Argentine football is the ''

Avellaneda derby The Avellaneda derby (Spanish: ''Clásico de Avellaneda'') is the second-most important rivalry in Argentine football. It is contested between Independiente and Racing Club. It is the second-most important local derby, behind the ''Superclási ...

'', which is contested between Independiente and

, the third- and fourth-most popular and third- and fourth-most successful teams of the country (respectively), both from the city of

Avellaneda Avellaneda (, ) is a port city in the provinces of Argentina, province of Buenos Aires Province, Buenos Aires, Argentina, and the seat of the Avellaneda Partido, whose population was 342,677 as per the . Avellaneda is located within the Greater B ...

(located next to Buenos Aires, into it metropolitan area). Other important derbies include the derby between

Huracán Huracán (; ; , "one legged"), often referred to as ''U Kʼux Kaj'', the "Heart of Sky", is a Kʼicheʼ Maya god of wind, storm, fire and one of the creator deities who participated in all three attempts at creating humanity. He also caused th ...

and

(has no particular denomination), the '' Rosario derby'' (between

and

), the '' La Plata derby'' (between

and

Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata Club de Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata (; ''La Plata Gymnastics and Fencing Club''), also known simply as Gimnasia, is an Argentine professional sports club based in the city of La Plata, Buenos Aires Province. Founded in 1887 as "Club de Gimnasia ...

), the ''West derby'' (between

and Vélez Sarsfield), the derby between

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

and

Chacarita Juniors Club Atlético Chacarita Juniors (usually known simply as Chacarita) is an Argentine association football, football club headquartered in Villa Crespo, Buenos Aires, while the stadium is located in Villa Maipú, General San Martín Partido of Gre ...

(formerly denominated "Villa Crespo derby"), the '' Santa Fe derby'' (between Colón and Unión), the ''North Zone derby'' (between Platense and Tigre), the ''Cordoba derby'' (between Belgrano and Talleres), the derby between Instituto and

Racing de Córdoba Club Atlético Racing, known as Racing de Córdoba, is an Argentine sports club headquartered in the city of Córdoba. The football team currently plays in Primera Nacional, the regionalised second division of the Argentine football league sys ...

(has no particular denomination) and the ''Tucuman derby'' (between San Martín and

Atlético Tucumán Club Atlético Tucumán (mostly known as Atlético Tucumán) is an Argentine football club based in the city of San Miguel de Tucumán of Tucumán Province. Although several sports are practised at the club, Atlético is mostly known for its footba ...

Style of play

Circumstances allowed the wide development of a special style, called "pasture football", little regulated, often massive, without coaches, captains or parents. This includes a variety of soccer games, from more or less formal matches, to mass informal matches such as "el picado", or games such as "goal-goal-enter", the "loco", the "run", the " center-goal ", the" cañito-la liga ", the" football-tennis ", the" coca-cola ", the" head ", and so on. These conditions promoted a game based fundamentally on improvisation and individual skill in handling the ball, the so-called "art of dribbling" (dribbling), and the short pass, as well as a more physical and violent defensive game, with resource systematic to the old law of British premodern football, "hacking" or trip, known in the Río de la Plata as "ax".

Clubs at international competitions

The first international club competition was organized by both,

Argentine Argentines, Argentinians or Argentineans are people from Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural. For most Argentines, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their ...

and

Uruguayan Uruguayans () are people identified with the country of Uruguay, through citizenship or descent. Uruguay is home to people of different ethnic origins. As a result, many Uruguayans do not equate their nationality with ethnicity, but with citizen ...

associations, with the establishment of

or "Copa de Competencia Chevallier Boutell" in 1900. The tournament was held until 1919. Several competitions between teams from both countries followed, being the last the

Copa Aldao The Copa Ricardo Aldao ( English: ''Ricardo Aldao Cup''), popularly called Campeonato Rioplatense and Copa Río de La Plata, was an official AFA- AUF football club competition contested annually, albeit irregularly, between the league champions o ...

, which last edition was played in 1955. The most successful Argentine club on the international stage is

. The club has won a total of 22 international titles. Three of its wins are the Intercontinental Cup titles of

1977 Events January * January 8 – 1977 Moscow bombings, Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (no ...

and

. Independiente has won the most important continental title on the most occasions, its seven

titles is a record, as is its feat of winning the title on four consecutive occasions (1972–75).Copa Libertadores
at

Also, Independiente was the most successful club on international cups by more than twenty years. These achievements earned them the nickname of ''Rey de Copas (King of Cups)''. A number of other Argentine clubs have won the Copa Libertadores, including

and River Plate (four times each; Estudiantes in

1968 Events January–February * January 1968, January – The I'm Backing Britain, I'm Backing Britain campaign starts spontaneously. * January 5 – Prague Spring: Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Cze ...

1969 1969 ( MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1969th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 969th year of the 2nd millennium, the 69th year of the 20th century, and the ...

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 1970 Tonghai earthquake, Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli ...

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

and River Plate in

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

(

), Vélez Sarsfield (

) and

San Lorenzo San Lorenzo is the Italian and Spanish name for Saint Lawrence, the 3rd-century Christian martyr, and may refer to: Places Argentina * San Lorenzo, Santa Fe * San Lorenzo Department, Chaco * Villa San Lorenzo, town and municipality in Salta P ...

(

). Some Argentine teams have won international titles without having won a Primera División title, such as

Talleres de Córdoba Club Atlético Talleres (; ), mostly known simply as Talleres ( in Rioplatense Spanish, Rioplatense accent and or in Cordobés Spanish, Cordobés accent; ), is an Football in Argentina, Argentine professional sports club based in the city of C ...

that won the

Copa CONMEBOL The Copa CONMEBOL () was an annual football cup competition organized by CONMEBOL between 1992 and 1999 for South American football clubs. During its time of existence, it was a very prestigious South American club football contest, similar to the ...

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

Arsenal de Sarandí Arsenal Fútbol Club (), usually referred as Arsenal de Sarandí , or simply Arsenal, is an Argentine sports club from the Sarandí district of Avellaneda Partido, Greater Buenos Aires. The football team currently plays in Primera Nacional, t ...

winning the

(although the team then won a title, the 2012 Torneo Clausura) and

Defensa y Justicia Club Social y Deportivo Defensa y Justicia, commonly known as Defensa y Justicia, is an Argentine football club from Florencio Varela, Buenos Aires, established in 1935.

winning the

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

List of international competitions (1900–present)

Argentine clubs have taken part of the following international club competitions, in order of appearance:

Culture

The leaders wanted to find a way to bring all of the Argentines of separate neighbourhoods together to build a united national identity, and the solution was football. Football games could draw out the people of various neighbourhoods to the stadium, and conserve with different individuals. People of all social classes, the British, and workers, all came together through the game and forged an identity between all different groups. The love of football evolved in Argentina, creating a sense of shared identity among them, and surpassed the leader's goal of unifying their citizens. It is a passion that unites people across social, economic and cultural divides. Football plays an important part in the life of many Argentines. Even those supporters who usually do not attend the matches watch them on television and comment on them the next day with friends and co-workers. When the

Argentina national football team The Argentina national football team (), nicknamed ''La Albiceleste'' (), represents Argentina in men's international Association football, football and is administered by the Argentine Football Association, Asociación del Fútbol Argentino ( ...

plays (especially during world cup matches), streets tend to look completely deserted as everyone is watching the match. Football is a form of cultural expression in Argentina. The way the game is played, celebrated, and discussed becomes a reflection of the national character. The chants, rituals, and traditions associated with football’s contribute to the unique cultural identity of Argentina. Chants like, “ Vamos, vamos, Argentina!” push the pride of their national identity and, the song ''Ole Ole Ola'' talks about how they love being Argentinian and every day they wake up and love it even more. These are the most common chants mentioned by the Argentinians during football . After the victories in

1978 FIFA World Cup The 1978 FIFA World Cup was the 11th edition of the FIFA World Cup, a Anniversary#Latin-derived numerical names, quadrennial international Association football, football world championship tournament among the men's senior national teams. It wa ...

and

1986 FIFA World Cup The 1986 FIFA World Cup was the 13th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial Association football, football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was played in Mexico from 31 May to 29 June 1986. The tournament was the second to feature a 24-tea ...

, streets were flooded with people celebrating the championship, making it impossible not to become part of the celebration. But before that in the 1920s is when the culture around Argentina's men's football team started and it had something this to do with the mass media boom during that time. With the mass media boom and having the first generation of immigrant children born, the Argentina government decided to use the Argentina's men's football team as way to establish a connection with them and the country so they could be proud of their nationality. So the media wrote that the team played so well and has created its nation team style and with its attention grabbing headlines reached a very wide audience. With this style it continued and by October 1924 it ranked third in Buenos Aires many daily's. By then end of the decade it was selling 300,000 copies a day. And their way of reporting on football had a big effect on these statistics. According to "National Identity in the Sports Pages: Football and the Mass Media in 1920s Buenos Aires" by Matthew B. Karush. It was in 1986 when the figure of

exploded, becoming an icon not only of Argentine football but of football itself. In Argentina, Maradona became something resemblant of a god (see Maradonian Church), admired by fans of every club (even River Plate). He was the physical embodiment of pride in Argentina and, got the support from all his fellow Argentines and is admired by fans across the globe. Lionel Messi's success and talent on the soccer field contribute to a sense of pride and unity among Argentinians. His achievements, including leading Argentina to victory in international competitions, are celebrated as national triumphs, fostering a positive national identity. His global popularity has turned him into a marketable figure, contributing to the commercialization of Argentine football . His endorsements, sponsorships, and branding extend beyond national borders, shaping Argentina's image on the international stage. Despite the growing popularity of women's soccer, gender dynamics within the sport still present challenges. Women's football historically received less attention, funding, and recognition compared to the men's game. Messi's influence can potentially contribute to addressing these disparities. Messi's role as a cultural ambassador through soccer contributes to the way Argentina is perceived globally. His influence extends beyond the sport, shaping narratives about the country's culture, resilience, and determination. Supporters in Argentinian football stadiums operate under a key principle known as ''Aguante'' (Endurance) which serves as a belief system that guides the behavior of those in attendance. Key values that make up ''aguante'' that scholars such as ''Eduardo Herrera'' have also claimed are central in the construction of Argentinian masculinity are courage, endurance, and fearlessness in physical confrontation.Herrera, Eduardo. 2018. “Masculinity, Violence, and Deindividuation in Argentine Soccer Chants: The Sonic Potentials of Participatory Sounding-in-Synchrony.” Ethnomusicology 62(3): 470-499 Fans can showcase these values when they are at stadiums in three significant way which are always supporting your team with your participation in chants and jumping throughout the match, attending literally every match that your team plays regardless of the circumstances, and standing your ground in the face of opposition insults or when engaged in any physical altercations at the stadium. It is under this principal of ''aguante'' that those in attendance of stadium matches in Argentina can be labeled under three broad categories which are ''hinchas'' (Fans), ''hinchinda militantes'' (militant fans), and ''espectadores'' (spectator). Those who classified as ''Hinchas'' exhibit many of the qualities under the ''aguante'' principle and often go to many of their team's matches, while ''hinchinda militantes'' who are usually found behind the goals with their team colors strictly follow what is asked of them under ''aguante'' by attending every of their team's matches regardless of the weather or performance of the team. The ''espectadores'' attend matches to enjoy the play of the game but do not weigh the principal of aguante close to heart compared the other two fan categories. Within the broad category of ''hinchinda militantes'' it is made up of la barra (supporters), ''la banda'' (the band), ''los pibes'' (the kids), and ''la pandilla'' (gang). ''La Barra'' is the central figure within the ''hinchinda militantes'' because of the critical role these subgroups of fans have in shaping the atmosphere of the stadium during matches and lead under a hierarchical structure with a capo (boss) at the top who organizes and tropes(followers) who heed the direction/instructions of the capo. The leadership of these organized subgroups of fans, which are mainly made up of men between the ages of 15–50 years old, are entirely driven by demonstrations of aguante and awarded additional benefits stemming from relationships with club executives that grant special privileges to these groups such as tickets or allowing them to bring in typically prohibited items into the stadium to stir energy and excitement for the football club during the match. The excitement and passion at stadiums are typically found to be instigated and sustained by the presence of the percussion and brass instrument brought in by barras groups. The typical percussion instruments that are brought in and played by members of the barras at stadiums are the bombo con platillo (bass drum), Brazilian surdo drums, redoblantes (snare drums), repiques, scrappers, tambourines, cowbells, and agogo bells. The brass instruments that are typically played at stadiums by outside musicians hired by barras groups are trumpets, trombones, and euphoniums. While the collective energy and synchronization incited by the music can create a sense of unity among attendants and supporters alike, ethnomusicological scholar Eduardo Herrera also believes that they can embolden individuals to normalize discriminatory behavior that they wouldn't otherwise do if they weren't in a crowd, which would explain some of the recorded derogatory language and violent behavior found in Argentinian stadiums. Argentine fans are not allowed to travel to see their teams in away matches, as they have been banned since 2013. ''Hinchas'' (supporters) create an emotional ambiance in many stadiums, singing and cheering loudly all game long, but since the away fan ban due to violence, the atmosphere in many stadia has become poorer, with goals for away teams greeted by silence and the disappearance of ''round trip chants'' between home and away fans, that provoked in each side to sing louder for show more passion. ''

Barra brava () is the name of organized supporters' groups of association football, football teams in Hispanic America that provides fanatical support to their clubs in stadiums and provoke violence against rival fans as well as against the police. Actio ...

s'' (Argentine organized groups – like the English hooligan firms) also create occasional problems, usually in riots after the match.

Major football stadiums

The major 50,000 plus capacity stadiums in the country are (in brackets, the owner/home team and its capacity): Mâs Monumental ( River Plate – 84,567 spectators),

La Bombonera La Bombonera (; , named after its resemblance to a chocolate box, per Viktor Sulčič), officially known as Alberto José Armando Stadium (, ; named after Alberto Armando), is an association football stadium located in Buenos Aires, Argentina. ...

(

– 57,200),

(owned by the Córdoba Province – 57,000),

El Cilindro El Cilindro (; , named after its cylindrical structure), officially known as Presidente Perón Stadium (, ; , named after Juan Perón), is an association football stadium in Avellaneda, Argentina. It is the home of Racing. Opened in 1950 on the ...

(Racing – 55,880) and Ciudad de La Plata (owned by the Buenos Aires Province – 53,000). Stadiums with 45,000 plus capacity include

José Amalfitani José Amalfitani (June 16, 1894 – May 14, 1969), nicknamed ''Don Pepe'' (in English "Mr. Pepe"), was an Argentina, Argentine Construction management, construction manager, Sports journalism, sports journalist and association football executive ...

( Vélez Sársfield – 49,540), Tomás Adolfo Ducó (

– 48,314),El Palacio
at C.A. Huracán Pedro Bidegain (

– 47,964). and Ciudad de Lanús (

Lanús Lanús () is the capital of Lanús Partido, Buenos Aires Province in Argentina. It lies just south of the capital city Buenos Aires, in the Greater Buenos Aires conurbation, metropolitan area. The List of cities in Argentina, city has a populati ...

– 47,090),Estadio
on C.A. Lanús

References

External links

Argentine Football Association
{{DEFAULTSORT:Football In Argentina