1891 in Argentine football
1891 in Argentine football saw the first ever Argentine championship which was run by the Association Argentine Football (AAF) making Argentina's the oldest football league outside mainland Britain.[1] This tournament was organized by the Argentine Association Football League which president was F.L. Wooley. This league only lasted one season, so in 1892 no championship was held. In 1893 other Association with the same name would be established by Alexander Watson Hutton becoming current Argentine Football Association.[2]
| Season | 1891 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men's football | ||||
| Primera División | St. Andrew's Old Caledonians | |||
| ||||
At the end of the season, St. Andrew's and Old Caledonians finished at the top position with 13 points each. They were declared joint champions, but played a playoff match to decide which team got to keep the medals, being St. Andrew's the winner. Nevertheless, the Argentine Football Association website only mentions St. Andrew's as the first champion ever,[3] although the body (established in 1893) did not organised the tournament.
Primera división
The championship took the format of a league of 5 teams, with each team playing the other twice. Many of the results of individual games have been lost, hence the lack of goals for and against in the table below. Hurlingham registered in the tournament but did not take part of the same.[4][5]
Final standings
| Pos | Team | Pts | G | W | D | L |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Old Caledonians | 13 | 8 | 6 | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | St. Andrew's | 13 | 8 | 6 | 1 | 1 |
| 3 | Buenos Aires and Rosario Railway | 7 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| 4 | Belgrano F.C. [lower-alpha 1] | 5 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 5 |
| 5 | Buenos Aires Football Club [lower-alpha 2] | 2 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 7 |
Playoff game
This match was played to decide which team got to keep the medals.
| St. Andrew's | 3-1 | Old Caledonians |
|---|---|---|
| Moffatt (3) | Wilson |
Notes
- Predecessor of current Belgrano Athletic Club.
- This was not the club founded by the Hogg brothers but another football club that only participated in this championship. The team's jersey was red and white in vertical stripes while its venue was located in Flores, Buenos Aires.[5]
References
- "Salvation army" by Tim Pears, The Guardian, Sunday 4 June 2006
- "Orígenes de la Asociación" - AFA website
- Campeones de Primera División - AFA website
- Argentina 1891 by Osvaldo José Gorgazzi at RSSSF
- Historia del Fútbol Amateur en la Argentina, by Jorge Iwanczuk - ISBN 950-43-4384-8