- Club Atlético Porteño
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Porteño 
Full name Club Atlético Porteño Union Unión Argentina de Rugby Founded July 28, 1895 Location San Vicente, Buenos Aires, Argentina President Ricardo Destuet Coach(es) Claudio Spataro League(s) Nacional de Clubes, URBA 
1st kit2nd kitClub Atlético Porteño is a rugby union and field hockey club sited in San Vicente, Buenos Aires Province of Argentina. The club was founded on July 28, 1895 by Irish immigrants as a football team, which participated in tournaments organized by the Argentine Football Association until 1931 when football became professional in Argentina. The rugby team plays in the Unión de Rugby de Buenos Aires tournaments.
Contents
History
The beginning
In 1895 Cavanagh, Geogeham, Kenny and O’Farrel were just a group of boys who wanted to form a football team, but they had no money. On July 28, 1895, they met in the Hipodromo Argentino de Palermo and founded the Club Atlético Capital designing Tomas Hagan as president. A few months later, those immigrants bet they money they had saved to a horse called Porteño, which finally won the race paying a hugh amount of money.
With the money got in the race, the boys bought the equipment necessary to play football: balls, jerseys, shorts, socks and shoes and they renamed the club as a tribute to that horse, so Club Atlético Porteño was the name chosen.[1]
The football years (1907-31)
The football team play in Primera División until 1928, when was relegated to Sección B. In 1931 Porteño desaffiliated from the Football Federation and has not played in official categories since. Porteño was also the first Argentine team which stadium had its first standground built in concrete in the City of Buenos Aires. The stadium was located in Palermo neighborhood, on Valentín Alsina Avenue.
Porteño football team won a total of 2 championships between 1912 and 1914 and two Copa de Competencia Jockey Club in 1915 and 1918. [1]
Rugby union
Although football team was disbanded, Porteño kept other sports active, such as rugby union, which is currently practised in the club facilities located in San Vicente. The reason why Porteño went off football was that the club wanted to keep as amateur, and the rugby union (which is not a professional sport in Argentina) was the sport chosen to go on.
Porteño affiliated to Unión de Rugby del Río de la Plata in 1932. The team debuted that season in the third division, finishing 6th. In 1935 the team promoted to the second division and in 1939 Portaño won the first division championship organized by the Federación Católica Argentina de Rugby.
In 1944 the Government of the City of Buenos Aires notified Porteño they had to leave their lands in Palermo, which were expropriated in 1945.
In 1951 Porteño won the long-awaited promotion to Primera División, but the team remained there just one season so the following year was relegated after losing its match at the hands of Estudiantes de Paraná.
After playing in different fields, the club finally could acquire a land located in Magallanes and Pardo streets of San Vicente in 1971. Porteño still has its facilities there. The same year the club formed its first women's field hockey, which has been developing as years went by.
Colours
While the football team colors were blue and white vertical stripes, it is said that rugby shirt colors took their existing back in the '30s, when a group of players then Sportive Francaise approached the club join their ranks. People Porteño, in recognition of this gesture, designed the shirt with blue colors of the flag of Argentina, and blue flag of France.
The football team colours (1907-31) Titles
Football
- Asociación Argentina de Football: 2
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- 1912, 1914
- The AAF was a rival association, not recognised by FIFA
- 1912, 1914
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- 1915, 1918
Stadistics
References
External links
- Club Porteño at URBA official page (Spanish)
- Copa de Competencia "Jockey Club" at RSSSF (English)
Categories:- Argentine rugby union teams
- Association football clubs established in 1895
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