British football clubs tours to South America


s tours over South America contributed to the spread and develop of football in the region during the first years of the 20th century. The first club to tour on the region was Southampton F.C. in 1904, followed by several teams until 1929 with Chelsea F.C. being the last team to tour.
During those 25 years of tours, British teams' performances were decreasing while the South American squads' style of playing improved. Indeed, Southampton won all of their matches in 1904 with 40 goals scored in 1904 while Chelsea was defeated eight times in their 1929 tour.

Background

Football were gaining popularity in Argentina and Uruguay and the associations brought foreign teams to their countries as a way of encourage the practise of the sport among the large number of enthusiasts. In fact, Argentine Primera División was the first football league outside of the British Isles, having been held since 1891 to the present.
British teams were considered the best in the world by then, and some of them served as inspiration to establish football clubs in Argentina and Uruguay, helped by the immigration of British citizens that had arrived to worked for British companies. CURCC, Belgrano A.C., Rosario A.C., Alumni and Quilmes are some examples of clubs established by British immigrants to South America.
Football had been introduced many years ago in both countries, being the first game played in Argentina on June 20, 1867, with the establishment of Buenos Aires Football Club, the first football club not only in Argentina but in South America. In Uruguay, football had been introduced in 1870. Argentina organised its first league championship, Primera División, in 1891 while its Uruguayan homonymous held its first championship in 1900.
Both countries considered themselves rivals due to their proximity. Moreover, they had the only organised bodies in South America and had held some earlier competitions such as Tie Cup or Copa de Honor Cousenier, played by champions of each association.
In some cases, the influence of British clubs on Argentine football extended to the colours adopted by some clubs. Arístides Langone, president of Club Atlético Independiente, was so impressed by the Nottingham Forest squad that beat local Alumni by 6–0 that he suggested to change the jersey colours from white and blue to red. The request was approved and Independiente adopted the colour that would later become an identity mark for the club, being known as El Rojo .
Some versions also state that Quilmes A.C. was another institution that took the colours from a British squad, in this case the white jersey with blue details of the English national team, although there is no evidence to prove that statement.

Tours

was the first foreign club to tour South America, followed by Nottingham Forest F.C. in 1905. One of its games, against Alumni in Buenos Aires, was attended by 10,000 spectators, what proves the interest of Argentine fans to see the local forces facing British sides, considered technically superior by them.
The first team to defeat a British side was Argentine Alumni, who defeated the South Africa team by 1–0 at Sociedad Sportiva Argentina stadium in Palermo. The relevance of the victory was expressed by local media, such as La Nación writing: "For our national football, the Alumni v South Africa match was a great triumph that will be remembered for a long time in everyone's memory, serving as example and stimulus for the future", while British-origin newspaper The Standard wrote "it was a glorious victory and what happened in La Sportiva is promising for Argentine football".
Corinthian F.C. of London was the first British club to tour Brazil in 1910, playing ten games in the cities of Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo. The team inspired a group of railway workers to establish a club which they named after the British team, therefore S.C. Corinthians was founded in September 1910.
Corinthian F.C. would return to Brazil in 1913, becoming the only British team that toured South America twice.
Exeter City was the first British team to play beyond Argentina and Uruguay when they reached Brazil to play a series of friendly matches in Rio de Janeiro, finishing their tour on July 21, 1914, when Exeter played Brazil national team, in which was the first match ever played by the scratch.
Nevertheless, newspapers in Argentina were left disappointed with City's performances during the tour. Tribuna describing them as "the most mediocre team of professionals sent out by the FA from the home of football", and the Buenos Aires Herald complaining that the Grecians were not "sufficiently superior".
Plymouth Argyle thrashed the Uruguay national team 4–0 in their first game before pulling off another shock by beating Argentina 1–0. Plymouth Argyle was the team that faced Argentina most times, with 4 matches played between both squads.
In the match against Boca Juniors on 9 July 1924, the Boca Juniors supporters invaded the pitch after their team had scored the opening goal and carried all eleven home players shoulder high around the stadium. After a half hour delay, the referee restarted the match, but a further invasion was sparked when the referee awarded a penalty against the home side. When the match was again restarted, the Argyle players had agreed that Patsy Corcoran would take the spot-kick and miss, to prevent another pitch invasion. However, the ultra-competitive Russell was not prepared to accept this, and just before Corcoran was about to take the penalty he was pushed aside by Russell who took it himself and scored. This prompted a further pitch invasion by the Boca fans and this time the match was abandoned.
Chelsea F.C. was the last British club to tour South America, in 1929. Since the first tour in 1904, the South American players had evolved a lot, as they were described as "true masters in tactical play" by Chelsea chairman Kirby himself. He also remarked the style and ball control on offer, perhaps a consequence of the outstanding sporting facilities many of the amateur teams possessed. The evolution of South American football was also evident in the tour results: of 16 games played during their three months tour, Chelsea only won five, with eight loses. On the other hand, the Chelsea players emphasised the "unfair play" of some Argentine players and the violent surrounding atmosphere of the supporters in Argentina. The Chelsea management complained to the Football Association that "non-observance of the laws of the game hindered real football".
Some players that were part of British teams touring South America, would then hired as coaches in the continent. Walter Bull of Totenham Hotspur went to Argentina, John Harley to Uruguay while John Hamilton went to Brazil in 1907, becoming the first professional coach in the country.

List of British clubs by year of tour

Countries visited indicated in each case:
TeamYearArgUruBraSource
Southampton1904
Nottingham Forest1905
South Africa F.A.1906
Everton1909
Tottenham Hotspur1909
Corinthian1910
Swindown Town1912
Corinthian1913
Exeter City1914
Third Lanark1923
Plymouth Argyle1924
Motherwell1928
Chelsea1929

Matches details (by club)

Complete list of visitors and games played in Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil.
Indicates British clubs defeats.

Southampton

DateVenueRivalScore
26 Jun 1904Sociedad SportivaAlumni3-0
3 Jul 1904Sociedad Sportiva"Británicos" 10-0
6 Jul 1904Sociedad SportivaBelgrano A.C.6-1
9 Jul 1904Sociedad Sportiva8-0
10 Jul 1904Sociedad SportivaLiga Argentina 5-3
14 Jul 1904Parque CentralLiga Uruguaya 8-1

PlWDLGsGc
6600405

;Notes

Nottingham Forest

DateVenueRivalScore
11 Jun 1905Parque CentralCURCC6-1
16 Jun 1905Plaza JewellRosario Combined 5-3
18 Jun 1905Sociedad SportivaBelgrano A.C.7-0
22 Jun 1905Sociedad Sportiva"Británicos"13-1
24 Jun 1905Sociedad SportivaRosario Combined 6-0
25 Jun 1905Sociedad SportivaAlumni6-0
29 Jun 1905Sociedad Sportiva5-0
2 Jul 1905Sociedad SportivaLiga Argentina9-1

PlWDLGsGc
8800576

;Notes

South Africa

DateVenueRivalScore
22 Jun 1906Sociedad Sportiva"Universitarios" 14-0
24 Jun 1906Sociedad SportivaAlumni0-1
29 Jun 1906Sociedad SportivaBelgrano A.C.6-0
1 Jul 1906Plaza JewellLiga Rosarina9-0
8 Jul 1906Sociedad Sportiva"Británicos"4-1
9 Jul 1906Sociedad Sportiva1-0
12 Jul 1906Sociedad SportivaEstudiantes 3-2
15 Jul 1906Sociedad SportivaLiga Argentina4-1
18 Jul 1906Parque CentralLiga Uruguaya6-1
22 Jul 1906Sociedad SportivaAlumni2-0
26 Jul 1906Sociedad SportivaQuilmes5-1

PlWDLGsGc
111001547

;Notes

Everton

DateVenueRivalScore
06 Jun 1909Sociedad SportivaTottenham Hotspur2-2
10 Jun 1909Sociedad SportivaAlumni4-0
13 Jun 1909Parque CentralLiga Uruguaya2-1
19 Jun 1909Sociedad SportivaTottenham Hotspur4-0
20 Jun 1909Sociedad SportivaLiga Argentina4-1

PlWDLGsGc
5410164

Tottenham Hotspur

DateVenueRivalScore
06 Jun 1909Sociedad SportivaEverton2-2
10 Jun 1909Parque CentralLiga Uruguaya8-0
13 Jun 1909Sociedad Sportiva1-0
16 Jun 1909Sociedad SportivaLiga Argentina4-1
19 Jun 1909Sociedad SportivaEverton0-4
20 Jun 1909Club Argentino Liga Rosarina9-0
24 Jun 1909Sociedad SportivaAlumni5-0

PlWDLGsGc
7511297

Corinthian (1910)

DateVenueRivalScore
24 Ago 1910das LaranjeirasFluminense10-1
26 Ago 1910das LaranjeirasRio de Janeiro Combined8-1
28 Ago 1910das LaranjeirasRio de Janeiro Combined5-2
31 Ago 1910São PauloA.A. das Palmeiras 2-0
2 Sep 1910São PauloPaulistas Combined5-0
4 Sep 1910São PauloForeigners Sao Paulo8-2

PlWDLGsGc
6600386

;Notes

Swindon Town

DateVenueRivalScore
16 Jun 1912GEBACombinado Norte2-2
22 Jun 1912GEBASan Isidro4-1
23 Jun 1912GEBACombinado Sur2-0
29 Jun 1912Club Argentino Liga Rosarina3-1
30 Jun 1912GEBALiga Argentina2-2
4 Jul 1912GEBAEstudiantes 4-0
7 Jul 1912Parque CentralLiga Uruguaya3-0
9 Jul 1912GEBA1-0

PlWDLGsGc
8620216

Corinthian (1913)

DateVenueRivalScore
21 Aug 1913das LaranjeirasRio de Janeiro Combined1-2
23 Aug 1913das LaranjeirasForeigners Rio4-0
24 Aug 1913das LaranjeirasBrazilians Rio2-1
28 Aug 1913Sao PauloPaulistano2-1
30 Aug 1913Sao PauloMcKenzie College8-2
31 Aug 1913Sao PauloA.A. das Palmeiras1-1

PlWDLGsGc
6411187

Exeter City

DateVenueRivalScore
14 Jun 1914RacingCombinado Norte0-1
21 Jun 1914RacingCombinado Sur3-0
24 Jun 1914RacingRacing2-0
28 Jun 1914Club Argentino Liga Rosarina3-1
29 Jun 1914RacingCombined team5-0
9 Jul 1914RacingLiga Argentina3-0
11 Jul 1914Ferro C. Oeste0-0
12 Jul 1914RacingLiga Argentina3-1
18 Jul 1914das LaranjeirasEnglish of Rio3-0
19 Jul 1914das LaranjeirasRio de Janeiro Combined5-3
21 Jul 1914das Laranjeiras0-2

PlWDLGsGc
11812278

Third Lanark

DateVenueRivalScore
10 June 1923River PlateCombinado Norte0-1
17 June 1923River PlateCombinado Sud1-3
19 June 1923Estación Pocitos1-1
24 June 1923River Plate1-3
29 June 1923River PlateIndependiente1-2
1 Jul 1923River PlateCombinado Provincia3-2
4 Jul 1923Estación PocitosPeñarol2-0
8 Jul 1923River PlateCombinado Argentina/Uruguay3-2

PlWDLGsGc
83141214

Plymouth Argyle

DateVenueRivalScore
22 Jun 1924Sportivo Barracas0-1
29 Jun 1924Sportivo Barracas0-3
4 Jul 1924Parque Central4-0
6 Jul 1924Newell'sRosario Combined0-0
8 Jul 1924Boca JuniorsRosario Combined1-2
9 Jul 1924Boca JuniorsBoca Juniors0-0
13 Jul 1924Boca Juniors1-0
18 Jul 1924Parque Central1-1
20 Jul 1924Sportivo Barracas0-1

PlWDLGsGc
923478

Motherwell

DateVenueRivalScore
13 May 1928River PlateCombinado Capital 0-1
17 May 1928River PlateCombinado Provincia 1-2
20 May 1928Sp. BarracasCombinado Capital2-3
25 May 1928IndependienteLiga Rosarina4-3
27 May 1928Boca Juniors 3-0
3 Jun 1928River PlateCombinado Rioplatense3-0
5 Jun 1928RacingCombinado del Interior4-1
7 Jun 1928Newell's O.B.Liga Rosarina3-2
9 Jun 1928Boca Juniors Boca Juniors0-2
10 Jun 1928Parque CentralPeñarol1-0
14 Jun 1928Estación PocitosPeñarol1-2
21 Jun 1928das LaranjeirasRio de Janeiro1-1
24 Jun 1928das Laranjeiras1-4

PlWDLGsGc
137062421

;Notes

Chelsea

DateVenueRivalScore
25 May 1929San LorenzoCombinado Capital3-2
26 May 1929RacingCombinado Provincia0-4
31 May 1929River Plate1-0
2 Jun 1929Boca JuniorsCombinado Capital2-3
8 Jun 1929Buenos AiresSan Lorenzo2-0
9 Jun 1929Estación PocitosPeñarol1-2
15 Jun 1929AvellanedaIndependiente1-1
16 Jun 1929Newell's O.B.Combinado Rosarino1-2
16 Jun 1929Santa FeUnión 0-5
20 Jun 1929RacingRacing0-1
22 Jun 1929River PlateEstudiantil Porteño3-2
23 Jun 1929Parque CentralWanderers1-0
28 Jun 1929das LaranjeirasCombinado R. de Janeiro1-1
30 Jun 1929das LaranjeirasCombinado R. de Janeiro1-2
4 Jul 1929Parque AntarcticaCorinthians4-4
7 Jul 1929Parque AntarcticaCombinado Sao Paulo1-3

PlWDLGsGc
165382332