How football reached Mexico. In 1823, with the country bankrupt after independence, the third Count of Regla went to London looking for investors to reopen the mines of Real del Monte, in Hidalgo. The British workers who came with that money brought their customs, and football was one of them. The game arrived in Mexico through Cornish miners in Pachuca, not through the capital.
What playing it was like then. Real leather balls that doubled in weight when wet, boots without studs, heavy kit and pitches that barely deserved the name. Organised football in Mexico City runs from the amateur era founded in 1902, through the semi-professional period from 1943, to the present.
The clubs of Mexico City, past and present.
Club América, "las Águilas", founded 12 October 1916; played at Ciudad Universitaria, now at the Estadio Azteca. Club Atlante, "los Potros de Hierro", 8 September 1918; Azteca and Estadio Azulgrana, now in the second tier in Cancún. Cruz Azul, "la Máquina Cementera", 22 May 1927; Estadio Azteca. Pumas UNAM, 2 August 1954; Estadio Olímpico Universitario. Necaxa, "los Rayos", 21 August 1923; played at the Olímpico and the Azteca before moving to Aguascalientes in 2007.
And the ones that are gone. Real Club España, "albinegros", founded 20 March 1902 and dissolved in 1950, at Parque España and Club Reforma. Club Asturias, 1918–1945, at Parque Asturias. Atlético Español, "los Toros", 1971–1982, at the Azteca. Marte, "merengues", 1928–1953, at Parque Marte. Club Aurrerá, 1919–1932, and Germania FV, 1915–1933, both at Parque Alianza.
Going to a match. League football runs from July to May, with matches most weekends. The Azteca is reached by Tren Ligero and the Olímpico by Metro Universidad; both are far better than driving.
All day
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
