British Club (football)

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British Club
Full nameBritish Football Club Ciudad de México
Founded1902
Dissolved1912; 112 years ago (1912)
GroundBritish Club stadium, Mexico City

The British Football Club was a Mexican football club that played in the Liga Mexicana de Football Amateur Association, the first Mexican league prior to the professionalization and development of the Primera División de México.

History[edit]

The club was founded in 1902 by Percy Clifford, a Cornish immigrant, who at the time was a member of the Club Reforma.[1]

British Club squad in 1903, the first championship.

Clifford decided to dedicate his life to becoming one of the best players in the Mexican league[citation needed] and would later go on to become a Manager and board member for the club. The club's main source of economic support came from the Club Británico, a British sports club in Mexico City, which was founded in 1899. The team played its home games in the Club Británico's multifunction park which was directly in front of its headquarters.

The club sometimes traded players with the Reforma Athletic Club a day before a match in order to fill each club's rosters. Clifford had been involved in the establishment of the Reforma Athletic Club football team in 1902. The two clubs were linked in this way because both had British roots.

The team became known for wearing smart, elegant uniforms claiming that sport and good taste were not contradictory, and were even an indication of gentlemanly good sportsmanship. At half time the teams would sit and drink tea at tables that had been set at the sidelines and were attended by beautiful women.

1907–1908[edit]

In the 1907–08 tournament, Puebla A.C. withdrew from the Primera Fuerza due to the long distances they would have had to travel, and defending champions Reforma AC were ranked last, failing to win any games. It was the first Mexican championship title for British Football Club (Mexico City), whose players were almost exclusively British. The player-trainer Percy Clifford, centre half-back "Jack" Caldwall and the Hogg brothers were the most prominent characters.

British

  • United KingdomJohn Easton
  • United KingdomAlexander Dewar
  • United KingdomPierce Mennill
  • United KingdomPercy Clifford
  • United KingdomBryan White
  • United KingdomJohn Johnson
 

British

  • United KingdomJohn Hogg
  • United Kingdom Douglas Watson
  • United KingdomStephen Crowder
  • United KingdomGeorge Ratcliff
  • United KingdomJohn Caldwall
  • United KingdomHorace Hogg

Honors[edit]

Other[edit]

  • Tower Cup (1): 1910–11

Top Scorers[edit]

  • 1904–05 England Percy Clifford (5 Goals / 8 games)[2]
  • 1906–07 England Percy Clifford (5 Goals / 8 games)
  • 1907–08 England John Hogg (4 Goals / 6 games)
  • 1911–12 England John Hogg (3 Goals / 4 games)

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Historia del futbol en México". Femexfut. Retrieved 28 July 2009.
  2. ^ "1904/05 season in Mexico". IFFHS. Retrieved 29 July 2009.