Club de Fútbol América S.A. de C.V., commonly known as Club América, and nicknamed Las Águilas (The Eagles), is a professional football club based in Mexico City. The club competes in Liga MX, the top division of Mexican football. The club was founded in 1916, and since 1959, it has been owned by mass media company Televisa. The team plays its home games at Estadio Azteca, the largest stadium in Latin America and one of the largest in the world.
América is one of the founding members of the Primera División. The club has a long-standing rivalry with Guadalajara, as both are the most successful and most supported teams in the country and are among the seven clubs to have never been relegated. Matches between them are known as El Súper Clásico, considered to be the biggest rivalry in Mexico, and one of the biggest in the world. América also plays derbies against Cruz Azul and Pumas UNAM. Together the clubs make up the "Big Four" of Mexican football. In 2024, it became the first football club to be floated on the Mexican Stock Exchange (Bolsa Mexicana de Valores). According to Sportico, Club América is valued at US$770 million as of May 2025, making it one of the most valuable clubs in North America.
Club América has won more titles than any other team in Mexican football. Domestically, the club has won a record sixteen league titles, a record six Copa México titles, and a joint-record seven Campeón de Campeones cups. In international competitions, América has won ten FIFA recognized club trophies, the most for a club from CONCACAF, with a joint-record seven CONCACAF Champions Cup/Champions League titles, one CONCACAF Giants Cup, and two Copa Interamericanas. The club also holds numerous distinctions, including topping the all-time league table in victories, points, and goals scored, most appearances in the liguilla (playoffs) stage, the most playoff final appearances (22) and second-most runner-up finishes, after Cruz Azul. It is one of five clubs to win back-to-back league titles since the introduction of the short tournament format, the only team to achieve a three-peat under the format, and the only one to reach four finals in a row. In 2021, América was named by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics as the best North American club of the first decade (2001–2011) of the 21st century.
History
Founding By 1916, football was already a popular sport in Mexico, particularly amongst college students in Mexico City. College students from Colegio Mascarones and Colegio Marista de la Perpetua formed two football teams with the names Récord and Colón. On 12 October 1916, the two squads decided to consolidate to make a more competitive squad. Many names were considered for this new squad – Pedro "Cheto" Quintanilla suggested the name "América", since they had formed the team on Columbus Day (Día del descubrimiento de América). The players agreed and soon designed a crest which had the map of the Americas centered with a 'C' for "Club" on the left and an 'A' for "América" on the right. In deciding the team's kit, Rafael Garza decided on navy blue trousers and a yellow shirt.
In 1916, Club América contested the Primera Fuerza league.How were Club America accepted into the Primera Fuerza? https://us.bolavip.com At the time, América was the only club in Mexico City with Mexican-born players. Necaxa, Atlante, Real Club España, Germania, and Asturias were already members of the Liga Mayor de la Ciudad. América's acceptance into the league rested on three games they had to win. América won two games, tied the third and were accepted.
In 1918, the team changed its name to Club Centro Unión, though it would revert to using the name América only two years later.
América won their first Primera Fuerza title in the 1924–25 season, being crowned champions after defeating Asturias 1–0 in the deciding match. América would win the Primera Fuerza three more times, all of them back-to-back. In 1926, América became the first Mexican club to play outside of Mexico."Inicia la aventura (1917–1942)." www.esmas.com. Redaccion. Aside from broadening their horizons, Club América, along with Atlante petitioned to reduce the number of foreign players in the league. Shortly after the Mexican Football Federation was formed in 1928, Rafael Garza was designated as the Mexico national team's head coach. Most of the national team that participated in the 1928 Summer Olympics and 1930 World Cup consisted of players from Club América, Garza himself included.
1940–1969 Prior to 1942, several leagues existed throughout Mexico, with the Mexico City league widely regarded as the most developed. In 1942–43, the first National League was established and it was known as the Liga Mayor (Major League). Club América had declined from its then-prime of the 1920s and 1930s: aging players, diminishing financial resources, and resulting lack of interest made the team a bottom-feeder at the start of the beginning stage of the professional era.
It was also during this time that the rivalry with Guadalajara was born; especially during the 1945–1946 season when Guadalajara beat América by 6–4 and 4–2 scorelines. The 1951–1952 season saw América finish in 11th place out of 12, with a 3-point-advantage over Veracruz, who were relegated. In 1954 América defeated rivals Guadalajara on penalties after a 0–0 draw in the Copa México final, thus winning their first league cup.
In 1956, the club was sold to soft drink manufacturer Jarritos. The new owner was trying to build upon the club's National Cup titles in 1954 and 1955 against Guadalajara. During the 1954–55 season América won their first Campeón de Campeones championship, defeating Zacatepec 3–2. The owner failed to build upon previous success and on 22 July 1959, Emilio Azcárraga Milmo, owner of Telesistema Mexicano, bought América from Isaac Bessudo."Epoca profesional (1943–1969)." www.esmas.com. Redaccion. Following the acquisition, Azcárraga told his players, "I do not know much about football, but I do know a lot about business, and this, gentlemen, will be a business."
The 1959–1960 season saw América reach second place in the league, behind Guadalajara. On 21 April 1964, at the Estadio Olímpico Universitario, the team, now coached by Alejandro Scopelli, defeated Monterrey 6–5 in the final match of the Copa México. During the match Alfonso Portugal scored five of América's six; José González scored the other goal to win the championship.
On 7 May 1965, América regained the Mexican "Copa" championship after a 4–0 victory over Morelia at the Estadio Olímpico Universitario. The goals were scored by Javier Fragoso and Vavá, each scoring twice.
1970s After Mexico hosted the 1970 FIFA World Cup, the league tournament format was changed in response to the championship's disputed winners, hence the Liguilla (play-offs) format was started. The first play-off final was in 1971 between Toluca and América, leaders of Groups 1 and 2, respectively. After a 0–0 draw in Toluca, América obtained their second league title after winning the second-leg 2–0 at the Estadio Azteca. The following season saw América eliminated from the playoffs by Cruz Azul. América would defeat Cruz Azul in the 1973 Copa México final. A few years followed in which América did not qualify for the playoffs. They finished in first place during the 1975–1976 season, and defeated Tecos UAG and Union de Curtidores in the quarter-finals and semi-finals to reach the final against Universidad de Guadalajara. América won the championship after beating UDG in the Jalisco Stadium 3–0 and 1–0 at the Estadio Azteca. They also won the Campeón de Campeones title by beating Tigres UANL 2–0.
In 1978, América participated in their first Copa Interamericana, playing against Argentine club Boca Juniors, winners of the 1977 Copa Libertadores. After losing the first-leg and winning the second, América would win the championship in a playoff match by a score of 2–1 after extra-time, with a last second free-kick goal by midfielder Carlos Reinoso. América became the first team from Mexico and from the CONCACAF region to win the competition. América also became the first confederation side to earn the "double" in a single year as it won the delayed 1977 CONCACAF Champions' Cup.
1980s The 1980s are generally considered América's "golden decade". During this period, América won the league title five times, including three consecutive titles; the 1983–84 season, the 1984–85 season, the Prode-85 tournament, the 1987–88 and 1988–89 seasons. They also won the Mexican Super Cup twice, in 1987–88 and 1988–89, as well as the 1987 CONCACAF Champions' Cup.
The 1983–1984 season saw América reach the top of the table and reach the finals, where they would face arch-rivals Guadalajara, who the previous season had eliminated América in the semi-finals. Following a 2–2 draw at the Estadio Jalisco, América defeated Guadalajara in the Azteca Stadium 3–1, and a 5–3 aggregate score. To date, it is the only match between these two teams in the league finals, though they would face each other in other phases of the playoffs. The series has since been dubbed the "Final del Siglo" ("Final of the Century"). The following season América once again reached the finals, this time against city-rivals Pumas UNAM. After two draws in both the Azteca Stadium and the Mexico '68 Stadium, the last game was played in the Estadio Corregidora in Querétaro, where Daniel Brailovsky secured the championship for América by scoring two goals with the final score of 3–1.
Due to Mexico hosting the 1986 World Cup and stadium and infrastructure preparations, the tournament was split in two short tournaments: Prode-85 and Mexico-86. América clinched the top of their group in the Prode-85 and defeated Universidad de Guadalajara and Atlante (which was rescheduled following the earthquake suffered in Mexico City) to reach the final, where they faced Jaibos Tampico Madero. The game in Tampico was a 4–1 victory for Tampico, but at the Azteca Stadium, América beat Tampico Madero 4–0 to win the championship.
For the 1987–88 season, América met UNAM in the final, in a replay of the 1985 final. They defeated UNAM by an aggregate score of 4–2. The following season, América once again reached the league final and faced Cruz Azul, which was the first time the two clubs met in the final since 1972. The first-leg finished in a 3–2 victory for América. A 2–2 draw in the second-leg meant América won the championship by a 5–4 aggregate score.
As winners of the 1987 CONCACAF Champions' Cup, América was set to face Peñarol, winners of the 1987 Copa Libertadores, in the 1988 edition of the Copa Interamericana. Each respective confederation had agreed to the terms of the match, however just hours before it was to be played, disagreements arose between the confederations and the tournament's organizers. The match was eventually played on 21 April, with América winning 5–4 on penalties after a 2–2 draw; because the game was not officially endorsed, it was dubbed the Copa Confraternidad. América was subsequently fined and handed a two-year suspension from CONCACAF and thus could not participate in the 1989 Champions' Cup, for which they had qualified as winners of the 1988–89 Mexican league season.
1990s During the 1990s, América only managed to win the CONCACAF Champions' Cup in 1990 and 1992, and the 1990 Copa Interamericana. During the 1990–1991 season, América dominated its group and reached the playoffs to eliminate Universidad de Guadalajara in the quarter-final round and Guadalajara in the semi-final round, only to reach the final and lose to UNAM.