Yale Athletic Club

Pioneer football club in Belo Horizonte in the early twentieth century, with a historical role in the formation of Clube Atlético Mineiro.

History

Yale Athletic Club was founded in 1904 in Belo Horizonte, during a period of initial organization of sports in the state capital, which was still experiencing its first years as a planned city. The club brought together young football practitioners at a time when the sport was beginning to gain ground outside the Rio-São Paulo axis. Its main historical significance is linked to the foundation of Clube Atlético Mineiro: on March 25, 1908, a group of young men, many of them former members of Yale Athletic Club and other local clubs such as Sport Club, united to create Atlético, which would become one of the greatest clubs in Brazilian football. With the consolidation of larger associations, Yale Athletic Club did not continue as an autonomous club, and today is remembered mainly as part of Minas Gerais football prehistory and the formation of the Galo.