 | ||
| Full name | Montevideo Cricket Club | |
|---|---|---|
| Union | Unión de Rugby del Uruguay | |
| Founded | 18 July 1861; 164 years ago (1861-07-18) | |
| Location | Montevideo,Uruguay | |
| Ground | Solymar | |
| President | Fabian Sfeir | |
| League | Campeonato Uruguayo | |
| ||
| Official website | ||
| www | ||
TheMontevideo Cricket Club (abbreviated "MVCC") is aUruguayansports club based inMontevideo, established in 1861 by English immigrants.[1] Its predecessor had been the now defunct "Victoria Cricket Club", founded in 1842.[2]
Montevideo has been ranked as the 8th oldest rugby union club (and the first outside Europe) by theWorld Rugby Museum ofTwickenham.[3][4] Apart from football and rugby, the other sports currently practised at the club arefield hockey, andtennis.
As of 2017, the club had 500 members and 400 athletes competing in several sports.[1]
A predecessor to MVCC, "Victoria Cricket Club" had been founded by British immigrants led by Samuel Lafone in 1842, with the purpose of playingCricket. Nevertheless, it is believed that the club was dissolved soon after as there were no further records of its activities. TheGreat Siege of Montevideo in 1843 also interrupted all sports activities in the city.[1][2]
The same group of English people would establish MVCC on 18 July 1861 at "Confitería Oriental", where the high society and businessmen of Montevideo used to met. The first playing field was located on a land where Military Hospital stands nowadays.[1][2] The club is recognised as the oldest sports club of Uruguay, having been the pioneer in the practise of cricket,field hockey,football,rugby union, andtennis.[4] Moreover, MVCC is regarded as the oldest sports club in South America.[1] The coming of further British companies to Montevideo (such as water suppliers, railways, and banks) helped increase the number of members of the MVCC.[1]
In 1868, the MVCC played its first international cricket game against ArgentineBuenos Aires Cricket Club. It is the oldest international match registered in South America and was played on MVCC's ground known asLa Blanqueda.[2][5] MVCC played its first international rugby match against Argentine sideBuenos Aires Football Club (another pioneer club regarded as the first institution to play any form offootball in South America).[6][7][8] The match was held in Montevideo.[2]
The MVCC played its first football match in 1878, against the crew of a ship visiting Montevideo. This was the first organised match in Uruguay. In 1881, the MVCC played its first club match against theMontevideo Rowing Club. MVCC also took part of the first international match involving an Uruguayan football squad, when faced the "Buenos Aires Team" at Montevideo in 1889.[9]
When theUruguayan Football Association (AUF) was established in 1900, MVCC was one of the clubs invited to join but they refused so they did not want the club to be ruled by a non-British body.[1]
In 1983, the MVCC first played theClub Universitario de Buenos Aires (C.U.B.A.), and has played them annually ever since.
In 1974 and 1975, the MVCC swimming teams won the summer championships in swimming and diving.
The ladies'field hockey team won the local championships in 1987, 1989, 1993 and 1997, and men's team won its first championship in 2000. The club also competes inathletics,cycling, andtennis.
English cricket clubs were the incubators of rugby in South America, although rugby has survived much better in these countries than cricket has.[10] It has been claimed that MVCC playedrugby football as early as 1865,[10] but the first certain match was between Uruguayans and British members of the MVCC in 1880.[10] One observer, apparently disdainful of the Britons mixing with the "natives", found it:
Carlos E. Cat, also known as "Charlie", was a member of the MVCC, and was also president of the club in 1946.
In 1950, theCampeonato Uruguayo de Rugby was inaugurated and continues today. The first game was between the MVCC, andCarrasco Polo Club.[2]
MVCC had some success in the 1950s, winning the national title three times. In recent years however, the club has had to live in the shadows of Montevideo's two powerhouses: Carrasco Polo Club andOld Christians Club.
Since its establishment in 1861, MVCC has had five different grounds. Its original ground was known as "La Blanqueada" or the "English ground",[2] but in 1889, it moved from its original location to make way for amilitary hospital to a new site nearby. This was also known as "La Blanqueada" or the "New Ground" to distinguish it from the original site. The new site was purchased bydebentures that members bought.
The MVCC moved a third time in 1945 to near the town ofSayago. It moved for a fourth time toCarrasco, in 1955, where fields were shared byThe British Schools of Montevideo.
In 1996, the MVCC moved yet again toSolymar on the outskirts of Montevideo.[11][12]
TheCentral Uruguay Railway Cricket Club (CURCC), predecessor to clubPeñarol,[13] was established in 1891 by members of MVCC in disagreement with the club's rules that did not allowed native Uruguayans to be members of MVCC.[1] Apart from that reason, the foundation of a new club reflected the need of those English immigrants to have another institution that competed in cricket.[14]
British newspapers of South America celebrated the creation of CURCC, stating that "The MVVC have long felt the lack of a local rival club against which to measure their strength." The sixteen founders of CURCC were hierarchical employees of theCentral Uruguay Railway,[14] the main railway company in the country.[15]
