Why Ypiranga, once a Paulista pioneer, outlawed professional football | OneFootball

Nearly 120-year-old São Paulo institution Ypiranga, once a Paulista pioneer and cradle of Arthur Friedenreich, outlawed professional football in its statute after a 1958 collapse, and its members remain split on any return.

Founded in 1906 by local workers, the club quickly became a force, finishing runners-up in 1913, 1935 and 1936, and in 1941 it became one of the founders of the Federação Paulista de Futebol. According to Globo.com, it stood alongside Corinthians, Paulistano, Germânia and Palestra Itália, now Palmeiras.

Relegation in 1958 triggered investor withdrawal and a financial crisis. Ypiranga offloaded key players, took leave from the federation, then, after another drop, abandoned the professional game and wrote a ban into its by-laws.

Reversal is remote. Any change needs two thirds of the 120 councillors present and voting in favour in two consecutive ballots, a threshold the ageing council struggles to meet. Former presidents say the club still forms players but cannot turn professional.

Comebacks were explored in 2004 and in 2020 via a SAF using only the brand, which would adopt the spelling Clube Atlético Ipiranga, with investors and support from ex-forward Jamelli. Plans for a neighbouring stadium and training base fell away during Covid-19 and other issues.

Ypiranga launched Friedenreich, widely hailed as Brazil’s first great star before Pelé, who scored the winner for the country’s first South American title and missed 1930 amid a São Paulo boycott. The club also revealed goalkeeper Barbosa, later blamed for the 1950 Maracanã defeat, whom it supported in his final years.

Today Ypiranga operates as a social club on more than 30,000 square metres, funded by over 6,500 members, and offers 13 sports. Football remains largely amateur, with youth work alongside Sfera FC and around 200 scholarship athletes representing the crest.

Source: Globo.com