Botafogo-SP

Botafogo Futebol Clube, commonly referred to as Botafogo-SP, Botafogo de Ribeirao Preto or simply Botafogo, is a Brazilian association football club in Ribeirao Preto, Sao Paulo. They currently play in the Serie C, the third tier of Brazilian football, as well as in the Campeonato Paulista Serie A1, the top tier of the Sao Paulo state football league.

The club's home colours are red, white and black and the team mascot is a panther.  

History

In the beginning of the century, the city of Ribeirao Preto had at least three clubs: Uniao, Paulistano Tiberense and Ideal Futebol Clube. In 1918, representatives of Ideal, proposed a merger of the clubs in the neighborhood. Besides the members of the boards of the three clubs, employees from the old Mogiana Railroad, and employees from the Antarctica Paulista Company participated in the meeting.

There was a consensus regarding the formation of a new club that would represent the neighborhood, but the choice of the name did not reach a conclusion. After a heated discussion, one member was quoted as saying: "Either you define the name or just 'put fire' (Bota Fogo) in everything and end this story." Because of what that member said, the club's name discussion had an unexpected conclusion. The threat of the incendiary leader ended up helping in the choice of name. The proposal was accepted, and in 1918 the club was named Botafogo Futebol Clube (contrary to popular belief, Botafogo of Ribeirao Preto was not inspired by Botafogo Football Club of Rio de Janeiro, defunct in 1942).

Botafogo's debut was in Franca, against local club Esporte Clube Fulgencio. The match ended 1–0 in favor of the team from Ribeirao Preto. The first title of Botafogo was the Sao Paulo State Countryside Championship in 1927. In 1956, the club won the Ribeirao Preto Centennial Cup, beating Commercial in the final 4–2. Botafogo also won the Undefeated Cup after a series of 19 games unbeaten. In the same year, the team was also champion of the Second Division of the Sa

This page also has a version in other languages :  Ботафого (Рибейран-Прету) (russian)