Rio Branco

Rio Branco Football Club, or Rio Branco, as they are usually called, is a Brazilian football team from Rio Branco in Acre, founded on 8 June 1919.

It is the most successful club in Acre, having won a record 47 state titles, 31 of those being won in the amateur era. Rio Branco also took part in the national league in 21 seasons, the most of any club from the state. It is also the first Northern Brazil and the only club from Acre to play in a continental cup, featuring in the 1997 Copa CONMEBOL after winning the Copa Norte in the same year.

Rio Branco's highest national league finish was achieved in 1989, when they finished 16th in the Brazilian Serie B. The club's home colours are red and white and the team mascot is the Altaneira star, a symbol from the Acre state flag.

History

On June 8, 1919, the club was founded by the lawyer Luiz Mestrinho Filho, a relative of Governor Gilberto Mestrinho.

In 1947, the club won the first state championship organized by the Acre State Football Federation. From 1955 to 1957, Rio Branco won three state championships in a row.

Rio Branco won the first edition of Copa Norte in 1997, beating Remo of Para state, in the final. Rio Branco gained the right to compete in that year's Copa CONMEBOL. The club was eliminated in the first round of Copa CONMEBOL, by Deportes Tolima, of Colombia, after losing in the penalty shootout. From 2002 to 2005, Rio Branco won four state championships in a row.

This page also has a version in other languages :  Риу-Бранку (russian)