| Full name | International Railways of Central America |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Ferrocarrileros |
| Founded | 1933 |
| Ground | Estadio Autonomía |
| League | Liga Nacional de Guatemala |
IRCA is a defunct football club that was based in Guatemala City, Guatemala. It was founded in 1933 by workers of International Railways of Central America.[1]
They earned a spot in Guatemala's top division in 1938 after having won two consecutive second division championships.[2] They were suspended during the 1941 league season.[3] In 1942 year they suffered a 1-8 loss to CSD Municipal, and the following year they were beaten 8-0 by Tipografía Nacional who would win the tournament undefeated.[3] In 1944-45 they finished in fourth place, in the process beating Municipal 5-3 and Universidad 7-1. In 1950-51 they finished in third place, and after a couple of negative seasons they finished third again in 1956, which would prove to be their best season ever as they would go on to win the the 1956-57 Domestic Cup title, in the fourth edition of the tournament.[4][5] In 1957-58 they finished in penultimate place, suffering relegation,[6] but they would return to the top level for the 1961-62 season after one year.[7] They would suffer relegation again by finishing last in the 1963-64 campaign.[8]
As International Railways defaulted and was taken over by the government, the team was affected by the financial issues and struggled in second division until 1970-71 when they resurged as Ferrocarriles de Guatemala (FEGUA) earning promotion.[9] However, the Liga Mayor had become more competitive and they finished last in the standings, losing the category again after losing 1-3 in a playoff against JUCA.[10] They would remain in the lower division, unable to return to the top flight, until they eventually disappeared.