IRCA (football club)

IRCA
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 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.

Honours

1956–57
1954

Former players

References

  1. ↑ http://www.flacsoandes.org/dspace/bitstream/10469/1949/14/10.%20Ap%C3%A9ndices.pdf
  2. ↑ (Spanish) "Guatemala, 100 años de fútbol - 1930-1939". Prensa Libre. Archived from the original on 2006-12-09. Retrieved 2011-12-21.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 (Spanish) "Guatemala, 100 años de fútbol - 1940-1949". Prensa Libre. Archived from the original on 2006-12-09. Retrieved 2011-12-21.
  4. ↑ Guatemala - List of Cup Winners
  5. ↑ Cremas van por su quinta Copa
  6. ↑ Guatemala 1957/58
  7. ↑ Guatemala 1959/60
  8. ↑ Guatemala 1963/64
  9. ↑ Guatemala 1970/71
  10. ↑ Guatemala 1971