Corinthians

History Sport Club Corinthians Paulista is the second most popular Brazilian football club after C.R. Flamengo, with a fan base of about 33 million. The club was founded in September 1st, 1910 by a group of laborers - mainly Portuguese, Italian and Spanish descent, choosing the name in honor of the English amateur team Corinthians Football Club from London, now Corinthian-Casuals, that was on touring in  Brazil with huge sucess. Their hope was to create a popular club in the city of São Paulo to play against the elite clubs that already existed. Corinthians' official mascot is the musketeer; a symbol of bravery, audacity and fighting spirit. The adoption of that character recalls the first years of the club. In 1913, most of the football leaders of the São Paulo State founded the APEA ( Paulista Athletic Sports Association). Corinthians is also known in Brazil as the "Centennial Champion", because of the coincidence featured in the years of some of its conquests: • 1922 - State Champions; Brazil's independence from Portugal was in 1822. • 1954 - State Champions; Foundation of the city of São Paulo was in 1554. • 1988 - State Champions; Abolition of Slavery was in 1888.