Peñarol (URU)

Club Atlético Peñarol is a Uruguayan club from Montevideo, Uruguay. It takes its name from the Peñarol neighbourhood, located in the north-west of the city. It currently plays in the Primera División of Uruguay.

Its origin dates back to 28 September 1891, with the emergence of the Central Uruguay Railway Cricket Club (known by its acronym CURCC). There was a first attempt to change the name to CURCC Peñarol, but the CURCC board rejected the proposal by 25 votes to 12. On 13 December 1913 it was renamed Peñarol, adopting the definitive name of Club Atlético Peñarol on 12 March 1914. Some researchers, however, maintain that although Peñarol inherited its tradition from the CURCC and there is a sociological continuity between the two, legally they are two different institutions, since the CURCC continued to exist until 1915 (although merely as a recreational facility for the employees of the railway company), and sold its assets, donating the money obtained to the British Hospital, and therefore the club's founding date would be 13 December 1913. This is the origin of the dispute over the decanato (title of oldest club).

Although the colours of the CURCC were originally black and orange, throughout its history Peñarol has always been identified with yellow and black, taken from the locomotive Rocket and representative of the railway trade in general. Throughout its history it has ventured into various sports, standing out in basketball and cycling. Despite this, its dedication has been almost exclusively to football, a sport in which it has earned wide recognition.

The club plays its home matches at the Estadio Campeón del Siglo, inaugurated in late March 2016 and with a capacity of 40,005 spectators. It is located on Ruta 102 between Camino Mangangá and Camino de los Siete Cerros, in the department of Montevideo. Previously, Peñarol played its home matches for several decades at the Estadio Centenario, which is owned by the municipality. The club also has a basketball arena (Palacio Contador Gastón Güelfi) and its training ground (Complejo Deportivo Washington Cataldi).

Domestically, in the professional era Peñarol has won 42 tournaments, and, considering the amateur era and the tournaments won by the CURCC, it has won 51 titles. In addition, Peñarol was crowned champion of the Federación Uruguaya de Football (FUF) in 1924 and of the Torneo del Consejo Provisorio in 1926. Internationally, it is the third club to have won the Copa Libertadores the most times, five, and the first to win the Copa Intercontinental a third time, an honour it shares with four other clubs. It also won the Supercopa de Campeones Intercontinentales once.

Its classic rival in Uruguayan football is Nacional. This is one of the oldest rivalries in football, with Peñarol holding the advantage in the head-to-head record.

In September 2009 it was declared South American Club of the Century by the International Federation of Football History and Statistics (IFFHS) with 531.00 points, ahead of Independiente of Argentina (426.50) and Nacional (414.00).