British football clubs tours to South America
Team Year Arg Uru Bra
Southampton 1904 Y Y N
Nottingham Forest 1905 Y Y N
South Africa F.A 1906 Y Y N
Everton 1909 Y Y N
Tottenham Hotspur 1909 Y Y N
Corinthian 1910 N N Y
Swindown Town 1912 Y Y N
Corinthian 1913 N N Y
Exeter City 1914 Y Y Y
Third Lanark 1923 Y Y N
Plymouth Argyle 1924 Y Y N
Motherwell 1928 Y Y Y
Chelsea 1929 Y Y Y
List of British clubs by year of tour
Y Toured N Not toured
British football clubs tours over South America contributed to the spread and develop of football in the region during the first years of the 20th century. The first club to tour on the region was Southampton F.C. in 1904, followed by several teams (mainly from England although some Scottish clubs also visited South America) until 1929 with Chelsea F.C. being the last team to tour. During those 25 years of tours, British teams performances were decreasing while the South American squads' style of playing improved. Indeed, Southampton won all of their matches in 1904 with 40 goals scored in 1904 while Chelsea was defeated eight times (over 16 games played) in their 1929 tour.