Full name | Club Sport Emelec |
---|---|
Nickname(s) |
El Bombillo (The Lightbulb) Los Eléctricos (The Electrics) El Ballet Azul (The Blue Ballet) El Equipo Millonario (The Millionaire Team) |
Founded | April 28, 1929 |
Ground | Estadio George Capwell |
Capacity | 40,000 |
Honorary President | Elías Wated |
Chairman | Nassib Neme |
Manager | Alfredo Arias |
League | Serie A |
2016 | 2nd |
Website | www |
Club Sport Emelec is an Ecuadorian sports club based in Guayaquil that is best known for their professional football team. The football team plays in the Ecuadorian Serie A, the highest level of professional football in the country.
Emelec has won thirteen Serie A titles, holding the record of doing so in all decades in which the Serie A has been played. They also have won seven regional titles (record in their region), a record-tying 5 of them in the professional era.
Emelec was founded on April 28, 1929 by George Capwell, the American head of the Electric Company of Ecuador (Spanish: Empresa Eléctrica del Ecuador), from which the club is named after. The name of their home stadium pays homage to the club's founder. The club's most intense rivalry is with crosstown-team Barcelona. Matches between the clubs are known as El Clásico del Astillero.
The club was found after an assembly of employees at the Empresa Eléctrica del Ecuador, an electric company in Guayaquil, decided to start an amateur sports league. The initiative was spearheaded by George Capwell, the executive officer of the company who came from the United States. The first sports played in the club were baseball, basketball, boxing, swimming, handball, and football. Capwell did not enjoy football, so the sport was supported only by his employees in non-official but recognized championships. This changed in the 1940s, when Capwell finally lent his support, resulting in the club winning several official local championships, building their own stadium, and hosting the 1947 South American Championship entirely in it.