World Cup 2026: How Cornwall miners brought football to Mexico

The first mention of a football team in Pachuca came in 1892, in a local newspaper article reporting on the team’s reorganization due to “dissension”.

“There was a rift between Pachuca and ‘Mountain Man,’ meaning Real Del Monte.

“I laughed when I read it, I thought ‘How Cornish’. The Cornish love distinction.

“They were told to get their act together and strengthen their team.”

In 1895, a meeting was held by rules which resulted in the decision to merge Pachuca Cricket Club, Pachuca Football Club and Velasco Cricket Club to form one powerful entity.

This is how the Pachuca Athletic Club was formed.

Niyama donated a plot of land to his hacienda to host games for the club on the condition that it would not be played on Sundays due to his Methodist faith.

By 1902, other clubs began to pop up in areas such as Orizaba in Veracruz.

To this day Orizaba contests the idea that Pachuca was the first club in Mexico and claims that title as their own.

These two clubs, as well as three others, merged to form the first recognized soccer league in Mexico, the Liga Mexicana de Futbol Amateur Association.

Orizaba won the first league title in 1902, Pachuca won the title in 1904–05 with some success of their own in their first season.

It wasn’t just the men of the mines who were enjoying the football on the pitch – Cornish women were also a key part of the matchday scene.

“They liked to go around (for matches) and often wore club colors,” says Dr. Schwartz.

“The first mention of eating pasties (in Mexico) was when play was stopped at a cricket match. I can imagine those were cooked by Cornish women.”

Pastries were essential to miners at the time, their thick crust acting as a ‘handle’ for dirty hands and the pastries being tough enough to survive being dropped down a mineshaft.