Oscar Cox

Who was Oscar Cox?

Oscar Alfredo Cox was a Brazilian sportsman who introduced football to the city of Rio de Janeiro and founded Fluminense, one of Brazil's most traditional and popular football clubs.

Born to a wealthy family of English Brazilian heritage, Oscar did his studies in Lausanne, where he got acquainted with the practice of football. Upon returning from Switzerland, Oscar tried to disseminate this activity in the city of Rio de Janeiro. On the 22nd of September 1901, Oscar was able to organize the first football match in the history of the state of Rio de Janeiro. He then proceeded to São Paulo, with some friends, to play against a group led by Charles Miller, who had started the process of disseminating football in São Paulo back in 1894. The groups played two times against each other, and both matches ended in a draw.

On July 21, 1902, Oscar, aged 22, founded Fluminense Football Club. Fluminense remains as one of the most popular and traditional sports institutions still in existence in the history of Brazilian football.