Football was introduced to Brazil by
Scottish immigrant
Thomas Donohoe. In the 1870s, like many other British workers, a Scottish expatriate named John Miller worked on the railroad construction project in
São Paulo with other European immigrants. In 1884, Miller sent his ten-year-old son
Charles William Miller to Bannister School in
Southampton, England, to be educated. Charles was a skilled athlete who quickly picked up the game of football at the time when
the Football League was still being formed, and as an accomplished winger and striker Charles held school honors that gained him entry into the
Southampton F.C. team, and later into the county team of
Hampshire. In 1888, the first sports club was founded in the city,
São Paulo Athletic Club. In 1892, while still in England, Charles was invited to play a game for
Corinthian F.C., a team formed of players invited from public schools and universities. On his return to Brazil, Charles brought some football equipment and a rule book with him. He then taught the rules of the game to players in São Paulo. On December 14, 1901, the "Liga Paulista de Foot-Ball" was founded, organising its own championship, "
Campeonato Paulista", first held in
1902. Therefore, Campeonato Paulista became the oldest official competition in Brazilian football. Another important club, called Società Sportiva Palestra Itália club, that was founded in 1914 played a big role in helping Italian immigrants get accustomed to Brazilian society. The club's goal was to promote "Italian identity and allegiance, helping the immigrant community to cultivate a sense of discrete ethnicity". São Paulo Athletic Club won the first three years' Paulista championships. Miller's skills were far above his colleagues at this stage. He was given the honor of contributing his name to a move involving a deft flick of the ball with the heel "Chaleira" (the "tea-pot"). The first match played by one of Miller's teams was six months after Donohoe's. Another competition,
Campeonato Carioca, was first held in
1906 as the
Rio de Janeiro State football championship, being contested up to present days. Charles Miller kept a strong bond with English football throughout his life. After a tour of
English team
Corinthian F.C. to Brazil in 1910,
Corinthians was established on September 1, taking on the name of the British side after a suggestion from Miller. In
1913 there were two different editions of the Campeonato Paulista. One was organized by the Associação Paulista de Esportes Atléticos (APEA) while the other one was organized by the Liga Paulista de Foot-Ball (LPF). The
Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) was founded in 1914, but the current format for the
Campeonato Brasileiro was only established in 1959. ==Football style==