Football clubs are inextricably linked with the neighborhood around them, where murals and graffiti let you know you’re in their home, a holy ground of sorts. For Club Atlético Excursionistas, Bajo Belgrano is that home. But in March 1978 it was forcibly emptied by the Military Junta.

In preparation for that year’s FIFA World Cup, bulldozers arrived to dismantle the Bajo Belgrano settlement, forcibly relocating its residents to the city’s outskirts, a strategy meant to hide poverty from international view. 

The club was hardly the only one affected by the dictatorship’s policies. San Lorenzo, Fénix and Riestra all had their stadiums demolished, forcing the clubs to move and fans to take their passion elsewhere. 

Instead, Excursionistas stands as a rare case of a club staying while its entire community was ripped out.

But to understand how the community developed around the club, why it was torn out, and how that affected the club, we need to delve a bit deeper.

A home built on the floodplains

Founded on February 1, 1910, in Buenos Aires City, Excursio, as the club is affectionately known, settled into its home in the Bajo Belgrano neighborhood, in the northern part of the capital, in 1912. 

“Bajo Belgrano as we know it today is a far cry from what it originally was,” Excursionistas vice president Matías Antelo told the Herald. “At the start of the 20th century, these plots were basically given away for free.”

The lands were low and close to the river, making them prone to flooding. There was also a nearby city trash incinerator, which made the air extremely polluted and foul-smelling.

The football team quickly achieved success, becoming a top-tier team by 1924. But in 1934, Excursionistas had been relegated to the Second Division following a league merger, and it has never returned to the top tier since.

Yet the fans didn’t seem to care. 

Known as the Villa del Bajo Belgrano, the area developed into an informal settlement as migrants from the provinces and neighbouring countries moved there in the 1920s and 30s.

By the 1970s,........

© Buenos Aires Herald