The club is notorious for its epith of the "Worst Team in the World" after a long losing streak in the late 1970s and 1980s.[1] The club has taken this reputation proudly and humorously, using it to promote the club.[1]
History
Íbis Sport Club were founded on 15 November 1938 by employees of Tecelagem de Seda e Algodão ("Silk and Cotton Weaving Factory"), owned by João Pessoa de Queiroz,[2] and located in Santo Amaro.[3] Initially only employees of that company could play.[2] The club were named Íbis after the African bird.[4] After the death of João Pessoa de Queiroz, who was the club's owner, his heirs lost interest in the club, then one of the company's managers, Onildo Ramos adopted Íbis.[4] Íbis, under Onildo Ramos administration, started to accept non-employees of Tecelagem de Seda e Algodão as players.[5]
While the Pernambuco Football Federation was founded on 16 June 1915 as Liga Sportiva Pernambucana, only in 1955 it was renamed to its current name.[6] Íbis is considered by the organization as one of its founders.[7]
Íbis won the Torneio Início in 1948 and in 1950, and the Torneio Incentivo in 1975 and in 1976.[8] Carlito of Íbis, with 12 goals, was the Campeonato Pernambucano's top goal scorer in 1948.[4] The team are commonly known as the "Worst Team of the World" due to their several defeats in the late 1970s and early 1980s.[5] The club spent three years and eleven months between 1980 and 1984 without winning a game.[8] Íbis were the runners-up of the Campeonato Pernambucano Second Level in 1999,[9] when they were defeated by Central in the final.[10] After celebrating their 70th birthday on 15 November 2008, the club started a project to become a private company, with the help of Portuguese entrepreneur Filipe Fernandes.[11] R$15 million will be invested in building a training center.[11]
In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Íbis gained worldwide fame for its poor results on the field. Thanks to nine consecutive defeats and then a sequence of 23 games without a win, it achieved national fame. It was three years and eleven months without celebrating a single victory, a record included in the Guinness Book of Records. It became well known to reporters at the time as the worst team in the world.[12][13][14]
^ abcEnciclopédia do Futebol Brasileiro Lance Volume 1. Rio de Janeiro: Aretê Editorial S/A. 2001. p. 184. ISBN85-88651-01-7.
^ abBarbosa, Alexandre (11 October 2008). "Íbis: 70 anos" (in Portuguese). Folha de Pernambuco. Archived from the original on 14 February 2009. Retrieved 2 March 2009.
