Kobe Regatta & Athletic Club 2.51

The Kobe Regatta & Athletic Club, was founded on September 23, 1870 by Alexander Cameron Sim, and is usually credited with being Japan's oldest sports club. Certainly it is the oldest club founded and still running under its original name. In 2015 the Club celebrates its 145th Anniversary with an Interport in September, at its home - Isogami Koen, in Kobe, against perrenial opponents YC&AC (see below). The Club moved to a newly manufactured building at the end of 1870 and held its first-ever regatta on December 24, of that same year. The Club and its members have been variously credited with introducing many sports to Japan, including Association Football, Field Hockey, Cricket, Rugby, the Crawl (swimming) and Ten-Pin bowling! The first official football match in Japan is widely believed to have been held on February 18, 1888 between the KR&AC and its Yokohama counterpart, the Yokohama Country & Athletic Club.