About Us

OUR HISTORY

In 1965, the sport Futebol was played by a small number of athletes in the town of Galt; today known as Cambridge, ON. A group of friends, faithful supporters of "the beautiful game," dreamed of the idea of forming a Futebol Team. The first games were of a friendly nature, held at a field known as Campo de Maria Amelia; this field was located 0.5KM down the street from the current OSC facilities.

These enthusiastic friends continued generating ideas, and these ideas led to a community based club focused on Futebol and Cultural initiatives; the birth of the Oriental Sport Club.

In 1966, the first Board of Directors took office:

  • President: João Botelho
  • Vice President: Tiago Lananjeiro
  • Treasurer: Henrique Correira
  • Secretary: Alvaro Borges
  • Director at Large: Manuel Inácio, and Antonio Sousa

Oriental Sport Club, founded in 1965 primarily as a Futebol Hub for the growing Portuguese community of (Galt) Cambridge who brought their passion for the sport with them to Canada.

Plans began in the Spring of 1965 to establish the new club. One of the first challenges the Founding Committee faced was deciding on a club name. The debate highlighted their passion for Futebol with Benfica, Porto and Sporting as suggested names to build a connection to Portugal.
The debate required the intervention of Fr. Padre Cunha of Our Lady of Fatima and Senhor Henrique Correia who suggested the idea of Oriental- named after a newspaper that shared stories and connected Portuguese immigrants from around the world.
Oriental Sport Club was born in mid-October 1965 with our first match played in 1966. Today, we remain a not-for-profit organization that continues to celebrate our rich Portuguese heritage while continuing to innovate and grow our connectivity with our changing community.
No longer just a Futebol Club, Oriental Sport Club is an integral part of our community providing Sport & Wellness programs, Heritage & Culture opportunities as well as Banquet & Food Services all driven by our Portuguese traditions of community building and our Canadian values of leveraging diversity and providing a safe and supportive environment to our Members, Volunteers and Players.