America MG U17

Belo Horizonte, capital of Minas Gerais, splits its football following three ways, and America was the first of the city's clubs to take the field, meeting Atlético Mineiro for the first time in 1913 in what the state still calls the Clássico das Multidões, or Galo versus Coelho. The other local derby, against Cruzeiro, goes by Coelho versus Raposa. America itself was founded in 1912 and plays in green, white and black; its own supporters call the team Coelho, the Rabbit.

The club's standing in Brazilian football rests less on what its first team has won than on who has come out of its academy. Tostão left for Cruzeiro in 1964 after starting out at America; Gilberto Silva went on to a World Cup and an English league title with Arsenal; Danilo and Richarlison both graduated from the same academy before Porto, Real Madrid and Juventus took one and Everton and Tottenham the other. Fred, Palhinha and Alex Mineiro passed through as well. In 1996, the junior side won the Copa São Paulo de Futebol Júnior, beating Cruzeiro 2-1 in the final.

The current under-17 squad has kept that name current. It won the Campeonato Mineiro Sub-17 in 2024, ending a ten-year wait for the age-group title, and reached the final of the Brasileirão Sub-17 the following season, where it met Grêmio. Marcelo Gomes coaches the side this season.

Both the first team and the academy sides play out of the Arena Independência, officially the Estádio Raimundo Sampaio, which holds 23,018 in Belo Horizonte.