Funorte

Funorte's biggest moment came in 2008, only a year after the club existed: it won the Minas Gerais state Second Division and, with that, promotion to the first division of the state pyramid (Módulo B) for the following season. The same year the club's junior side took the Campeonato Mineiro do Interior title, which fits what Funorte was set up to do.

The club came out of the Fundação de Ensino do Norte de Minas, the university foundation in Montes Claros that gave it its name. It was founded in 2007, and it has since been described as a "celeiro de atletas", a nursery of athletes. Young players moved on to Cruzeiro, Atlético Mineiro and América-MG.

Experience arrived alongside the youngsters during the professional years of 2007 to 2011. Pedrinho , who had been at Vasco da Gama and Palmeiras, joined, as did Stanley and Wallisson Mineiro from Cruzeiro. Diego Paulista came with a Cruzeiro and Atlético Mineiro background.

Nicknamed "Formigão", the Big Ant, the side wears white with blue vertical stripes. Its home is the 5,000-capacity Estádio José Maria de Melo, which locals also call the Ateneu. The local derby, the "Clássico do Norte", is against Montes Claros Esporte Clube.

In 2010 Funorte finished second in Módulo B. Mamoré were later stripped of points for fielding an irregular player, and that changed the table.