Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras (Portuguese pronunciation: [pawˈmejɾɐs]) is a Brazilian football club from São Paulo. The club was founded on August 26, 1914, as Palestra Italia (pronounced: [paˌlɛstɾiˈtaliɐ]), but changed to the current name on September 14, 1942. It is one of the most popular and successful Brazilian clubs, with around 17 million supporters, including a large number of Brazilians of Italian ancestry. Despite being primarily an association football team, Palmeiras competes in a number of different sports, most notably basketball. The football team plays in the Campeonato Paulista, the state of São Paulo's premier state league, as well as in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, the top tier of the Brazilian football league system.