Atlético Huila

Atlético Huila
Full nameClub Deportivo Atlético Huila S.A.
NicknamesLos Opitas (The Opitas, from the Opita Spanish language dialect of Tolima and Huila)
Bambuqueros (Bambuco Dancers)
El Barcino (Light-haired steer)
Founded29 November 1990 (1990-11-29)
GroundEstadio Guillermo Plazas Alcid
Capacity27,000
OwnerFelipe Olave
LeagueCategoría Primera B
2025Primera B, 5th of 16
Websitewww.clubatleticohuila.com.co

Atlético Huila is a professional Colombian football team based in Neiva, that last played in the Categoría Primera B. The club was founded in 1990, making it one of the youngest professional football clubs in Colombia.

The club's best seasons came in the late 2000s; they finished runners-up in 2007 and again in 2009. They played their home games at the Estadio Guillermo Plazas Alcid, which has a capacity of 27,000. The club entered into a hiatus at the end of the 2025 season, following infrastructure issues with its home stadium that led its owners to move the squad to Yumbo, Valle del Cauca Department along with their membership in Dimayor, while its brand stayed in Neiva after it was transferred to a new owner.[1]

Huila had a long-standing rivalry with Deportes Tolima, known as the Tolima Grande derby. The club also had a futsal team named Ultrahuilca Coomotor.

History

The club was founded on 29 November 1990 and was admitted into the Categoría Primera B tournament the following year. In 1992, Alberto Rujana was appointed as manager. That same season, the club purchased midfielder Guillermo Berrío from América de Cali; Rujana named him captain and made him the centerpiece of the squad. As a result, promotion to the top flight followed. The club managed to last in the top flight until the end of the 1996–97 season, when they finished last in the relegation table and were sent back to Primera B.

Rafael Corrales took over the club in 1997, and led them to an immediate promotion back to the top flight. The club managed to consolidate itself in the league, although relegation was a constant danger. Huila escaped relegation only on goal differential in 2002 and had to win a relegation playoff against Valledupar in 2006. This was why the club's performance in 2007 was almost entirely unexpected.

Under the management of Néstor Otero for the 2007 season, the club finished third in the Apertura and qualified for the semifinal phase. They further surprised by winning their semifinal group (beating Millonarios on the final day of the round robin) to reach the Apertura finals, where they were beaten by Atlético Nacional 2–1 over two legs. A similarly unexpected result came in the second half of the 2009 season (Finalización tournament), when the club finished third in the first stage and topped its semifinal group. Once again they were beaten in the finals, this time by Independiente Medellín by a 3–2 aggregate score. The strong performance in the 2009 season allowed Atlético Huila to qualify for the following year's Copa Sudamericana for the first time in history, in which they beat Venezuelan team Trujillanos in the first stage, but were knocked out by San José from Bolivia in the second stage.

The club placed first in the first stage of the 2015 Torneo Apertura, however they were eliminated in the quarterfinals by Deportes Tolima.

After 22 years in the top flight, Atlético Huila were relegated back to the second tier at the end of the 2019 season, finishing in last place of both the relegation table and the year's aggregate table. Their relegation was confirmed on the last day of the regular season with a 1–0 defeat against Jaguares, who were also involved in the relegation struggle.[2]

Following their return to Primera B, Atlético Huila won the 2020 tournament, which did not grant promotion for the following season given that promotion and relegation were postponed for six months due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in Colombia, however they were able to seal their promotion back to Primera A by beating Deportes Quindío, winners of the first tournament of the 2021 season, in a double-legged grand final.[3] Although their return to the top flight was short-lived and they were relegated back to Primera B at the end of 2021, in their return to the second tier for the 2022 season they were able to bounce back from a poor performance in the first half of the season by winning the Torneo II which allowed them to qualify for the Primera B Grand Final against the Torneo I winners Boyacá Chicó. Their defeat in that series forced them to play a double-legged play-off against Deportes Quindío for the final promotion spot, which they won by beating the cuyabro side by a 2–1 score on aggregate, allowing them to return to Primera A for 2023.[4]

On 4 May 2023, 97.203% of the club's shares were sold to the international holding Sociedad FARLAY S.A. led by businessman Michel Deller, who also owns the Ecuadorian club Independiente del Valle.[5] That same year, Atlético Huila suffered a fourth relegation to the second tier, after a poor performance in the first half of the season.[6]

The failed refurbishment works of Estadio Guillermo Plazas Alcid, which were paused since 2016 following the death of two workers after a section of a grandstand collapsed, posed a problem for the club in its later years. After playing away from Neiva while the stadium was closed, in 2018 Atlético Huila had to invest on temporary locker rooms as well as the stadium's lighting system in order for it to be enabled to host games.[7] Without a definitive solution from government entities for the reconstruction of the stadium, it was banned for professional matches due to its structural damage on 28 October 2025, forcing the club to look for a new stadium to host their games.[8] On 14 November 2025, the club announced an agreement with the local authorities of Yumbo, Valle del Cauca Department to move there, pending approval from Dimayor.[7] On 11 December 2025, the Assembly of Dimayor approved the move. As part of the agreement reached with the Yumbo Municipality, the club ceased to play as Atlético Huila, making way for a new club named Independiente Yumbo.[9]

On 25 December 2025, Maruan Issa, club chairman since 2023, handed over the Atlético Huila brand to local businessman Felipe Olave, who sought to build a new stadium for the club as well as returning it to professional competition by acquiring another club's license.[10]

Honours

Domestic

Performance in CONMEBOL competitions

1999: First round
2010: Second round

Players

Notable players

Managers

Source: [22]

Women

Main article: Atlético Huila (women)

Atlético Huila Femenino was the women's section of Atlético Huila. They participated in the Colombian Women's Football League organized by Dimayor, the top level women's football league in Colombia.

Atlético Huila won the league championship in 2018, having finished runner-up in the previous season. That same year, they also won the Copa Libertadores Femenina, thus becoming the first Colombian team to win the continental club competition. In 2020, the team entered a hiatus when it withdrew from the domestic league owing to financial reasons.[23][24] Although they returned to the league for the 2022 season,[25] the team did not enter the league since 2024 as the club's owners opted to focus on the men's and youth teams.[26]

References

  1. ^ "Atlético Huila se despide de su afición" [Atlético Huila bid farewell to their fans] (in Spanish). Diario del Huila. 1 January 2026. Retrieved 1 January 2026.
  2. ^ "Huila, el peor del año, se fue a la B" [Huila, the worst of the year, went down to the B]. El Tiempo. 29 October 2019. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  3. ^ "Atlético Huila se coronó campeón de la Final de Ascenso del Torneo BetPlay Dimayor 2021 y vuelve a la primera división". Radio Santa Fe (in Spanish). 1 July 2021. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
  4. ^ "¿Cuánto tiempo pasó? Así Huila acabó su infierno y retornó a primera" [How long has it been? Thus, Huila ended their hell and returned to the top tier] (in Spanish). Futbolred. 30 November 2022. Retrieved 14 May 2023.
  5. ^ "Este es el millonario que compró al Huila: ya hizo milagro en Ecuador" [This is the millionaire who bought Huila: he already did a miracle in Ecuador] (in Spanish). Futbolred. 4 May 2023. Retrieved 14 May 2023.
  6. ^ "Listo el segundo descenso: Atlético Huila vuelve a la B" [The second relegation is confirmed: Atlético Huila return to the B] (in Spanish). El Tiempo. 23 October 2023. Retrieved 11 December 2025.
  7. ^ a b "Atlético Huila se va de la región porque Neiva se quedó sin estadio" [Atlético Huila leave the region because Neiva ended up without a stadium] (in Spanish). La Silla Vacía. 14 November 2025. Retrieved 11 December 2025.
  8. ^ "Inhabilitan estadio del FPC por graves daños estructurales" [FPC stadium banned due to serious structural damage] (in Spanish). Win Sports. 29 October 2025. Retrieved 11 December 2025.
  9. ^ "Fin de una historia de 35 años: Atlético Huila cambiará de nombre y se mudará de Neiva a Yumbo tras decisión de la Dimayor" [End of a 35-year history: Atlético Huila will change its name and move from Neiva to Yumbo following a decision by Dimayor] (in Spanish). El Tiempo. 11 December 2025. Retrieved 11 December 2025.
  10. ^ "El empresario Felipe Olave recibe oficialmente la marca Atlético Huila" [Businessman Felipe Olave officially receives the Atlético Huila brand] (in Spanish). La Nación. 26 December 2025. Retrieved 1 January 2026.
  11. ^ "Janio Alberto Perdomo 34 años ´potenciando' deportistas de alto rendimiento". Diario del Huila. Retrieved 2025-01-21.
  12. ^ "¿Quién es Nelson Abadía, el técnico femenino de la Selección Colombia?". El País. Retrieved 2025-01-21.
  13. ^ "Historia del Atlético Huila". El Tiempo. Retrieved 2025-01-21.
  14. ^ "HUILA RECIBE A SANTA FE". El Tiempo. Retrieved 2025-01-21.
  15. ^ "COMIENZA EL CAMPEONATO PROFESIONAL DEL 2000". El Tiempo. Retrieved 2025-01-21.
  16. ^ "ASÍ FUE LA XVIII FECHA". El Tiempo. Retrieved 2025-01-21.
  17. ^ a b "Bernardo Redín fue detenido por supuesta evasión de impuestos". ESPN. Retrieved 2025-01-21.
  18. ^ "Dirigir en el fútbol profesional, un privilegio". El Universal. Retrieved 2025-01-21.
  19. ^ "Huila licenció a tres jugadores por indisciplina". Caracol Radio. Retrieved 2025-01-21.
  20. ^ "Despiden al técnico Néstor Otero del Atlético Huila". Caracol Radio. Retrieved 2025-01-21.
  21. ^ ""El técnico colombiano está entre los diez mejores del mundo": Javier Álvarez". Futbolred.net. Retrieved 2025-01-21.
  22. ^ "Atlético Huila » Manager history". Worldfootball.net. Retrieved 2025-01-21.
  23. ^ "Muy triste: campeón de Copa Libertadores femenina ya no tendrá equipo" [Very sad: Women's Copa Libertadores champion will not have a team anymore] (in Spanish). Futbolred. 5 June 2020. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
  24. ^ "El drama en la desaparición de Atlético Huila Femenino, campeón de Liga y Libertadores" [The drama in the disappearance of Atlético Huila Femenino, League and Libertadores champion] (in Spanish). Antena 2. 2 June 2021. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
  25. ^ "¡Es oficial! Huila jugará la liga femenina del 2022" [It's official! Huila will play the 2022 women's league] (in Spanish). La Nación. 13 January 2022. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  26. ^ "Confirmado: Atlético Huila no tendrá equipo femenino para este año" [Confirmed: Atlético Huila will not have a women's team for this year] (in Spanish). HJ Doble K Huila. 17 January 2024. Retrieved 18 August 2025.
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