Club Polideportivo Mérida was a Spanish football team based in Mérida, in the autonomous community of

Extremadura Extremadura ( ; ; ; ; Fala language, Fala: ''Extremaúra'') is a landlocked autonomous communities in Spain, autonomous community of Spain. Its capital city is Mérida, Spain, Mérida, and its largest city is Badajoz. Located in the central- ...

. Having played twice in

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

( 1995–96 and 1997–98), the club was dissolved in 2000, due to serious economic debts. Its successor was renamed Mérida UD.La UD Mérida, en busca del terreno perdido
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History

The team founded in 1912 under the name Sportiva Emeritense. It became one of the first teams from

to play professional football. The club first began playing football in 1943, when it was admitted to Tercera Division. They spent four years there, after which the team was relegated to regional leagues for two years. Merida returned to Tercera division in 1949. Following 12 years in the third tier, Merida was again demoted to the fourth tier in 1961, but only for one year. Until 1980, the team kept bouncing between the third and fourth tiers. In 1980, Merida first promoted to the newly created Spanish third tier – the Segunda Division B. They returned to Segunda B in 1989, where they stayed for two seasons. The period from 1990 is generally considered the "golden age" in Merida's history. The team was promoted to Segunda Division for the first time ever in 1991, when they finished fourth in Segunda B. Three strong seasons were followed by another, even better, when the team managed to win Segunda Division and promote to La Liga for the first time in 1995. The 1995-96 La Liga season was difficult and ended in relegation for Merida. They, however returned to the elite one season later, for the 1997-98 La Liga season. However, the team could not avoid relegation again, and were demoted to Segunda once more. Following two decent seasons in Segunda, the owners of Merida declared

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the deb ...

and the team folded in 2000. A successor club, named Merida UD. This was mainly done by fans of the original club, who wanted to preserve the legacy and traditions of the old club, since the city was left without a professional club. As of 2023, CP Merida and

CF Extremadura Club de Fútbol Extremadura was a Spanish football team based in Almendralejo, in the autonomous community of Extremadura. Founded in 1924, it played two seasons in La Liga, and held home games at '' Estadio Francisco de la Hera'', with a cap ...

are the only two teams from

to have played football in

Club background

*''Sportiva Emeritense'' — ''(1912–20)'' *''Club Catalanes — Club MZA'' — ''(1920–21)'' *''Club Emerita'' — ''(1921–36)'' *''

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

– No team'' — ''(1936–39)'' *''SD Emeritense'' — ''(1939–66)'' *''Mérida Industrial CF'' — ''(1966–85)'' *''CP Mérida'' — ''(1985–2000)'' *'' Mérida UD'' — ''(1990–2013)'' *''

Mérida AD Asociación Deportiva Mérida, Sociedad Anónima Deportiva, S.A.D. is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football club based in Mérida, Spain, Mérida, in the autonomous community of Extremadura. Founded in 2013 it is a successor club of ...

'' — ''(2013–present)''

Seasons

---- *2 seasons in

*7 seasons in

Segunda División The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Segunda División, commonly known as Segunda División or La Liga 2, and officially known as LaLiga HyperMotion for sponsorship reasons, is the men's second professional association football division of the Spa ...

*3 seasons in

Segunda División B Segunda División B (English: second division B) was the third tier of the Spanish football league system containing 102 teams divided into five groups, until it was replaced by the new structure in 2021. It was administered by the Royal Spanish ...

*37 seasons in

Tercera División Tercera División () was the fourth tier of the Spanish football league system. Until 1977, it was the third tier of the Spanish football league system. Founded in 1929, it was below the ''Primera División'' (also known as La Liga), the ''Segund ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Merida Mérida, Spain Defunct football clubs in Extremadura Mérida UD Association football clubs established in 1912 Association football clubs disestablished in 2000 1912 establishments in Spain 2000 disestablishments in Spain Segunda División clubs La Liga clubs