Cortuluá, officially named Cortuluá Fútbol Club S. A. and previously known as Corporación Club Deportivo Tuluá for short, was a Colombian

football club In association football, a football club (or association football club, alternatively soccer club) is a sports club that acts as an entity through which association football teams organise their sporting activities. The club can exist either as ...

from

Tuluá Tuluá (), is a city located in the heart of Valle del Cauca, Colombia. A major industrial and commercial center, it is the region's fourth-largest city after Cali—the department capital— Palmira and Buenaventura. Founded around 1741 by Juan ...

, Valle del Cauca Department. It was founded in 1967 and last played in

Categoría Primera B Categoría Primera B, commonly referred to as Torneo BetPlay Dimayor due to Sponsor (commercial), sponsorship by online betting company BetPlay, is the second-division association football, football league in Colombia. The tournament was inaugura ...

, the second-tier competition of Colombian football. In the

2001 Categoría Primera A season The 2001 Categoría Primera A season, named Copa Mustang 2001 for sponsoring purposes, was the 54th season of Colombia's top-flight football league. América de Cali were the defending champions and won their eleventh title and second in a row b ...

the team had its most successful campaign after winning the Apertura tournament, which granted them a spot in the 2002 Copa Libertadores.

History

Cortuluá was founded in 1967 by a group of people headed by Paraguayan former player and coach Hernando Acosta, and entered

for its first season in 1991. In 1993, Cortuluá won its first title in the

, being promoted to the Primera A for the following year. Its first game in the top flight was on 26 February 1994 at the Estadio Hernando Martinez Azcárate of nearby

Buga Buga may refer to: * Buga (surname) Places * Mount Buga, an inactive volcano in Zamboanga del Sur province, the Philippines * Buga (barangay), a barangay in San Miguel Municipality, Bulacan, Philippines * Buga, Valle del Cauca, city and municipa ...

against

Envigado Envigado () is a city and municipality due South of Medellín, Colombia in the department of Antioquia Department, Antioquia. It is located in the Metropolitan Area of the Aburrá Valley. It borders El Poblado, Medellín to the north, Sabaneta, An ...

. In the 2001 Copa Mustang Cortuluá won the Torneo Apertura (which at that time did not yet award a championship) and qualified for the 2002 Copa Libertadores. However, in 2004 the team were relegated to the Categoría Primera B. In 2006, the

United States Treasury The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States. It is one of 15 current U.S. government departments. The department oversees the Bureau of Engraving and ...

identified the football club as one of ten businesses allegedly operating on behalf of one of the most wanted Colombian drug barons,

Carlos Alberto Renteria Mantilla Carlos may refer to: Places ;Canada * Carlos, Alberta, a locality ;United States * Carlos, Indiana, an unincorporated community * Carlos, Maryland, a place in Allegany County * Carlos, Minnesota, a small city * Carlos, West Virginia ;Elsewhere ...

. The move by the United States authorities placed a freeze on any assets owned by the club within the United States, and prevented United States residents from having dealings with the club. Cortuluá was removed from the

Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List The Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List, also known as the SDN List, is a United States government sanctions/embargo measure targeting U.S.-designated terrorists, officials and beneficiaries of certain authoritarian regimes, a ...

(also known as the ''Clinton List'') on 24 May 2012. After five years in the

, the club was promoted back to the

Categoría Primera A The Categoría Primera A (), commonly referred to as Liga BetPlay Dimayor due to Sponsor (commercial), sponsorship by online betting company BetPlay, is a professional association football league in Colombia and the highest level of the Colombian ...

in 2009. Cortuluá qualified for the final of the "Torneo Apertura", surpassing

Deportes Palmira Deportes Palmira was a Colombian football (soccer) team, based in Palmira, Colombia, Palmira. The club was founded in 2009 and played in Categoría Primera B. The club was formerly known as Girardot F.C. based in Girardot, Cundinamarca, Girardot ...

Deportivo Rionegro Leones F.C., also known as Itagüí Leones, is a professional Colombian football team based in Itagüí playing in the Categoría Primera B starting from 2019. They play their home games at the Estadio Metropolitano Ciudad de Itagüí. History ...

, and

Atlético Bucaramanga Club Atlético Bucaramanga S.A., better known as Atlético Bucaramanga, is a Colombian professional football team based in Bucaramanga. The club plays its home games at the Américo Montanini stadium. The club was founded on 11 May 1949 by Rafa ...

in Group A of the semi-finals. In the final instance against

Itagüí Ditaires Itagüí () is a city and municipality of Colombia, located in the south of the Aburrá Valley in the Antioquia Department. It is part of the Metropolitan Area of the Aburrá Valley. Demographics The population was estimated to be 289,994 in 2020 ...

, the first leg ended 3–1 with a win for Cortuluá, but it lost 2–0 in the second leg. In the penalty shootout Cortuluá won 6–5, thus winning the "Torneo Apertura" and qualifying to the Final of the year, where Cortuluá defeated

and returned to the top tier for the following season. In the 2010 season, the team were relegated again and returned to the second division, where they played for four seasons until the 2015 season, when they were once again promoted in a special tournament played to increase the size of the

to 20 teams. They came on top of Group B, ahead of

Unión Magdalena Unión Magdalena () commonly known as El Unión, and nicknamed as El Ciclón Bananero (The Banana Cyclone) and also Los Samarios (The Samarios), is a Colombian football club from the city of Santa Marta, capital of the department of Magdalena De ...

, pre-tournament favorites

América de Cali América de Cali S. A., best known as América de Cali or América, is a Colombian professional football club based in Cali. It competes in the Categoría Primera A, the top-flight league of Colombian football. The team plays its home games at ...

, and

Deportivo Pereira Deportivo Pereira is a professional Colombian football team based in Pereira, that currently plays in the Categoría Primera A. They play their home games at the Hernán Ramírez Villegas stadium. History Early years While there are several am ...

and thus earned promotion for the 2015 season. In 2016, its reserve team placed third in the

U-20 Copa Libertadores The CONMEBOL Under-20 Libertadores ( Portuguese and Spanish: CONMEBOL Libertadores Sub 20) is the international association football club competition for teams that play in CONMEBOL leagues. It was created by Manuel Burga Seoane and the Peruvian ...

. On the final matchday of the first round of the 2017 Torneo Finalización, Cortuluá were once again relegated to the Primera B, after losing 2–1 to

Once Caldas Once Caldas S.A., simply known as Once Caldas, is a professional Colombian Association football, football team based in Manizales, that currently plays in the Categoría Primera A. The club plays its home games at Estadio Palogrande. The club wa ...

Manizales Manizales () is a city in central Colombia. It is the capital of the Caldas Department, Department of Caldas, and lies near the Nevado del Ruiz volcano. Currently, the city is the main center for the production of Colombian coffee and an importa ...

with a last-minute goal. After four years in the second tier, Cortuluá were able to return to Primera A at the end of the

2021 season 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

, winning their semi-final group to clinch one of the two promotion spots. However, they were immediately relegated back to Primera B after a poor campaign that saw them end in last place of the relegation table of the 2022 Primera A. Their relegation was confirmed on 16 October 2022, following a 1–0 home defeat to

Deportes Tolima Club Deportes Tolima S.A., commonly known as Deportes Tolima, or simply as Tolima, is a Colombian professional football club based in Ibagué, Tolima Department, that competes in the Categoría Primera A. Founded in 1954, the club has won the C ...

Departure from Tuluá and rebranding

Following the team's relegation from Primera A, the club's owner Ignacio Martán announced his intention to move Cortuluá out of its hometown, citing the lack of financial support from successive local administrations. On 14 December 2022 the General Assembly of DIMAYOR approved Cortuluá's proposal to move their home matches from Tuluá to

Yumbo Yumbo is a small, industrial city and municipality in western Colombia. It is located in the Valle del Cauca Department, just north of Cali. In 2020, the municipality had a population of approximately 110,000. History Modern Yumbo was founded ...

, Valle del Cauca Department, starting from 2023. The team played its matches in the 2023 Primera B tournament in Yumbo, planning to rebrand to ''Yumbo Industriales F.C.'' within six months, however, this proposed change did not materialize. At the end of 2023 Cortuluá requested another change of home stadium, planning to move to Palmira. The request was approved by DIMAYOR on 12 December 2023. The club was ultimately rebranded as Internacional F.C. de Palmira on 10 January 2024.

Stadium

Estadio Doce de Octubre Estadio Doce de Octubre is a multi-use stadium in Tuluá, Colombia. It is used mostly for football matches. The stadium has a capacity of 16,000 people and was built in 1967. Cortuluá Cortuluá, officially named Cortuluá Fútbol Club S. A. ...

, located in

and able to seat 16,000 people, was Cortuluá's home stadium until the end of 2022. Starting from 2023, the club moved its home matches to Estadio Municipal Raúl Miranda in

, which has a capacity of 3,500 people. The club only played one season in Yumbo, moving to

Estadio Francisco Rivera Escobar Estadio Francisco Rivera Escobar is a multi-use stadium in Palmira, Colombia. It is used mostly for football matches. The stadium has a capacity of 15,300 people. Local club Orsomarso plays its home matches at this stadium, with Internacional F ...

in Palmira for the following season.

Honours

Domestic

** Winners (2): 1993, 2009

Continental

** Third place (1):

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

Performance in CONMEBOL competitions

Copa Libertadores The CONMEBOL Libertadores, also known as Copa Libertadores de América (), is an annual continental club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 1960. It is the highest level of competition in South American club football. The tournam ...

: 1 appearance ::

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

: First round *

: 1 appearance ::

: Third place

Players

Notable players

* Álvaro Peña * Jairo Ampudia * Javier Arizala *

Faustino Asprilla Faustino Hernán Asprilla Hinestroza (born 10 November 1969) is a Colombian former professional footballer who played as forward or winger, most notably for Parma, Newcastle United and the Colombia national team. Club career Early years Afte ...

Víctor Bonilla Víctor Manuel Bonilla Hinestroza (born 23 January 1971) is a Colombian former professional footballer who played as a striker. His extensive career includes defending the colors for Deportivo Cali, América de Cali, Deportes Tolima, Atléti ...

Miguel Borja Miguel Ángel Borja Hernández (born 26 January 1993) is a Colombian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Argentine Primera División club River Plate and the Colombia national team. Debuting with Deportivo Cali in 2011, he tra ...

Mayer Candelo Mayer Andrés Candelo García (born 20 February 1977) is a Colombian football manager and former football player who played as a attacking midfielder. Career Candelo made his debut in 1996 for Deportivo Cali and played for Universitario de Depo ...

* Óscar Díaz * Diego Gómez *

Héctor Hurtado Héctor Hugo Hurtado Salazar (born 21 September 1975) is a former Colombian football striker who last played for América de Cali. When he retired from his career as a professional player in 2014 he became a sports technician. Career On Apr ...

* Edison Mafla *

Leonardo Mina Polo Leonardo Mina Polo (born January 5, 1977) is a Colombian soccer player, currently free agent. References External links *Leonardo Minaat Ceroacero * * 1977 births Living people Leonardo Mina Polo Colombian expatriate men's footballers ...

* Johnnier Montaño * Tressor Moreno * Rubiel Quintana *

Hamilton Ricard Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...

* Carlos Rodas * Milton Rodríguez * Oscar A. León * Jaime Alfonso Ruiz * Néstor Salazar * Fernando Uribe * Gustavo Victoria *

Mario Yepes Mario Alberto Yepes Díaz (; born 13 January 1976) is a Colombian former professional association football, footballer who played as a Defender (association football)#Centre-back, centre-back. He is well known for his time in Paris Saint-Germai ...

* Julio César Maya * Rolan de la Cruz *

Danny Quendambú Danny Jair Quendambú Cortés (born 19 March 1983) is a Colombian former footballer who played as a forward. Born in Tumaco, Quendambú began playing football with the youth sides of Deportivo Cali. He would play professionally for several ...

* Román Torres * Alejandro Vélez * Rafael Dudamel *

Edgar Pérez Greco Édgar Fernando Pérez Greco (born 16 February 1982) is a Venezuelan Association football, football Manager (association football), manager and former player who played as a Forward (association football)#Striker, striker. He is the current mana ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cortulua Defunct football clubs in Colombia Association football clubs established in 1967 Association football clubs disestablished in 2024 1967 establishments in Colombia 2024 disestablishments in Colombia Categoría Primera A clubs Categoría Primera B clubs