Atlético Huila is a professional Colombianfootball team based in Neiva, that currently plays in the Categoría Primera B. The club was founded on November 29, 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 play their home games at the Guillermo Plazas Alcid stadium, which has a capacity of 27,000. Huila has a long-standing rivalry with Deportes Tolima, known as the Tolima Grande derby. The club has a futsal team named Ultrahuilca Coomotor.
History
The club was founded in November 1990 and was admitted into the Primera B tournament the following year. In 1992, Alberto Rujana was appointed as manager. That same season, the club purchased midfielder Guillermo Berrío from America de Cali; Rujana named him captain and made him the centerpiece of the squad. Immediate promotion 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 1996–97, 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, the club finished third in the Apertura and qualified for the semifinal phase. They further surprised by winning their playoff group 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, 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 Sudamericanafor 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. 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 season with a 1–0 defeat against Jaguares, who were also involved in the relegation struggle.
Atlético Huila won the tournament. For being champions of the Copa Libertadores Femenina, Atlético Huila won $55,000. Every player received $2,000 and the rest of the money went to the team.
