Uniautónoma · History

Universidad Autónoma del Caribe Fútbol Club, known as Uniautónoma, was founded as a professional club on 1 November 2010 in Barranquilla, Colombia. It was created by the Universidad Autónoma del Caribe, which had fielded a university side in Colombia’s fourth tier, the Primera C, since 1996. That team reached the Primera C final in 2010 and lost to the side from Neiva. To step up, the university bought the league licence of Atlético de la Sabana of Sincelejo, a second-division club, at the end of 2010. The team played in red shirts with blue shorts and socks, and its supporters called it “La U” or “the Caribbean Dolphins”.

Debut in the second division

Its first official match came on 29 January 2011 in Bogotá, a 1-0 defeat to Academia. On 6 February 2011 it won for the first time, 2-1 over Barranquilla FC, with Orlando Ballesteros scoring the club’s first goal. Junior refused to let the club use the Romelio Martínez stadium, so it played home games at the Marcos Henríquez stadium in Sabanalarga, in the Atlántico department. Argentine coach Miguel Ángel Converti was in charge in 2011. In 2012 the bench went to Félix Valverde Quiñones and then, from August, to José Manuel “Willy” Rodríguez, who led the promotion campaign.

The 2013 title and promotion

In 2013 the club finished second in the regular phase of the first tournament, seven points behind América de Cali, and reached the final against Unión Magdalena. Both legs ended 2-1, one win each. On 1 July 2013, Uniautónoma won the penalty shootout 3-1 to take the 2013 second-division title, the first trophy in its history. Fortaleza won the second tournament, and the two clubs met in a final for direct promotion. Uniautónoma won the first leg 2-0 at the Metropolitano de Techo in Bogotá and drew the return leg 1-1 in Barranquilla. The 3-1 aggregate brought promotion to the top flight in December 2013. The standout player of those seasons was striker Martín Arzuaga, the club’s all-time top scorer with 26 goals, four of them in a 6-2 win over Valledupar on 10 June 2013.

Two years in the top flight

In the first division the club played its home games at the Estadio Metropolitano Roberto Meléndez. It made its debut on 25 January 2014 with a 3-2 win over Deportes Tolima in Barranquilla, Cristian Fernández scoring twice. On 16 March 2014 it beat Independiente Medellín 4-2, and on 5 October 2014 it won 4-0 away at Deportivo Cali. During 2014 the team was coached by Calixto Chiquillo as caretaker, Jaime de la Pava and Chiquillo again. That year it had to play a 2014 relegation play-off against Deportes Quindío. A 0-0 draw in Armenia and a 2-0 home win, with goals from Mauro Manotas and James Castro, kept it in the top flight.

Relegation and dissolution in 2015

Giovanni Hernández took charge in March 2015. Uniautónoma finished second from bottom in that year’s Apertura with 15 points, and on 23 July 2015 suffered its heaviest top-flight defeat, 5-1 against Deportivo Cali. At the end of 2015 it was relegated on the averages table, along with Cúcuta Deportivo. On 27 November 2015, the Universidad Autónoma del Caribe announced the dissolution of the club. It said the team was a financial burden and that its money should go to the institution’s educational aims.

The licence and the relaunch

The club’s league licence was sold to Orsomarso Sport Club of Palmira, in Valle del Cauca, which took the second-division place from 2016. Mauro Manotas, who finished runner-up at the 2015 South American Under-20 Championship with Colombia, came through the club. Outside its professional years, the university also won the Colombian national university football championship in 2010 and 2012. After several years without a team, the university announced it was relaunching the project, under the name Corporación Deportiva Uniautónoma F.C., in September 2026.