América de Cali

América de Cali, known simply as América, is a Colombian football club founded on 13 February 1927 in the city of Cali. It is considered one of the biggest clubs in Colombia and one of the most representative in South America. It plays its matches at the Estadio Olímpico Pascual Guerrero, and the colour that has identified the club since its beginnings is scarlet red.

It is one of the Colombian clubs with the most championships won at professional level, with 18 titles. Nationally, it has won the Colombian Primera A fifteen times, making it one of the teams with the most championships in the tournament; it also won the Primera B title in the 2016 annual tournament. Internationally, it has made notable appearances in the Copa Libertadores de América, where it finished runner-up four times, in 1985, 1986, 1987 and 1996, making it the Colombian club that has played the most finals in the competition. It also won the continental Copa Simón Bolívar in 1975 and the Copa Merconorte in 1999; achievements that made it one of the most prestigious clubs in Colombia.

It contests the Clásico vallecaucano against Deportivo Cali, and the so-called Clásico de rojos against Independiente Santa Fe, in addition to having other rivalries with Millonarios and Atlético Nacional.

The turning point in its history came in the mid-1970s, when it won its first official title more than 50 years after its founding and 31 years after the creation of Colombian professional football. Its first official title was slow in coming because, although it was an occasional contender in the tournament, a lack of financial solvency kept it from the prominence it deserved given its historical importance and popular roots. In the 1980s it would achieve the record of 5 consecutive championships (1982, 1983, 1984, 1985 and 1986) and three consecutive Copa Libertadores finals (1985, 1986 and 1987), finishing runner-up on every occasion, thereby consolidating with titles not only its historical importance but also its presence on the international scene.

Between 1996 and 2013, the club was included on the so-called Clinton List, accused of laundering money from the Cali Cartel. Its inclusion on that list triggered a financial crisis that worsened in the mid-2000s and threatened the team with disappearance in the following years. Being on the list prevented the Corporación Deportiva América from holding bank accounts, as well as from establishing contractual ties with national and international companies, which left the team without sponsorship income; as a result, América had to subsist on television rights revenue, shirt sales and income from fans attending the stadium.

In 2011, after 57 years in the top flight, it lost its place and was relegated to the Primera B, in which it played from the 2012 season, after losing the promotion play-off against Patriotas Boyacá on penalties, thus becoming the first, and so far only, big Colombian team to be relegated to the second division. Its stay in the promotion tournament lasted 5 years, as in November 2016 América won promotion and returned to the Colombian Primera División.

In March 2012, after 4 years of failed efforts aimed at restructuring and subsequent financial recovery, the new organisation América S. A. was created. In addition, the club went from 2,500 contributors to 211 shareholders. On Wednesday, 18 April 2012, the new company was officially presented to the Dimayor, which began to recognise the entity that owned the team's sporting rights no longer as the Corporación Deportiva América but as the Sociedad Anónima Deportiva América S. A. and, later and in simplified form, América de Cali S. A.

According to the IFFHS, it is the best Colombian club of the 20th century and the fifth best Colombian club so far in the 21st century. In 1996 it was recognised by that body as the second best team in the world, surpassed only by Juventus of Turin. It also ranks 37th in the IFFHS all-time world club ranking, making it the best-placed Colombian team on the list.

According to CONMEBOL, it is the second best Colombian club in international tournaments with 512.58 points and ranks 36th in the official ranking of Copa Libertadores clubs. It is recognised by FIFA as one of the Classic Clubs of the World and is called by that body La Pasión de un Pueblo ("The Passion of a People").