Cobreloa

The Club de Deportes Cobreloa is a sociedad anónima deportiva (public sports company) of Chile, based in the city of Calama, in the Antofagasta Region, whose main activity is professional men's and women's football.

Cobreloa was founded on 7 January 1977; before its official founding it was known as "Club Sport Cóndor" and later as "Deportes el Loa" in its amateur days. In 1977 the Asociación Central de Fútbol approved its incorporation into the Segunda División with 38 votes in favour. The official announcement of the club's founding was made at 20:45 Chilean time, by means of a radio report.

After taking part in 38 uninterrupted seasons in the Primera División from 1978, the team was relegated for the first time in its history on 30 April 2015. The club is currently affiliated with the ANFP, for the interests of its category of football in the country. In 2024 it returned to play in the Primera División of Chile after 8 years.

On 30 March 2006, at a meeting attended by 56 members and officials of the institution, it was decided that the club would be managed as a sociedad anónima deportiva, through the approval of Law 20.019, which regulates professional sport, changing its name to "Club de Deportes Cobreloa S.A.D.P." This decision was approved unanimously by those present. On 22 April of the same year, the company was incorporated.

It has 8 Primera División titles, won in 1980, 1982, 1985, 1988, 1992, Apertura 2003, Clausura 2003 and Clausura 2004, one Primera B title won in 2023, one Copa Chile obtained in 1986, and 3 Liguilla Pre-Libertadores titles in 1981, 1986 and 2001. At continental level, it finished second in the Copa Libertadores de América in 1981 and 1982, a tournament in which it has taken part on 13 occasions, in addition to its 3 appearances in the Copa Sudamericana. Cobreloa, by virtue of its domestic titles, is the most successful Chilean football team from the regions (outside Santiago de Chile) in the country, and is also considered by many the "Cuarto Grande" ("Fourth Big One") of Chilean football.

It plays its home matches at the Estadio Zorros del Desierto, a venue that, before entering its reconstruction phase in March 2013, was called Estadio Municipal de Calama. It currently has an approximate capacity of 12,500 spectators, although it is believed that it can hold up to 15,000 spectators; it was officially reopened on 18 April 2015, in the match between Cobreloa and Deportes Antofagasta, in which the home side made its debut in its refurbished stadium with a victory.

Cobreloa's classic rival is Colo Colo of Santiago, the biggest and most popular club in Chile, with whom it contested eight titles neck and neck between 1979 and 2003, facing each other in several championship finals and semi-finals. In addition, Cobreloa held a historical dominance over the albos until 2015, especially when playing at home at the Estadio Municipal de Calama, a stronghold where Colo-Colo did not win for more than two decades. Cobreloa and Colo-Colo are also the Chilean teams with the best historical results in the Copa Libertadores de América. It also maintains a regional rivalry with Deportes Antofagasta and plays the so-called Clásico del Cobre against Cobresal of the city of El Salvador.

The club's name comes from the union of two words: Cobre (copper), because the most important copper deposits in Chile are found in the Province of El Loa, such as the largest open-pit copper mine in the world, Chuquicamata. The other word is Loa, which refers to the river that crosses the city of Calama and also gives its name to the Province. It also has rugby sections and women's football since 2019, in addition to forays into basketball and futsal, both unsuccessful.