Welcome to our series Passion and Pride, where The Asuncion Times dives into the heart of Paraguayan football, spotlighting the twelve teams of the Primera División. In each episode, we introduce one club, uncovering its history, rivalries, and defining moments that have shaped Paraguay’s top league. In part ten, we travel to Villeta, near Asunción, to meet the greatest underdog of recent Paraguayan football: Sportivo Ameliano.
Origins and identity
Founded on 6 January 1936, Sportivo Ameliano is a club shaped by humility, resilience, and national symbolism. Its name comes from Villa Amelia, one of several early twentieth-century country estates located on the outskirts of Asunción, where the club’s first pitch stood. Though originally from the neighbourhood Virgen del Huerto, Ameliano relocated to Villeta in early 2025.
Sportivo Ameliano’s nickname, La V Azulada (“The Blue V”) comes from the blue “V” that crosses their white shirt. The “V” symbolises victory, connected to Paraguay’s triumph in the Chaco War, fought only a year before the club’s foundation. The blue colour honours President Eusebio Ayala, who led the country during the conflict.
Meteoric ascent
For most of its existence, Ameliano lived far from the spotlight, competing in Paraguay’s lower divisions. But between 2019 and 2021, the club achieved a remarkable rise: promotion from the third division in 2019, promotion from the second division in 2021, and their first-ever participation in the Primera División.
Once among the elite, Sportivo Ameliano began to earn a reputation as the team that refused to bow to giants, taking important victories against clubs like Libertad and Olimpia. Behind this improbable rise stood Humberto “Botellón” García, whose nickname refers to his body shape.
A respected manager in the lower leagues, García finally reached the Primera División after years of work with Ameliano. He was dismissed during their first season due to the club’s difficulties in avoiding relegation.
A neighbourhood team champion
Although the league campaign was turbulent, Ameliano were thriving in the Copa Paraguay. After García’s departure, Juan Pablo Pumpido, son of World Cup-winning Argentine goalkeeper Nery Pumpido, took charge. Under him, Ameliano lifted the 2022 Copa Paraguay, defeating Nacional in Encarnación, the first time a smaller club had won the trophy.
The cup win changed everything: the achievement qualified them for the 2023 Copa Sudamericana and, crucially, fuelled the momentum that saved them from relegation. In the decisive last league match, they overturned being 2-0 down, defeating Guaraní with ten men.
García returned in 2023 and delivered yet another historic achievement: the second ever Paraguayan Supercup, won against Olimpia. With this, the myth of the underdog was complete. Ameliano were no longer simply surviving, they were capable of winning.
Stadium, rivalry and a Guinness World Record
Since 2025, Ameliano play at stadium La Fortaleza del Pykysyry, “Pykysyry Fortress”, in Villeta. Its name honours the Pykysyry Campaign of the War of the Triple Alliance. Before moving, the club played at the José Tomás Silva Stadium in Virgen del Huerto. Their red third kit pays tribute to the local football team that originally owned the land on which their new stadium was built.
Sportivo Ameliano’s fiercest rivalry is with Tacuary, known as the Clásico de Barrio Jara, or the Barrio Jara Derby. Although the area was renamed Virgen del Huerto in 1983, the traditional name of the derby survived due to the geographical closeness of the clubs and decades of community memory.
Ameliano have also been part of an unusual chapter of world football: on 1 June 1993, in a match against General Caballero CG, referee William Weiler issued 20 red cards, setting a Guinness World Record at the time.
The underdog
Having climbed from the lower tiers of Paraguayan football to the country’s top division, Ameliano now face the challenge of consolidation. Yet whatever the future brings, their journey already stands as one of Paraguay’s most striking examples of perseverance, identity and collective belief. It is proof that a small club, driven by its community, can defy the odds, and challenge institutions far larger than itself.
To follow the club, find Sportivo Ameliano on Instagram.
Read the previous Episode 9 of Passion and Pride, about Club Nacional, “The Academy” Of Paraguayan Football.
