Welcome to our exciting series Passion and Pride, where we dive into the heart of Paraguayan football, spotlighting the 12 teams of the Primera División. In each episode, we will introduce you to one club, uncovering their rich histories, fierce rivalries and special moments that have shaped Paraguay’s top league. In part four of Passion and Pride: Atlético Tembetary, a club whose recent years have been marked by a nomadic journey across cities and stadiums.
Atlético Tembetary Impressive comeback
Atlético Tembetary endured a long and rocky journey getting back from lower leagues to the highest level of Paraguayan football for the 2025 season. Plagued by financial problems Tembetary, founded in 1912 as Bermejo Football Club, almost completely disappeared some years ago. But after two consecutive promotions, it returned to the Primera División after a 27-year absence!
Rio Bermejo
The lack of detailed records from the club’s early years – common for many Paraguayan clubs of that era – leaves some room for speculation, but the club’s first name Bermejo likely drew from the Río Bermejo. That is a significant river in the region that flows through northern Argentina and southern Bolivia, eventually joining the Paraguay River near Asunción. This river was well-known to Paraguayans due to its role in trade and transportation.
Change
In 1920, the club renamed itself Club Atlético Tembetary, aligning with its neighbourhood’s Guaraní heritage. “Tembetary” is derived from a native Guaraní tree, which has distinctive red spines and green leaves. In early 1900s, Tembetary was home to a variety of these thorny and aromatic trees. The people, travelling to the market with carts and horses, would stop to rest under the generous shelter of the remarkable trees. Their colours inspired the club’s red-and-green palette, which are reflected in the logo of Los Rojiverdes (The Red-Greens).
Atlético Tembetary: El Nómada
In recent years, Tembetary has also earned the nickname El Nómada (The Nomad) due to its constant stadium moves. The club passed already through three different cities and is planning a move to a fourth! In the early 2000s, Tembetary sold its Asunción stadium and moved to Ypané. Financial struggles led to another relocation in 2018, to Villa Elisa’s Complejo Tembetary, a 500-capacity venue. Due to this limited capacity, the club has since played its home matches at the Estadio Luis Alfonso Giagni in Villa Elisa.
After the promotion to the Primera División last year, Tembetary announced a new stadium near CONMEBOL’s Luque headquarters. With this move, the club hopes their days of constant relocation will finally be behind them!
You can follow Atlético Tembetary on Instagram here.
Coming Up… In part five of Passion and Pride we spotlight Club 2 de Mayo, nicknamed “Gallo Norteño”: “Northern Rooster”, as a tribute to several generations of Paraguay’s war heroes. Where a dog named Tesapará stole the hearts of football fans worldwide and was even named an honorary assistant coach!
To read the previous episode about Club Guaraní, you can click here.
