Santa Tecla FC


Santa Tecla Fútbol Club was a Salvadoran multi-sport club based in Santa Tecla since being formed in 2007. Although they competed in a number of different sports, Santa Tecla was mostly known for its professional association football team.
The club competed in Primera División de Fútbol de El Salvador, the nation's top tier, since being promoted there for Apertura 2012.
Santa Tecla was founded in 2007, its home games were at the 10,000 capacity soccer-specific Estadio Las Delicias.

History

Santa Tecla Fútbol Club was formed in 2007 as a means for the "Tecleños" citizens to support a local team. It had been almost 40 years since the demise of former league champions Quequeisque.
They took over the Telecom FC licence and made their debut in professional football in the 2007–08 season. During their first competitive season, the team managed to reach the quarterfinals of the tournament.

Promotion to La Primera

Santa Tecla won their first title in 2012, winning the 2012 Apertura second division title by defeating Brasilia 2–1. A week later Santa Tecla defeated Titán 2–1 with goals by William Maldonado and Roberto González, allowing for Santa Tecla to be promoted to the Primera División de Fútbol de El Salvador for the first time in club history.

Champions

In 2015, the club had its most successful period in its history under the guidance of Argentinian Osvaldo Escudero. The club were able to win their first championship in club history. Santa Tecla won on a penalty shootout 3–1 after the match finished 1–1; William Maldonado was the lone goal-scorer for Santa Tecla in the final.

Second championship

Santa Tecla finished in third place in the regular season, advancing to the 2016 Apertura Playoffs, where they met Isidro Metapan in the first round. They drew the first leg 2–2, but Santa Tecla won the second leg at TBD, to win 3–2 on aggregate. Santa Tecla faced the Aguila in the semi-final, winning 4–3 on aggregate to advance to La Primera's championship game. Santa Tecla faced the Alianza F.C. for the championship. Santa Tecla won 3–2 on a game-winning brace by Sebastian Abreu in the second half, with Gerson Mayen scoring the other goal in the first half, thus winning their second title in La Primera.

Third championship

Santa Tecla finished in third place in the regular season, advancing to the 2017 Clausura Playoffs, where they met C.D. FAS in the first round. They drew the first leg 0–0, but Santa Tecla won the second leg at Estadio Las Delicias 1–0, to win 1–0 on aggregate. Santa Tecla faced the Aguila in the semi-final, winning 5–2 on aggregate to advance to the championship game. Santa Tecla faced the Alianza F.C. for the championship for the second straight tournament. Santa Tecla once again won La Primera's championship title with a comprehensive 4–0 victory, with Marlon Cornejo, Gerson Mayen William Canales and Carlos Bueno.

Contenders and fourth championship

Following their third La Primera championship, the team made two consecutive finals against Alianza F.C., losing 4–1 and 1–0 respectively. During that period they were coached by Argentinian Ernesto Corti and Uruguayan Ruben da Silva.
On 16 December 2018, Santa tecla won their fourth La Primera championship, defeating their rival Alianza F.C. 2–1 thanks to a double from Wilma Torres. The title end their recent losses and dominance by Alianza in the finals.

Recent events

The club's finances were heavily impacted by the death of the club president José Vidal Hernández and the COVID pandemic. As an ongoing consequence, the club were restricted in their spending focusing on selling their experienced players and focusing on their youth players. The club went from being title contenders to fighting for survival.
Juan Ramon Sanchez left the club in February 2024 via mutual consent, with ten games remaining and the team in the relegation zone. Francisco Medrano was appointed as his replacement until the end of the season
On 28 April 2024, Santa Tecla F.C.C were relegated as a consequence of their 2–1 loss against C.D. Luis Angel Firpo's. This ended the club's Twelve-year stint in the Primera Division, making them only the fifth former Primera Division champions to be relegated from the league since it began in Apertura-Clausura, following C.D. Vista Hermosa, Once Municipal, C.D. Dragon, C.D. Luis Angel Firpo and Atletico Marte.

Disbandment

On March 25th 2025, It was announced by Comisión Disciplinaria de la Federación Salvadoreña de Fútbol that the club will be banned from all levels of Salvadoran football and disbanded, while boards members Max Miguel Ayala Revelo, Jorge Italo Argueta Osorio, Mario Enrique Monico Chavarría, Sonia Luz Alas de Valladares, Juan Ramón Molina, Boris Ernesto Romero Castro and Juan Carlos Cruz Orellana were banned from all football related activities for 10 years.

Stadium

Santa Tecla Fútbol Club has forged its entire history, from 2007 to the present, in the Estadio Las Delicias, but during stadium renovations they played their matches in the Estadio Jorge "Mágico" González and Estadio Universitario UES.

Sponsorship

Companies that Santa Tecla FC currently has sponsorship deals with for 2023–2024 includes:
  • AriJam – Official kit suppliers
  • Electrolit – Official sponsors
  • Sistema Fedecredito – Official sponsors
  • Las Perlitas – Official sponsors
  • Plaza Merlot – Official sponsors
  • Transportes Galindo – Official sponsors
  • ElQuijote – Official sponsors
  • Laboratorios Proquifar – Official sponsors

    Honours

Domestic honours

Leagues

''As of July, 2024.''

Out on loan

In

Roberto Llamas

Out

Coaching staff

As of April 4, 2024
PositionStaff
Manager

Personnel

Management

Presidential history


List of notable players

Captains

World Cup players

Players that have played for Santa Tecla in their career and played in a World Cup:
Players that have played for Santa Tecla in their career and played in a Copa America:
  • Sebastian Abreu
  • Carlos Bueno

    Players with 50 or more goals/appearances for Santa Tecla

Includes competitive appearances only.
Current players in bold
Santa Tecla has had 20 permanent managers since it first appointed Armando Contreras Palma as coach in 2007. The longest serving manager was Osvaldo Escudero, who managed Santa Tecla for two years from May 2014 to May 2016. Edgar Henríquez "Kiko" won the club's first title, winning the Segunda División title in 2011, while Osvaldo Escudero "El Pichi" won the club's first Primera División de Fútbol de El Salvador title in 2015. This was followed by Ernesto Corti, who coached then to a second and third consecutive La Primera titles. Corti also won Copa El Salvador in 2017. Argentinian Christian Díaz made it four consecutive with the 2018 Apertura title.
The current coach is Salvadorian Juan Ramón Sánchez.
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Club records

The Mexican goalkepper Joel Almeida holds Santa Tecla overall appearance record having played in 223 matches over the course of 8 seasons from 2015 to 2020 and 2022 to 2023. Following him is former defeneder Juan Barahona who contested 222 matches over the course of 11 seasons from 1997 to 2008.
The club's all-time leading scorer is Brazilian Ricardo Ferreira, who scored 81 goals while at the club from 2013 to 2018 and 2019 to 2020. Ricardo Ferreira is also third behind Joel Almeida and Juan Barahona in all time appearances having played in TBD matches during his 8-year stint at the club. Brazilian Ricardo Ferreira hold the record for most goals scored during a league season for Santa Tecla, he notched 10 goals, which he attained in the TBD season.
Santa Tecla's biggest league victory is 8–0 which occurred during the 2016 season against Pasaquina. Santa Tecla biggest victory in the Copa El Salvador 6-1 Escuela de Fútbol de Guazapa in 2016-2017 edition of the competition. The club's biggest victory on the CONCACAF stage occurred during the 1995 season, where Santa Tecla defeated American-based club Seattle Sounders FC 2–1.
Argentinian Osvaldo Escudero had the longest reign as Santa Tecla coach, with two years and six months in charge, while Argentinian Ernesto Corti is the most successful coach in Santa Tecla history with two Primera division wins and one Copa El Salvador title.
  • First victory for Santa Tecla 2–1 Once Municipal, 6 August 2012
  • Record League victory: 8-0 v Pasaquina, Primera division, 14 February 2016
  • Record League Defeat: 1-7 v Alianza, Primera division, 22 July 2012