Cafeteros Pro is a professional

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the Comparison of rugby league and rugby union, two codes of ru ...

team based in

Medellín Medellín ( or ), officially the Municipality of Medellín ( es, Municipio de Medellín), is the second-largest city in Colombia, after Bogotá, and the capital of the department of Antioquia. It is located in the Aburrá Valley, a central re ...

, Colombia. The team was founded in 2020 to compete in Súper Liga Americana de Rugby finals series of the

2020 Súper Liga Americana de Rugby season The 2020 Súper Liga Americana de Rugby season was the inaugural season of Súper Liga Americana de Rugby, an annual rugby union competition sanctioned by Sudamérica Rugby. The competition began on 4 March and was scheduled to end on 29 May. On ...

, however the season was cancelled following the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

. The team however did join the competition full-time ahead of the 2021 Súper Liga Americana de Rugby season. Cafeteros Pro became the first professional rugby union team from Colombia.

Beginnings

Ahead of the 2021 season, Cafeteros Pro appointed Argentine

Rodolfo Ambrosio Carlos Rodolfo Ambrosio (born 27 December 1961 in Córdoba) is an Argentine rugby union former player and a current coach. He played as a fly-half and as a centre. Player career He played for Tala Rugby Club, in Córdoba, Argentina. He was the fir ...

as head coach. The team is set to have a budget of US$330,000 for their first season and their side will be a mixture of Colombian professional players and Argentine professional players. The team along with the Paraguayan SLAR side

Olímpia Lions Yacare XV is a Paraguayan professional rugby union team based in Asunción. The team was founded in 2019 AS Olimpia Lions to compete in Súper Liga Americana de Rugby. Olimpia Lions was an offshoot of the Club Olimpia sports club. The team was re- ...

will have priority of drafting Argentine players, with there being an excess of Argentine players due to the Argentine Jaguares side departing

Super Rugby Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Building on various Southern Hem ...

. On 4 January 2021, it was announced that 10 Argentine players had been drafted to the side. In the longer term the team is hoping to become a Colombian-centric team, with 90% of the players to be Colombians. Ahead of the 2021 season, there were seven Colombian players playing professional rugby in foreign leagues: Brayan Campiño and Andrés Zafra (both playing in France), Julio Cesar Giraldo (who played for American side

Rugby United New York Rugby New York, formerly known as Rugby United New York and now officially nicknamed the Ironworkers, are a professional rugby union team based in New York City that is a member of Major League Rugby (MLR). The team played an exhibition season in ...

in the

2020 Major League Rugby season The 2020 Major League Rugby season was the third season of Major League Rugby, the professional rugby union competition sanctioned by USA Rugby. The regular season schedule was released on September 23, 2019, and the regular season itself began ...

), Giovanni Carvajal, Diver Ceballos and Danny Giraldo (who all played for the Uruguayan side

Peñarol Club Atlético Peñarol (; English: ''Peñarol Athletic Club'') —also known as ''Carboneros'', ''Aurinegros,'' and (familiarly) ''Manyas''— is a Uruguayan sports club from Montevideo. The name "Peñarol" comes from the Peñarol neig ...

in the 2020 SLAR) and Johan Larrota.

Stadium

The Cafeteros Pro have yet to announce their stadium or stadia in

ahead of the 2021 Súper Liga Americana de Rugby season.

Current squad

The Cafeteros Pro squad for the

2022 Súper Liga Americana de Rugby season The 2022 Súper Liga Americana de Rugby season was the third season of the Súper Liga Americana de Rugby, an annual rugby union competition sanctioned by Sudamérica Rugby. Format The six clubs in the competition competed in the regular season ...

is: * Senior 15s internationally capped players are listed in bold. * * denotes players qualified to play for on dual nationality or residency grounds.

References

External links

* {{Súper Liga Americana de Rugby Rugby union in Colombia Rugby clubs established in 2020 2020 establishments in Colombia Sport in Medellín Super Rugby Americas