Club Deportes Antofagasta

Early years: 1966–1997

Deportes Antofagasta was founded on 14 May 1966 as Club de Deportes Antofagasta Portuario, following the merger of the local amateur clubs Unión Bellavista and Portuario Atacama. The initiative, supported by then-mayor Juan Floreal Recabarren, was intended to establish a professional representative for the city of Antofagasta. Luis Santibáñez was appointed as the club's first manager. Only two years after its foundation, Antofagasta Portuario won the 1968 Segunda División championship. The title was secured after defeating San Luis de Quillota in the final stage of the competition, giving the club its first promotion to the Primera División and making it the first team from Chile's Norte Grande to reach the top flight. The club remained in Primera División through much of the following decade. In 1974 it was renamed Club Regional Antofagasta, before adopting its current name, Club de Deportes Antofagasta, in 1979. After periods in the second tier, the club returned to Primera División in January 1983 following a 9–0 victory over Lota Schwager, but was relegated again at the end of the 1984 season. Antofagasta became a promotion contender again in 1990. The club won that year's Campeonato de Apertura de Segunda División and finished second in the northern promotion group, qualifying for the promotion play-offs alongside Rangers, Everton and Naval. Although Antofagasta finished third in the play-off tournament and initially failed to gain…