 | |||
| Full name | Celaya Fútbol Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nicknames | Toros (Bulls) Cajeteros | ||
| Short name | CEL | ||
| Founded | February 7, 1954; 71 years ago (February 7, 1954) | ||
| Ground | Estadio Miguel Alemán Valdés Celaya,Guanajuato | ||
| Capacity | 23,182 | ||
| Owner | Desarrolladora de Fútbol México ALC S.A. de C.V. | ||
| Chairman | Cristian Ríos[1] | ||
| Manager | Luis Fernando Soto | ||
| League | Liga Premier (Serie A) | ||
| Clausura 2025 | Regular phase: 4th Final phase: Quarterfinals | ||
| Website | www | ||
Celaya Fútbol Club[2] is a Mexican professionalfootball club based inCelaya,Guanajuato, that plays in theLiga Premier, the third level division ofMexican football.[1] The club was founded in 1954, then changed its name toReal Celaya in 1991,Atlético Celaya in 1994. After its dissolution in 2002, the club returns asCajeteros de Celaya from 2003 to 2007, and later renamed asClub Celaya in 2007. Since 2008, the club uses its original name.
Celaya was established as a football club on 7 February 1954 as Celaya Fútbol Club, A.C. by Miguel Iriarte Montes, the first club president. Celaya registered in theSegunda División Profesional, which at that time it was the second most important league in Mexico. In its second year of existence the club finished runner-up toMonterrey, who achieved to promotion to theMexican Primera División.
In 1957–58 the club achieved promotion after winning the season. The club did not lose in their first 18 games. The club's promotion became official on 15 December 1957 when the club defeatedNacional 2–1 under the management of theArgentine Florencio Caffaratti. Celaya replace relegatedTampico Madero. Celaya played in Primera División de México from 1958 to 1961 and disappeared in the 1970s. After reactivation, they played in Primera División A (second level) and became a farm team ofQuerétaro. When this club was relegated after 2006–07 season, Celaya was absorbed and disappeared.
The club made its first division appearance on 13 July 1958 againstAmérica, losing 4–1. The first goal scored in the top division was by Felipe Negrete in a confusing play, although Mateo De la Tijera possibly should have been credited. The club struggled in its first games and did not win till round 8 when they beatZamora 3–2. The club managed to stay in its league by just one point over last-placeCuautla. That year the club finished 13 in the league with 19 points, winning 4 games. Ranulfo "Chapulin" Rosas was the club's top scorer with 8 followed by Jones and Appicciafoco with 5.
For the 1959–60 tournament the club showed little improvement, finishing 12th in the league with 12 points, leaving the relegation fight toAtletico Morelia andZamora. Ferreyra was that year's top scorer with 9 goals, followed by Ortiz with 8 and Cabañas with 4.
The club's mediocre play caught up with it in the 1960–61 tournament. After finishing last with a record of 6 wins, 7 draws and 13 losses totaling 19 points it was relegated. The club had started the tournament red hot but cooled when trainer Florencio Caffaratti left, elevating Gabriel Uñate who failed to win a single game. In that relegated squad Quaglia, J. Mercado and Ismael Ferreyra were the few players who had a good year scoring 7, 5, and 4 goals in order.
The club spent the 1960s in Second division where after 10 mediocre years, the club finally folded in the 1970s. A few years later the club along with club Tecnológico de Celaya was brought back to give Celaya professional football. Club Celaya enrolled in theTercera División de México and in the 1973–74 the club won the league. Club Celaya lost the 1975–76Segunda División de México final toSan Luis and Tecnológico de Celaya would later be relegated toTercera División de México.
The club spent the 1980s playing on and off in theSegunda B before taking some time off and reappearing inSegunda A in 1991. From 1991 to 1993 2 clubs again represented the city; club Celaya and Linces Celaya.
The club returned in 1994 when the two second-division clubs Atlético Cuernavaca (Morelos) and Escuadra Celeste de Celaya (Guanajuato) merged. Another team, Atlético Español – not to be mistaken for thesame-named Mexico City team – was merged later.
All merging clubs brought a piece of their old identity into the new club: Atlético Cuernavaca offered its name; Celeste de Celaya offered their light blue colors and Atlético Español provided their mascot, the bull, engendering their nicknametoros (bulls).
Atlético Celaya underEnrique Fernández Prado administration took the second-division position of their predecessors and immediately reached the top level. They joinedPrimera División after winning the 1994–1995Liga de Ascenso tournament where they managed to beatPachuca. Prior to the 1995–96 tournament the club brought in formerReal Madrid greatsEmilio Butragueño andHugo Sánchez who led the club to the Final with a record of 14/10/10 for a total of 52 points, qualifying them for the quarter-finals for the first time in club history. The club defeatedMonterrey in the quarter-finals, first inMonterrey, ending in a 2–2 draw, then in Celaya where the clubs again tied, 0–0. In the semi-finals they facedTiburones Rojos de Veracruz, first inVeracruz where Celaya took a 1–0 series advantage, then in Celaya where Celaya scored 5 goals, reaching its first Final in the Mexican Primera División. In the final the club facedNecaxa, who had beatenTigres UANL in the quarter-finals andAmérica in the semi-finals. In the Celaya match the clubs drew at 1–1. In the following Mexico city contest they tied at 0–0. In a controversial decision the league decided not to play extra time or a penalty shootout and awarded Necaxa the title for their away goal in Celaya.
In the1996–97 tournament the club finished last in group 4 at 5/10/2 for a total of 17 points.
Thereafter the club inhabited the lower regions. They had financial problems which led to the sale of their first-division-license in winter 2002–03. When Atlético Celaya has disappeared, their older city neighbor Club Celaya was reactivated again whenLa Piedad moved to Celaya. This club was made up by well-known playersMauro Néstor Gerk, Antonio Lomelí, Felipe Robles, Luis Fernando "Scoponi" Sandoval,Nasa, Javier Chávez González, David Pacheco andJosemir Lujambio but the club folded yet again 2004.
The club once again revived in 2007 when the city and First division clubQuerétaro came to an agreement where Celaya would be QueretarosPrimera A affiliate. The club's first year back qualified for the play-offs, but in a controversial decision the club was eliminated by the federation for an ineligible player. The club was later sold due to the fact theQuerétaro had been relegated from the first division which allowed two clubs to be operated by the same owner. The club has been playing in theSegunda División de México since 2008. In the 2010 Apertura the club defeatedTampico Madero in the final and was crowned the champion inTamaulipas.
In 2011, the team was promoted to theAscenso MX, reaching the league semifinals in the 2016 Apertura and 2017 Apertura tournaments. In 2020, the Ascenso MX was transformed into theLiga de Expansión MX, a player development league in which promotion to Liga MX was suspended for six years. Celaya finished runner-up in the 2022 Apertura and 2024 Apertura tournaments.
In 2023, Celaya began to enter an institutional crisis due to the Achar family, owners of the club, selling the team to an alliance formed by businessman José Hanan and sports representative Carlos Benavides. However, this operation was never officially recognized by the league and the FMF, which complicated the team's management.[3]
In June 2025, an attempt was made to sell the team to businessman Bernardo Pasquel, owner of the Águila de Veracruz baseball team. However, the sale was blocked by the owners of other Liga de Expansión teams, leaving Celaya F.C.'s future in limbo.[4] After the sale of the team was blocked, a group of local businessmen attempted to initiate a project to rescue the team and ensure its continuity in the Liga de Expansión. However, the interested parties were unsuccessful in obtaining the franchise, and the Celaya main team went into hiatus for the 2025–26 season.[5]
Due to the team's uncertainty, a group of local sponsors of Celaya F.C. founded a new squad to compete in theLiga Premier de México (third tier of Mexican football). The new team was calledClub Celaya, ensuring the historical continuity of the team.[6] During the 2025–26 season, this squad will serve as the club's de facto first team; however, it is legally registered as a reserves team, therefore, in principle, it will not have the right to promote to the Liga de Expansión and is subject to what happens with the main franchise in the next window of name and venue changes, which will occur in the summer of 2026.[1]
On July 22, 2025, the company that owns Celaya F.C. agreed to transfer the identity and sporting participation rights of theclub's reserves team to businessman Cristian Ríos, thus formalizing Celaya's continued presence in the third tier of Mexican football.[7]
Estadio Miguel Alemán was built and opened in 1954 inCelaya, Guanajuato. It was rebuilt 40 years later to the guidelines of the Mexican Football Federation and host to the first league meet. It was renamed in honor of President Miguel Alemán Valdés. Local teams including FC Celaya (1958–61) and Atletico Celaya Bulls (1995–02) played there.
Capacity stands at 23,182 spectators. Its design is similar to a traditional English stadium grandstand.
The club's original colors in the 1950s were red and white. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the club started using black and white with a topical v shape across the chest for home games and a black stripe shirt for away games, which they still use to this date.
      Away 2007 |  Home 2009 |  Home 2010 |  Away 2011 |  Home 2021-22 |  Away 2021-22 |  Third 2021-22 |
| Type | Competition | Titles | Winning editions | Runners-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Top division | Primera División | 0 | – | 1995–96 |
| Promotion divisions | Liga de Expansión MX | 0 | – | Clausura 2022,Apertura 2024 |
| Primera División A | 1 | 1994–95 | – | |
| Segunda División | 2 | 1957–58, Independencia 2010 | – | |
| Copa México de Segunda División | 0 | – | 1967–68 | |
| Campeón de Campeones de Segunda División | 1 | 2011 | 1958 | |
| Tercera División | 2s | 1973–74, 1990–91 | 1980–81,1981–82 |
s shared record
| Position | Staff |
|---|---|
| Chairman |  Cristian Ríos |
| Director of football | TBA |
Source:Artículo 7
| Position | Staff |
|---|---|
| Manager | Luis Fernando Soto |
| Assistant managers | Nicolás TrejoRafael Bautista |
| Fitness coach | Bernardino Navarrete |
| Physiotherapist | Vacant |
| Team doctor | Rafael Gómez |
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
|
|
Sergio Rubio (2007)Miguel de Jesús Fuentes (2009–12)
Gustavo Díaz (2015–2017)
Ricardo Valiño (2017–2018)Enrique Maximiliano Meza (2018)José Islas (2018–2019)Héctor Altamirano (2019–2020) Israel Hernández Pat (2020–2022)Paco Ramírez (2022–2023)Cristian Paulucci (2023–2024)Sergio Blanco (2024–2025)Luis Fernando Soto (2025–)
