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Colombia has formalized professional rugby. The South American country’s first professional rugby team will be Los Cafeteros PRO. The team will enter the Súper Liga Americana de Rugby (SLAR) in 2021.
Los Cafeteros PRO will be the sixth team in SLAR. They join existing teams from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay. All five countries fielded one side each in the inaugural SLAR season. Due to COVID-19 it was cut short, ending in March.
Additional expansion is to come. There has been interest from Chile and Uruguay. Both countries are seeking a second professional team in the league. Uruguayan soccer club Nacional had been in the initial plans.
Alterations to Super Rugby leave Los Jaguares stranded. An invitation exists for the team to join SLAR. This would see Argentina having two teams in the countries two largest cities. Los Jaguares would be Buenos Aires’ team. Los Ceibos are based in Córdoba.
Four of the five SLAR 2020 teams were based on homegrown players. Peñarol was centered on Uruguayans; Selknam on Chileans; Ceibos on Argentines; and Corinthians on Brazilians. The exception was the Olímpia Lions.
Los Cafeteros PRO are looking at becoming a Colombian-centric team. 90% of the players are to be Colombians. At present there are seven professional players in foreign leagues. They are Andrés Zafra Brayan Campiño, Julio Giraldo, Johan Larrota, Giovanni Carvajal, Danny Giraldo, and Diver Ceballos.
Colombia has also set goals for the test side. Of them the key is to qualify for Rugby World Cup 2031. 50 players have been identified for the RWC 2023 qualifiers.
