Atlético Madrid acquire 50% stake in Ecuadorian Serie B champions Atlético FC

Atlético Madrid have acquired a 50% stake in Atlético FC, the Guayaquil side that won Ecuador’s Serie B title in its debut season, the Spanish club announced on 13 November 2026. The deal gives Atlético their first affiliate in South America, with the Ecuadorian club set to compete in Ecuador’s Serie A from 2027.

The investment had been flagged earlier in the year. In February 2026, Atlético Madrid confirmed they would share sporting, institutional and commercial expertise with Atlético FC, with a potential ownership stake to follow. The club is operated under the Junta de Beneficencia de Guayaquil, described as Ecuador’s largest non-profit organisation, which operates across all 24 of the country’s provinces.

Atlético FC’s path to promotion was unconventional. The club took over the league place of Atlético Vinotinto — which could not use it after affiliate Vinotinto FC were relegated — and changed its name from Atlético JBG to Atlético FC in the process. Promotion was secured on 15 October 2026 with a 1-0 win over Independiente Juniors, Fidel Martínez scoring the decisive goal. A 2-2 draw against Cuenca Juniors at the Estadio Alejandro Serrano on 22 October then sealed the Serie B title. The side finished the campaign having scored 39 goals and conceded 21, becoming the 37th different club to win Ecuador’s second division.

The team is coached by Carlos Santamarina, who comes from Atlético Madrid’s own academy system. With Atlético FC’s promotion, Guayaquil will field four clubs in the 2027 Serie A: Atlético FC, Barcelona SC, Emelec and Guayaquil City.

The acquisition extends a network that already includes Atlético de San Luis in Mexico and Atlético Ottawa in Canada. The roots of the Guayaquil project stretch back to July 2023, when Atlético Madrid and the Junta de Beneficencia signed a strategic agreement at the charity’s sports complex. Under that arrangement, Atlético’s academy model was applied to the Junta’s football division, which at the time served 2,500 children from vulnerable backgrounds. By June 2026, that figure had grown to more than 14,000 young players. That same month, chief executive Miguel Ángel Gil Marín visited the Guayaquil base, watched an Atlético FC match and met Santamarina.

For Atlético Madrid, the stake creates a formal link between that grassroots development work and a senior professional club. The new board is set to hold its first meeting next week, at which it will elect a president proposed by Atlético Madrid and appoint a general manager.