Royal Pari F.C.

Did You Know?

• Royal Pari won the 2017 Copa Simón Bolívar by beating Deportivo Kala 6–2 in a tiebreaker match in Sucre.
• On 6 January 2025, the Bolivian Football Federation's Sports Disciplinary Court ruled Royal Pari's exclusion from competition and relegation to the Santa Cruz Football Association Championship after a play-off match was abandoned.

History

Royal Pari F.C. got its start in 2002, taking its name from the El Pari neighborhood in Santa Cruz de la Sierra where it was founded. The club began competing in the Santa Cruz Association Championships, eventually reaching the association’s third-tier Primera B in 2006. That campaign ended in relegation after the team finished last in the relegation tournament. Royal Pari returned to Primera B in 2009 and stayed there until earning promotion to the ACF's Primera A in 2012. Its debut season in the higher division was rough, with just 23 points from 38 matches and 80 goals conceded. On 14 September 2013, Grupo SION purchased the club. The new ownership paid off quickly: Royal Pari won the Primera B title the very next season, returning to Primera A. In the 2014–15 season, the team put together a 12-match unbeaten run and finished as runners-up after losing a tiebreaker to Guabirá. That result earned a spot in the Copa Bolivia, where Royal Pari topped its group by beating Deportivo Arauco Prado and advanced to the Liga Nacional B. The 2015–16 season marked the club's first appearance in the Nacional B, but it was eliminated in the semifinals on goals scored after a loss to Universitario de Tarija. Back in Primera A for 2016–17, Royal Pari placed second in the first stage and fifth in the second stage. Because Destroyers won both stages and the overall title, the runners-up from each stage faced off for the second promotion spot to the Copa Simón Bolívar. Royal Pari beat Real América in that tiebreaker to qualify. In the 2017 Copa Simón Bolívar, the club was grouped with teams from Beni, Pando, and fellow Santa Cruz side Destroyers. After a strong group stage with 24 points from 10 matches, Royal Pari reached the semifinals against Atlético Bermejo. A 1–0 home win and a 2–2 away draw sent the club to the final. There, Royal Pari met Deportivo Kala from Oruro. Both legs ended in draws, forcing a tiebreaker in Sucre that Royal Pari won 6–2, securing its first promotion to the División Profesional. In their first season in Bolivia's top tier, led by Peruvian manager Roberto Mosquera, Royal Pari finished third in the Torneo Clausura after leading the tournament for several matches and having a chance to win it on their last game against eventual champions San José. They placed fifth in the aggregate table, earning a berth into the 2019 Copa Sudamericana, the club's first international competition. In that debut, Royal Pari defeated Monagas from Venezuela on penalties and Macará from Ecuador on away goals in the first two rounds, before being knocked out in the round of 16 by Colombian club La Equidad. Royal Pari played in Primera División until the 2024 season, when they placed second-from-bottom in the aggregate table. That forced a relegation play-off against Totora Real Oruro, runners-up in the 2024 Copa Simón Bolívar. Although Royal Pari won the first leg 4–0, the second leg was abandoned after 81 minutes with Totora Real Oruro leading 3–0, as Royal Pari players were ordered to withdraw in protest over a penalty kick awarded to their rivals. On 6 January 2025, the Bolivian Football Federation's Sports Disciplinary Court ruled the exclusion of Royal Pari from the competition due to the events of the second leg, as well as their relegation to the Santa Cruz Football Association Championship.

Supporters

After the Sion business group, a Christian-run company, took over in 2013, Royal Pari F.C. attracted evangelical Christian followers and was seen as a Christian club. The team posts Bible verses on social media. Many early fans also support Christian Zionism and are pro-Israel. As the club achieved sporting success, its support base grew beyond evangelicals, mainly in Santa Cruz. The official fan group, La 12, stands out for cleaning up garbage that their members do at club matches.