AD Carmelita

In 1961, a club then known as Carmen FC finished a Costa Rican league season without losing a match — three wins, one draw — and stood as champion of the country. The title sat unrecognised by the game's governing body for four decades. Only in 2001 did UNAFUT formally acknowledge it, naming Carmen FC co-champion of that season alongside Herediano, the club credited at the time with winning the ASOFUTBOL league.

The team that carried that result forward is now AD Carmelita, based in Barrio El Carmen, in the Costa Rican city of Alajuela. It traces back to 20 October 1948, when Manuel Guillén Fernández founded it under the Carmen FC name. The club plays in green and red, and its supporters know it as Los Carmelos.

Home matches are played at Rafael Bolaños Stadium, in the El Coyol district of Alajuela, a ground that holds 2,400 people.

Since that season, silverware has stayed out of reach. The closest AD Carmelita came was in 2013, in the final of the Copa Costa Rica. The match against Deportivo Saprissa finished goalless and went to penalties, where Saprissa won 4-2. The 1961 championship remains the only title the club has ever held.