Clube Desportivo Santa Clara was founded in Ponta Delgada, on the island of São Miguel in the Azores — a Portuguese archipelago in the mid-Atlantic — making them not only the westernmost top-flight club in Europe but also one of the most geographically distinctive in the continent.
The club first reached the Primeira Liga for the 1999–2000 season before suffering immediate relegation, but they returned stronger by winning the Segunda Liga title in 2000–01. That promotion set the stage for a notable early chapter: despite their modest standing, Santa Clara were selected to participate in the 2002 UEFA Intertoto Cup, becoming the first Azorean club to compete in European football. A 15-year spell in the second tier followed relegation in 2003, but the club climbed back to the top flight in 2018 and steadily rebuilt its identity at the highest level.
The defining moment of the modern era came in 2020–21, when Santa Clara finished sixth in the Primeira Liga — their best-ever league position at the time — earning a place in the inaugural UEFA Europa Conference League. They navigated two qualifying rounds before being eliminated at the playoff stage. After a difficult period that ended in relegation in 2022–23, the club won the Liga Portugal 2 title in 2023–24 to bounce back immediately, then recorded a club-record 57 points in 2024–25 to finish fifth and qualify for the Conference League once again.
Santa Clara hold two Segunda Liga titles (2000–01 and 2023–24). Their principal local rival is CD Operário from Lagoa, while inter-island rivalries with Madeira clubs CS Marítimo and CD Nacional also shape the club's identity.