Liga Paraguaya: Primera División
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Primera División Paraguaya |
|---|
 Apertura 2008 |
 |
| Founded |
| 1906 |
| Nation |
 Paraguay |
| Relegation To |
| División Intermedia |
| Number of Teams |
| 12 |
| Level on Pyramid |
| Level 1 |
| South American Qualification |
| Copa Libertadores Copa Sudamericana |
| Current Champions |
| Libertad |
| Website |
| APF |
Liga Paraguaya (Paraguayan League, in English), also known as "División Profesional", is the top category of Paraguayan football (soccer), and it is organized by the Paraguayan Football Association. Currently, there are 12 teams in the first division.
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[edit] History
Liga Paraguaya's first game was played in 1906, after the director of the El Diario newspaper, Don Adolfo Riquelme, brought to his office on June 18, 1906, the representatives of the five existing football teams in Paraguay at that time (Olimpia, Guaraní, Libertad, General Díaz, and Nacional) to create the governing body of football in Paraguay: the Liga Paraguaya de Fútbol (known today as Asociación Paraguaya de Fútbol). The representatives were William Paats and Junio Godoy (Olimpia) Ramón Caballero, Manuel Bella and Salvador Melián (Guaraní), Juan Escalada (Libertad), César Urdapilleta (General Díaz), and Vicente Gadea (Nacional). [1] The Liga Paraguaya saw Club Guaraní as the first champion in 1906, after defeating Olimpia in the final.
The Paraguayan Football Association joined CONMEBOL in 1921, and FIFA in 1925. The professional era of the competition in the Liga started in 1941.
During the 1990's, the FA changed its denomination from Liga Paraguaya del Futbol to Asociacion Paraguaya de Futbol.
[edit] Format
A new rule was introduced in 2008, stating that there will be two champions each year corresponding to the winners of the two tournaments played during the season, the Apertura (or "Opening Tournament) and Clausura (Closing Tournament). [2] This replaces the old system in which the Paraguayan Football Association divided its championships into two sections, the Torneo Apertura and Torneo Clausura. The winners of each tournament staged a playoff to decide each year's national champion. If the same team won both stages, it automatically won the national championship.
The team with the worst average points over the last three years is automatically relegated to the second division league, and the second-worst team plays a playoff match against the second division runner-up. The winner of the playoff match plays in the first division the following year.
[edit] First Division teams
The following are the teams in the first division in 2008:
- Cerro Porteño
- Olimpia
- 12 de Octubre
- Sol de América
- Guaraní
- Libertad
- Luqueño
- Nacional
- Club 2 de Mayo
- Tacuary
- 3 de Febrero
- Club Silvio Pettirossi
[edit] List of champions
[edit] Amateur Era
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[edit] Professional Era
[A] indicates win in Apertura tournament, [C] for Clausura
[edit] Titles by team
| Team | N° of Titles | Runners-up |
|---|---|---|
| Olimpia | 38 | 19 |
| Cerro Porteño | 27 | 25 |
| Libertad | 13 | 18 |
| Guaraní | 9 | 11 |
| Nacional | 6 | 8 |
| Sol de América | 2 | 12 |
| Sportivo Luqueño | 2 | 4 |
| Presidente Hayes | 1 | 0 |
| Atlántida | 0 | 3 |
| River Plate | 0 | 3 |
| 12 de Octubre | 0 | 1 |
[edit] References
[edit] External links
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Seasons in Paraguayan football
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