| Countries | Colombia |
|---|---|
| Confederation | Conmebol |
| Founded | 1948 |
| Number of teams | 18 |
| Levels on pyramid | 1 |
| Relegation to | Categoría Primera B |
| Domestic cup(s) | Copa Colombia Copa Bancolombia |
| International cup(s) | Copa Libertadores Copa Sudamericana |
| Current champions | Junior (7th title) (2011-II) |
| Most championships | Millonarios América (13 titles each) |
| TV partners | TV Colombia |
| Website | www.dimayor.com.co |
| 2011 season | |
The Categoría Primera A is the professional football league of Colombia. It is the country's premier football tournament and sits at the top of the Colombian football league system. Eighteen clubs play in the league. The División Mayor del Fútbol Profesional Colombiano, better known as Dimayor, operates a system of promotion and relegation with the Categoría Primera B. Because of sponsorship by soft drink company Postobón will sponsor the league for the next five years and the league will be called Liga Postobón.[1]
The league was started in 1947 by Alfonso Senior Quevedo, president of Adefútbol. Due to some political problems between 1947 and 1948, the league's first season was in 1948, and has been held yearly since. In the 1968 season the league has used the Apertura and Clausura system, although they have only crown a champion for each tournament since the 2002 season. In 1989, the season was cancelled mid-way through because of the assassination of a referee.
Fourteen teams have been crowned Colombian football champion. The most successful clubs are Millonarios and América, each with thirteen titles. The current champion is Atlético Junior with their 7th title.
Contents |
In 1948, Dimayor was founded in Barranquilla to officially organize football. FIFA declared the Colombian league a breakaway league after a dispute with the existing amateur football authority in Colombia. Therefore, all Colombian teams were suspended from playing international football. The Colombia national football team was also under sanction. However, the sanction did not hurt the league. Due to a strike in Argentine football, the best footballers were signed in Colombia. This era was known as El Dorado and lasted until 1953, when Alfredo Di Stéfano was transferred to Spain.
During the league stage, which lasts eighteen games, each team plays against every other team once, plus an additional game against their local rival in the league. The league table is kept like a normal European league table, one point for ties and three points for a win. The top eight teams advance to the playoffs.
The finals involve two games. The team with the highest aggregate score after both home and away games wins and is crowned champion. If the game is a tie it proceeds directly to a penalty shoot-out. The away goals rule is not used.
The setup and fixtures for the Copa Mustang have been changed many times. The current system was established in 1999. Prior to this setup, many complex fixtures and stages were used. One of the worst was the 1996–1997 cup, that actually was played for 18 months, from July 1996 to December 1997. The excuse to make an exceptionally complex league has usually been an effort to spice up the tournament. Several famous Colombian coaches have expressed a dislike of the new format and several teams have been in first place throughout the entire league stage, and then not even reached the final.
Fourteen clubs has been the Primera A champion. Eight of those clubs have been the champion more than once. The most successful clubs are Millonarios and América, each with thirteen titles. Deportivo Cali, Atlético Nacional, América, and Millonarios are the only clubs that have won the title consecutively. América holds the record for the longest title streak winning five titles from 1982 to 1986. Since the start of the Apertura/Clausura championships in 2002, only Atlético Nacional in 2007 has won both championships in the same season.
| Team | Nº of titles | Years |
|---|---|---|
| América | 13 | 1979, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1990, 1992, 1996–97, 2000, 2001, 2002–I, 2008–II |
| Millonarios | 13 | 1949, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1959, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1972, 1978, 1987, 1988 |
| Atlético Nacional | 11 | 1954, 1973, 1976, 1981, 1991, 1994, 1999, 2005–I, 2007–I, 2007–II, 2011–I |
| Deportivo Cali | 8 | 1965, 1967, 1969, 1970, 1974, 1995–96, 1998, 2005–II |
| Junior | 7 | 1977, 1980, 1993, 1995, 2004–II, 2010–I, 2011–II |
| Santa Fe | 6 | 1948, 1958, 1960, 1966, 1971, 1975 |
| Independiente Medellín | 5 | 1955, 1957, 2002–II, 2004–I, 2009–II |
| Once Caldas | 4 | 1950, 2003–I, 2009–I, 2010–II |
| Boyacá Chicó | 1 | 2008–I |
| Cúcuta Deportivo | 1 | 2006–II |
| Deportes Quindío | 1 | 1956 |
| Deportes Tolima | 1 | 2003–II |
| Deportivo Pasto | 1 | 2006–1 |
| Unión Magdalena | 1 | 1968 |
|
|||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||