Paraguayan Primera División
 | |
| Country | Paraguay |
|---|---|
| Confederation | CONMEBOL |
| Founded | 1906 |
| Number of teams | 12 |
| Level on pyramid | 1 |
| Relegation to | División Intermedia |
| International cup(s) |
Copa Libertadores Copa Sudamericana |
| Current champions |
Libertad (2014 Clausura) |
| Most championships | Olimpia (39 titles) |
| TV partners | Unicanal |
| Website | APF |
 2015 Apertura | |
The División Profesional de la Asociación Paraguaya de Fútbol (locally: [diβiˈsjon pɾofesjoˈnal de la asosjaˈsjon paɾaˈɣwaʝa ðe ˈfutβol]; Professional Division of the Paraguayan Football Association), also known as the Primera División [pɾiˈmeɾa ðiβiˈsjon] (first division), or due to sponsorship reasons Copa TIGO [ˈkopa ˈtiɣo], is the top-flight professional football league in Paraguay. Currently, there are 12 teams in the first division.
The most successful club is Olimpia, who has won 39 titles. The current champion is Libertad. IFFHS ranked the league as the ninth strongest in the world in 2012,[1] and the eleventh strongest in the world in 2013.[2]
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 18 June 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).[3] The Liga Paraguaya saw Club Guaraní as the first champion in 1906, after defeating Olimpia in the final.
The Primera División was founded in 1906 with 5 teams, and turned professional in 1935 when 10 clubs broke away from the amateur leagues to form a professional league. Since 1996 the format of tournament was changed to Torneo Apertura and Clausura, but since 2008 both tournaments are independents.
Traditionally, the dominance of Olimpia and Cerro Porteño went unchallenged for decades. All of this changed at the turn of the 21st century. Since then, Libertad has been the most dominant club, while Nacional and Guarani have also experienced success at the domestic level.
Format
The system of the tournaments is round-robin. 12 teams play two rounds of 11 dates either one (visit and home), in total 22 dates in each tournament. Each year tournaments are divided in two independents tournaments: the Torneo Apertura (Opening Tournament) from February to July, and the Torneo Clausura (Closing Tournament) from July to December.
Relegation is based on an averaging system. At the end of each season, the two teams with the worst three-year averages are relegated, and the two best teams in the "División Intermedia" (second division) are promoted to Primera División.
International cup participation
Since 2012, Paraguay have seven slots in international cups (three in the Copa Libertadores de America and four in the Copa Sudamericana). These seven slots will be filled by five teams.
In the Copa Libertadores, the winner of the Apertura and Clausura tournaments qualify automatically. The third representative (going into the first round play-off) is the best placed non-champion from the cumulative table of both the Apertura and Clausura.
In the Copa Sudamericana, the champion of the Apertura and Clausura tournaments qualify, with the 4th and 5th best placed teams from the Apertura and Clausura cumulatives.
First Division teams
The following are the teams in the first division in 2014:
Teams
| Team | Home city | Stadium | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cerro Porteño | Asunción | General Pablo Rojas | 32,000 |
| Deportivo Capiatá | Capiatá | Capiatá | 6,000 |
| Guaraní | Asunción | Rogelio Livieres | 6,000 |
| General Díaz | Luque | General Adrián Jara | 3,500 |
| Libertad | Asunción | Dr. Nicolás Leoz | 10,000 |
| Nacional | Asunción | Arsenio Erico | 4,000 |
| Olimpia | Asunción | Manuel Ferreira | 15,000 |
| Rubio Ñu | Asunción | La Arboleda | 5,000 |
| San Lorenzo | San Lorenzo | Gunther Vogel | 5,000 |
| Santaní | San Estanislao | Juan José Vázquez | 8,000 |
| Sol de América | Villa Elisa | Luis Alfonso Giagni | 5,000 |
| Sportivo Luqueño | Luque | Feliciano Cáceres | 25,000 |
List of champions
Amateur era
Professional Era
Titles by club
| Club | Winners | Runners-up | Winning years | Runners-up years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Olimpia | 39 | 22 | 1912, 1914, 1916, 1925, 1927, 1928, 1929, 1931, 1936, 1937, 1938, 1947, 1948, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1962, 1965, 1968, 1971, 1975, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1985, 1988, 1989, 1993, 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2011 Clausura | 1906, 1907, 1915, 1917, 1920, 1923, 1926, 1939, 1941, 1943, 1955, 1961, 1963, 1969, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1986, 1987, 1994, 2011 Apertura, 2012 Apertura |
| Cerro Porteño | 30 | 29 | 1913, 1915, 1918, 1919, 1935, 1939, 1940, 1941, 1944, 1950, 1954, 1961, 1963, 1966, 1970, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1977, 1987, 1990, 1992, 1994, 1996, 2001, 2004, 2005, 2009 Apertura, 2012 Apertura, 2013 Clausura | 1914, 1937, 1938, 1942, 1945, 1948, 1951, 1953, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1964, 1968, 1971, 1976, 1980, 1984, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2006, 2010 Apertura, 2010 Clausura, 2011 Clausura, 2014 Clausura, |
| Libertad | 18 | 21 | 1910, 1917, 1920, 1930, 1943, 1945, 1955, 1976, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2008 Apertura, 2008 Clausura, 2010 Clausura, 2012 Clausura, 2014 Apertura, 2014 Clausura | 1909, 1924, 1927, 1928, 1929, 1931, 1944, 1950, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1956, 1967, 1977, 1990, 1992, 2004, 2005, 2009 Apertura, 2009 Clausura, 2013 Clausura |
| Guaraní | 10 | 14 | 1906, 1907, 1921, 1923, 1949, 1964, 1967, 1969, 1984, 2010 Apertura | 1916, 1925, 1947, 1957, 1965, 1966, 1970, 1989, 1996, 2000, 2003, 2008 Clausura, 2013 Apertura, 2014 Apertura |
| Nacional | 9 | 10 | 1909, 1911, 1924, 1926, 1942, 1946, 2009 Clausura, 2011 Apertura, 2013 Apertura | 1918, 1921, 1927, 1949, 1962, 1964, 1982, 1985, 2008 Apertura, 2012 Clausura |
| Sol de América | 2 | 11 | 1986, 1991 | 1912, 1913, 1935, 1940, 1946, 1952, 1957, 1978, 1979, 1981, 1988 |
| Sportivo Luqueño | 2 | 4 | 1951, 1953 | 1975, 1983, 2001, 2007 |
| Presidente Hayes | 1 | 0 | 1952 | — |
Topscorers
References
- ↑ Daily "Hoy" (ed.): Paraguay tiene la 9na mejor liga del mundo. (in Spanish) 8 January 2013. Retrieved 10 July 2013.
- ↑ "THE STRONGEST NATIONAL LEAGUE OF THE WORLD". Retrieved 30 October 2014.
- ↑ Historia de la APF
External links
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