The División Profesional de la Asociación Paraguaya de Fútbol (locally [diβiˈsjom pɾofesjoˈnal de la asosjaˈsjom paɾaˈɣwaʝa ðe ˈfuðβol]; "Professional Division of the Paraguayan Football Association"), also known as the Primera División (IPA: [pɾiˈmeɾa ðiβiˈsjon]; "first division"), or due to sponsorship reasons Copa de Primera TIGO-Visión Banco, is the top-flight professional football league in Paraguay. Currently, there are 12 teams in the first division.
 | |
| Founded | 1906 |
|---|---|
| Country | Paraguay |
| Confederation | CONMEBOL |
| Number of teams | 12 |
| Level on pyramid | 1 |
| Relegation to | División Intermedia |
| Domestic cup(s) | Copa Paraguay |
| International cup(s) | Copa Libertadores Copa Sudamericana |
| Current champions | Libertad (25th title) (2024 Apertura) |
| Most championships | Olimpia (46 titles) |
| Top goalscorer | Santiago Salcedo (166 goals) |
| TV partners | Multideporte & Unicanal (Three games per matchday are broadcast live plus One game per matchday are broadcast delayed Sunday at 22:00) Tigo Sports & Tigo Max (Four games per matchday) Telefuturo (Only emits highlights per matchday) Paravisión (Only are broadcast live called El Partido del Viernes Friday at 21:00 (K.O 21:10)) TVC Sports 2 (Only are broadcast live Friday at 20:55 (K.O 21:10)) GolTV TVC Sports |
| Website | www |
| Current: 2024 season | |
The most successful club is Olimpia, with 46 championships. The most recent champions are Libertad, having won the 2024 Apertura tournament. As of 2022, IFFHS ranked the league as the 10th strongest in the world and 3rd in South America.[1]
History
editLiga 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).[2] 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 each tournament is independent.
Traditionally, the dominance of Olimpia and Cerro Porteño went mostly 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 Guaraní have also experienced success at the local level.
Format
editThe league is currently contested by 12 teams that play home and away games in a round-robin format. The league is traditionally divided into two halves: 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
edit| Season | CCP | GUA | LIB | NAC | OLI | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 2 | 8 | 3 | 4 | 1 | |
| 2019 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 1 | |
| 2020 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 2 | |
| 2021 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 4 | |
| 2022 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 2 | |
| 2023 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 6 | |
| Top 3 | 6 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 4 | |
| Top 5 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 5 | |
| out of 6 | ||||||
| Apertura and/or Clausura champions / Copa Libertadores group stage Copa Libertadores group stage | ||||||
Since 2017, Paraguay have eight slots in international cups (four in the Copa Libertadores de America and four in the Copa Sudamericana). These eight slots will be filled by eight teams.
In the Copa Libertadores, the winner of the Apertura and Clausura tournaments qualify automatically. The third (going into the second round play-off) and fourth (going into the first round play-off) representatives are the best placed non-champion teams from the accumulative table of both the Apertura and Clausura.
In the Copa Sudamericana, the 4th, 5th and 6th best placed teams from the Apertura and Clausura accumulative table qualify for the first stage, alongside the winners of the Copa Paraguay.
Teams
editThe following are the teams in the first division in 2024:
| Team | City | Stadium[i] | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 de Mayo | Pedro Juan Caballero | Río Parapití | 25,000 |
| Cerro Porteño | Asunción | General Pablo Rojas | 45,000 |
| General Caballero (JLM) | Juan León Mallorquín | Ka'arendy | 10,000 |
| Guaraní | Asunción | Rogelio Livieres | 6,000 |
| Libertad | Asunción | Tigo La Huerta | 10,000 |
| Nacional | Asunción | Arsenio Erico | 4,000 |
| Olimpia | Asunción | Manuel Ferreira | 25,000 |
| Sol de América | Villa Elisa | Luis Alfonso Giagni | 11,000 |
| Sportivo Ameliano | Asunción | José Tomás Silva | 800 |
| Sportivo Luqueño | Luque | Feliciano Cáceres | 23,000 |
| Sportivo Trinidense | Asunción | Martín Torres | 3,000 |
| Tacuary | Asunción | Toribio Vargas | 3,000 |
- Notes
- ^ Teams occasionally play home matches at Estadio Defensores del Chaco in Asunción.
List of champions
editComplete list of champions since 1906. Paraguayan football turned professional since the 1935 season.
Titles by club
edit- Teams in bold compete in the Primera División as of the 2024 season.
- Italics indicates clubs that no longer exist or disaffiliated from the APF.
Topscorers
editSponsors
editMain sponsors
edit- Pepsi (1997-1998)
- Brahma (1997-1998)
- Lloyds TSB (1998-1999)
- Banco del Paraná (2000 only)
- Gillette (2005-2007)
- Tigo (2008-present)
- Visión Banco (2010-present)
Current official sponsors
edit- Coca-Cola (1987-2004/2011-present)
- Pilsen (1988-2007/2011-present)
- Caña Fortin
- Vino Toro
- Lácteos Trébol
- Lácteos Lactolanda
- Pastas Anita
- Supermercado Superseis
- Supermercado La Bomba
- Supermercado Arete
- Supermercados Kingo
- Bein TV (1999-present)
- DirecTV (1999-present)
- GOL TV (2003-presente)
Former official sponsors
edit- Daewoo Motor
- Suzuki Motor
- Pirelli
- Pulp (2005-2010)
- Pepsi (1994-1999)
- Brahma (1995-1999)
- Budweiser (2007-2008)
- Multicanal (1996-2006)
- Nuevo Siglo Cable TV (1996-2007)
- SKY (2000-2004)
- Supermercado Real
- Supermercado Gran Vía
- Supermercado Ycua Bolaños
- Shopping Multiplaza
- González Giménez
Media coverage
editSee also
edit- Football in Paraguay
- Paraguayan football league system
- División Intermedia
- Paraguayan Tercera División
- Paraguayan Primera División B
- Primera División B Nacional
- Paraguayan Cuarta División
- Campeonato Nacional de Interligas
- Unión del Fútbol del Interior
- Paraguayan women's football championship
- Football Federation of the 1st Department Concepción
- Football Federation of the 2nd Department San Pedro
- Football Federation of the 3rd Department Cordillera
- Football Federation of the 4th Department Guairá
- Football Federation of the 5th Department Caaguazú
- Football Federation of the 6th Department Caazapá
- Football Federation of the 7th Department Itapúa
- Football Federation of the 8th Department Misiones
- Football Federation of the 9th Department Paraguarí
- Football Federation of the 10th Department Alto Paraná
- Football Federation of the 11th Department Central
- Football Federation of the 12th Department Ñeembucú
- Football Federation of the 13th Department Amambay
- Football Federation of the 14th Department Canindeyú
- Football Federation of the 15th Department Presidente Hayes
- Football Federation of the 16th Department Alto Paraguay
- Football Federation of the 17th Department Boquerón