2018 Liga Dominicana de Fútbol explained

Competition:Liga Dominicana de Fútbol
Season:2018
Winners:Cibao FC
Continentalcup1:2019 CFU Club Championship
Continentalcup1 Qualifiers:Cibao FC
Atlético de San Francisco
Matches:152
Total Goals:424
Biggest Home Win:Atlético San Cristóbal 8-0 Delfines del Este FC
Biggest Away Win:Atlético Vega Real 0-8 Atlético de San Francisco
Highest Scoring:Universidad O&M F.C. 5-4 Cibao FC
Moca FC 8-1 Delfines del Este FC
Prevseason:2017
Nextseason:2019

The 2018 Liga Dominicana de Fútbol season (known as the LDF Banco Popular for sponsorship reasons) is the fourth season of professional football in the Dominican Republic. Atlántico FC are the reigning champions, having won this first title last season. The season started on 7 April 2018 and ended on 27 October 2018.[1]

Team changes

While there is no promotion or relegation involving this league, there were changes to the composition of the league from last season. Bauger FC have left the league following last season. Meanwhile, three new teams have joined the league: Jarabacoa FC, Inter RD, and Atlético de San Francisco. Thus, the league now has 12 teams in total.

Format changes

The format of the competition has changed for this season. The regular season will still consist of a double round robin between the participating teams. After this, a Liguilla round will be played between the top six finishers of the regular season, with a single round robin between the teams. The top 4 finishers of this phase will move on to the knockout phase of the playoffs, where the champion will be decided. The top team at the end of the regular season along with the playoff champion will qualify for the 2019 Caribbean Club Championship.

Stadia and locations

TeamLocationStadiumCapacity
Atlántico FCPuerto PlataEstadio Leonel Plácido2,000
Atlético San CristóbalSan CristóbalEstadio Panamericano2,800
Atlético de San FranciscoSan Francisco de MacorísOlímpico de San Francisco de Macoris500
Atlético Vega RealLa VegaEstadio Olímpico7,000
Cibao FCSantiagoEstadio Cibao FC5,000
Club Atlético PantojaSanto DomingoEstadio Olímpico Félix Sánchez27,000
Club Barcelona AtléticoSanto Domingo EsteEstadio Parque del Este3,000
Delfines del Este FCLa RomanaEstadio Municipal La Romana1,200
Inter RDBayaguanaComplejo deportivo de Bayaguana1,800
Jarabacoa FCJarabacoaEstadio Olímpico7,000
Moca FCMocaEstadio Complejo Deportivo Moca 867,000
Universidad O&M F.C.Santo DomingoEstadio Olímpico Félix Sánchez27,000

Regular season

The regular season began on 7 April 2018 and ended on 26 August 2018. The regular season winner qualified for the 2019 Caribbean Club Championship.

Regular season results

Liguilla

The top 6 teams from the regular season participated in a single round robin tournament to determine who qualifies for the championship playoffs. The liguilla started on 1 September 2018 and ended on 30 September 2018.

Liguilla results

Championship playoffs

The top 4 finishers of the Liguilla qualify for this phase. These matches began on 6 October 2018 and ended on 27 October 2018.

Semifinals

The first legs were played on 6 and 7 October 2018 and the second legs were played on 20 and 21 October 2018.

Finals

Tha final was played on 27 October 2018.

Notes and References

  1. https://www.rsssf.org/tablesd/domrep2018.html Dominican Republic 2018