2022 Categoría Primera A season explained

Competition:	Liga BetPlay Dimayor
Season:	2022
Dates:	20 January – 7 December 2022
Winners:	Finalización: Deportivo Pereira (1st title)
Relegated:	Patriotas Cortuluá
Continentalcup1:	Copa Libertadores
Continentalcup1 Qualifiers:	Atlético Nacional Deportivo Pereira Independiente Medellín Millonarios (via Copa Colombia)
Continentalcup2:	Copa Sudamericana
Continentalcup2 Qualifiers:	Deportes Tolima Junior Santa Fe Águilas Doradas
League Topscorer:	Apertura: Dayro Moreno (13 goals)
Matches:	451
Total Goals:	1014
Biggest Home Win:	Ind. Medellín 4–0 Águilas Doradas (1 March) Santa Fe 4–0 Jaguares (30 April) Junior 4–0 Envigado (1 May) Deportivo Pasto 4–0 Envigado (13 July) Alianza Petrolera 4–0 Santa Fe (10 October) América de Cali 4–0 Deportivo Pasto (22 October) Deportivo Pereira 5–1 Santa Fe (27 November)
Biggest Away Win:	La Equidad 1–5 Ind. Medellín (16 June)
Highest Scoring:	Alianza Petrolera 4–4 Deportivo Cali (19 August)
Prevseason:	2021
Nextseason:	2023

The 2022 Categoría Primera A season (officially known as the 2022 Liga BetPlay Dimayor season for sponsorship reasons) was the 75th season of the Categoría Primera A, Colombia's top-flight football league. The season began on 20 January and ended on 7 December 2022.^{[1] [2]} Deportivo Cali were the defending champions, having won the 2021 Finalización tournament.

Two tournaments (Apertura and Finalización) were played in the season, each one of them being an independent championship. In the Torneo Apertura Atlético Nacional won their seventeenth league title, beating Deportes Tolima in the finals by a 4–3 aggregate score after winning the first leg in Medellín by a 3–1 score and losing the return leg in Ibagué by two goals to one,^[3] and in the Torneo Finalización Deportivo Pereira were the champions, winning their first league title after beating Independiente Medellín on penalties following a 1–1 draw on aggregate in the finals.^[4]

Format

The competition format for this season was approved by the General Assembly of DIMAYOR on 17 December 2021:^[1]

• Two tournaments (Apertura and Finalización) with three stages each were played in the season.
• The first stage of both tournaments was contested on a single round-robin basis, with each team playing the other teams once plus an additional match against a regional rival for a total of 20 games. The top eight teams advanced to the next stage.
• In the second stage, the eight qualified teams were drawn into two groups of four teams each where they played each other team in their group twice for a total of 6 games. Both group winners advanced to the finals.
• The finals in both tournaments were contested by the winners of each semi-final group, playing a double-legged series for the championship.
• Two teams were relegated to Categoría Primera B at the end of the season. The relegation table continued considering the performance of teams over three seasons but starting from this season, the teams promoted from Primera B were not given any records from other teams, meaning that relegation would be based on averages.^[5]

Teams

20 teams took part in the season, the top 18 teams from the relegation table of the previous tournament (2021 Finalización) as well as Cortuluá and Unión Magdalena, who were promoted from the second tournament of the 2021 Primera B season. The promoted teams replaced Deportes Quindío and Atlético Huila, the bottom two teams in the relegation table of the 2021 Finalización tournament.

Stadia and locations

Team	Manager	City	Stadium	Capacity
Águilas Doradas	Leonel Álvarez	Rionegro	Alberto Grisales	14,000
Alianza Petrolera	Hubert Bodhert	Barrancabermeja	Daniel Villa Zapata	10,400
América de Cali	Alexandre Guimarães	Cali	Pascual Guerrero	33,130
Atlético Bucaramanga	Jorge Ramoa (caretaker)	Bucaramanga	Alfonso López	28,000
Atlético Nacional	Paulo Autuori	Medellín	Atanasio Girardot	40,043
Cortuluá	Fernando Velasco	Tuluá	Doce de Octubre	16,000
Deportes Tolima	Hernán Torres	Ibagué	Manuel Murillo Toro	28,100
Deportivo Cali	Jorge Luis Pinto	Palmira	Deportivo Cali	44,000
Deportivo Pasto	Flabio Torres	Pasto	Departamental Libertad	20,665
Deportivo Pereira	Alejandro Restrepo	Pereira	Hernán Ramírez Villegas	30,297
Envigado	Alberto Suárez	Envigado	Polideportivo Sur	11,000
Independiente Medellín	David González	Medellín	Atanasio Girardot	40,043
Jaguares	Alexis Márquez	Montería	Jaraguay	12,000
Junior	Arturo Reyes	Barranquilla	Metropolitano Roberto Meléndez	49,692
La Equidad	Alexis García	Bogotá	Metropolitano de Techo	8,000
Millonarios	Alberto Gamero	Bogotá	Nemesio Camacho El Campín	36,343
Once Caldas	Diego Corredor	Manizales	Palogrande	28,678
Patriotas	Fabián Torres (caretaker)	Tunja	La Independencia	20,630
Santa Fe	Alfredo Arias	Bogotá	Nemesio Camacho El Campín	36,343
Unión Magdalena	Claudio Rodríguez	Santa Marta	Sierra Nevada	16,000

Managerial changes

Team	Outgoing manager	Manner of departure	Date of vacancy	Position in table	Incoming manager	Date of appointment
Torneo Apertura
Águilas Doradas	Johan Fano	End of caretaker spell	21 November 2021	Pre-season	Leonel Álvarez	31 December 2021^[6]
Santa Fe	Grigori Méndez	Return to U-20 squad	23 November 2021^[7]		Martín Cardetti	25 November 2021^[8]
Cortuluá	Jaime de la Pava	Resigned	16 December 2021^[9]		Manuel Suárez Jiménez	3 January 2022^[10]
Junior	Arturo Reyes	Sacked	17 December 2021^[11]		Juan Cruz Real	20 December 2021^[12]
Patriotas	Juan David Niño		7 February 2022^[13]	18th	Arturo Boyacá	10 February 2022^[14]
Atlético Bucaramanga	Néstor Craviotto	Resigned	21 February 2022^[15]	17th	Armando Osma	24 February 2022^[16]
Atlético Nacional	Alejandro Restrepo	Mutual agreement	28 February 2022^[17]	3rd	Hernán Darío Herrera	1 March 2022
América de Cali	Juan Carlos Osorio		31 March 2022^[18]	15th	Pompilio Páez	31 March 2022
	Pompilio Páez	End of caretaker spell	3 April 2022^[19]	12th	Alexandre Guimarães	6 April 2022^[20]
Unión Magdalena	Carlos Silva	Demoted	12 April 2022^[21]	20th	Claudio Rodríguez	12 April 2022
Santa Fe	Martín Cardetti	Mutual agreement	25 April 2022^[22]	11th	Grigori Méndez	25 April 2022^[23]
Cortuluá	Manuel Suárez Jiménez	Sacked	2 May 2022^[24]	19th	Fernando Velasco	2 May 2022
Jaguares	César Torres	Mutual agreement	14 May 2022^[25]	11th	Grigori Méndez	27 May 2022^[26]
Deportivo Pereira	Alexis Márquez	Resigned	14 May 2022^[27]	14th	Alejandro Restrepo	20 May 2022^[28]
Cortuluá	Fernando Velasco	End of caretaker spell	14 May 2022	18th	César Torres	24 May 2022^[29]
Patriotas	Arturo Boyacá	End of contract	18 May 2022^[30]	17th	José Eugenio Hernández	6 June 2022^[31]
Santa Fe	Grigori Méndez	End of caretaker spell	19 May 2022	10th	Alfredo Arias	19 May 2022^[32]
Independiente Medellín	Julio Comesaña	Mutual agreement	17 June 2022^[33]	2nd, Group B	David González	28 June 2022^[34]
Torneo Finalización
Deportivo Cali	Rafael Dudamel	Mutual agreement	1 July 2022^[35]	Pre-tournament	Mayer Candelo	9 July 2022^[36]
Atlético Nacional	Hernán Darío Herrera	Return to youth categories	6 September 2022^[37]	9th	Pedro Sarmiento	6 September 2022
Junior	Juan Cruz Real	Sacked	11 September 2022^[38]	10th	Julio Comesaña	11 September 2022
Jaguares	Grigori Méndez	Resigned	13 September 2022^[39]	16th	Alexis Márquez	13 September 2022
Cortuluá	César Torres		18 September 2022^[40]	20th	Fernando Velasco	19 September 2022^[41]
Deportivo Cali	Mayer Candelo	Mutual agreement	22 September 2022^[42]	20th	Sergio Angulo	22 September 2022
Patriotas	José Eugenio Hernández	Resigned	30 September 2022^[43]	18th	Fabián Torres	1 October 2022^[44]
Deportivo Cali	Sergio Angulo	End of caretaker spell	2 October 2022	20th	Jorge Luis Pinto	1 October 2022^[45]
Atlético Bucaramanga	Armando Osma	Sacked	10 October 2022^[46]	13th	Jorge Ramoa	10 October 2022
Atlético Nacional	Pedro Sarmiento	End of caretaker spell	13 October 2022^[47]	4th	Paulo Autuori	3 October 2022
Junior	Julio Comesaña	Sacked	17 November 2022^[48]	4th, Group A	Arturo Reyes	18 November 2022^[49]

Notes

Torneo Apertura

First stage

Results

Semi-finals

The eight teams that advanced to the semi-finals were drawn into two groups of four teams, with the top two teams from the first stage being seeded in each group. The two group winners advanced to the finals.

Group B

Finals

----Atlético Nacional won 4–3 on aggregate.

Top scorers

Rank	Name	Club	Goals
align=center	1	Dayro Moreno	Atlético Bucaramanga	align=center	13
align=center	2	Luis Carlos Ruiz	Cortuluá	align=center	11
3	Miguel Borja	Junior	10
Wilson Morelo	Santa Fe
Luciano Pons	Independiente Medellín
align=center	6	Leonardo Castro	Deportivo Pereira	align=center	9
7	Jefferson Duque	Atlético Nacional	8
Duvier Riascos	Deportivo Pasto
align=center	9	Pablo Sabbag	La Equidad	align=center	7

Source: Soccerway

Torneo Finalización

First stage

Results

Semi-finals

The eight teams that advanced to the semi-finals were drawn into two groups of four teams, with the top two teams from the first stage being seeded in each group. The two group winners advanced to the finals.

Group B

Finals

----Tied 1–1 on aggregate, Deportivo Pereira won on penalties.

Top scorers

Rank	Name	Club	Goals
align=center	1	Leonardo Castro	Deportivo Pereira	align=center	15
align=center	2	Marco Pérez	Águilas Doradas	align=center	12
3	Diber Cambindo	Independiente Medellín	11
Jefferson Duque	Atlético Nacional
5	Carlos Bacca	Junior	9
Ricardo Márquez	Unión Magdalena
Wilson Morelo	Santa Fe
Dayro Moreno	Atlético Bucaramanga
9	Ayron del Valle	Once Caldas	8
Andrey Estupiñán	Santa Fe
Jesús Hernández	Envigado
Carlos Ramírez	Deportivo Pereira
Pablo Sabbag	La Equidad

Source: Soccerway

Relegation

A separate table was kept to determine the teams that are relegated to the Categoría Primera B for the next season. This table was elaborated from a sum of all first stage games played in the three most recent seasons (including the 2020, 2021–I, 2021–II, 2022–I, and 2022–II tournaments), with the points earned being averaged per match played. The bottom two teams of the relegation table at the end of the season were relegated to Categoría Primera B.

width=28		width=185	Team	width=50		width=50		width=50		width=50		width=50		width=50		width=50		width=50		width=50		Relegation
1	Atlético Nacional	35	76	66	57	40	17	98	177
2	Millonarios	30	69	74	52	30	22	98	173
3	Deportes Tolima	37	66	66	52	36	16	98	169
4	Santa Fe	40	58	61	54	52	2	98	159
5	Junior	33	62	63	54	40	14	98	158
6	La Equidad	32	55	58	49	43	6	98	145
7	América de Cali	33	58	54	41	36	5	98	145
8		20	52	67	55	44	11	98	139
9	Atlético Bucaramanga	21	51	59	53	50	3	98	131
10	Deportivo Cali	34	62	34	36	59	–23	98	130
11	Águilas Doradas	31	39	58	40	41	–1	98	128
12	Deportivo Pasto	34	39	54	40	43	–3	98	127
13	Envigado	23	44	57	44	43	1	98	124
14	Deportivo Pereira	18	51	55	47	47	0	98	124
15	Once Caldas	29	37	56	39	36	3	98	122
16	Jaguares	17	52	47	40	49	–9	98	116
17	Alianza Petrolera	19	37	46	46	52	–6	98	102
18	Unión Magdalena	—	—	40	31	56	–25	40	40
19	Patriotas (R)	17	35	36	40	51	–11	98	88
20	Cortuluá (R)	—	—	31	33	55	–22	40	31

Source: Dimayor
Rules for classification: 1) average, 2) 2022 points, 3) goal difference, 4) goals scored, 5) away goals scored, 6) away goals against, 7) wins, 8) yellow cards, 9) red cards, 10) drawing of lots.^[50]

See also

• 2022 Categoría Primera B season
• 2022 Copa Colombia

External links

• Dimayor's official website

Notes and References

1. Web site: SÍNTESIS DE LA ÚLTIMA ASAMBLEA EXTRAORDINARIA DE LA DIMAYOR 2021. SUMMARY OF THE LAST EXTRAORDINARY ASSEMBLY OF DIMAYOR 2021. Dimayor. Spanish. 17 December 2021. 18 December 2021.
2. Web site: ¡Oficial! La Liga BetPlay terminará el 7 de diciembre. Official! The Liga BetPlay will end on 7 December. Win Sports. Spanish. 1 November 2022. 13 November 2022.
3. Web site: ¡El más veces campeón! Nacional se quedó con una sufrida estrella 17. The most times champion! Nacional claimed a hard-fought 17th star. El Tiempo. Spanish. 26 June 2022. 26 June 2022.
4. Web site: Bienvenidos a la historia: ¡Pereira grita campeón por primera vez!. Welcome to history: Pereira shout champion for the first time!. Futbolred. es. 7 December 2022. 7 December 2022.
5. Web site: Dimayor anuncia nuevo sistema de descenso y fecha para la Liga Betplay 2022. Dimayor announces new relegation system and date for the 2022 Liga Betplay. Marca Colombia. es. 13 November 2021. 18 December 2021.
6. Web site: Leonel Álvarez vuelve a dirigir en Colombia: anuncio oficial. Leonel Álvarez is back at managing in Colombia: official announcement. es. Futbolred. 1 January 2022. 1 January 2022.
7. Web site: Santa Fe ya tomó una decisión sobre el futuro de Grigori Méndez. Santa Fe already made a decision on Grigori Méndez's future. es. Caracol Radio. 23 November 2021. 18 December 2021.
8. Web site: Entonces sí era cierto: Martín Cardetti, nuevo entrenador de Santa Fe. So it was true: Martín Cardetti, new manager of Santa Fe. es. Futbolred. 25 November 2021. 18 December 2021.
9. Web site: ¡Respeto eterno! Sentida despedida del Cortuluá a Jaime de La Pava. Eternal respect! Heartfelt farewell from Cortuluá to Jaime de La Pava. es. Futbolred. 16 December 2021. 18 December 2021.
10. Web site: ¡Un equipo de primera!: Cortuluá junto a su nuevo técnico inició la pretemporada 2022. A top tier team! Cortuluá along with their new manager began the 2022 pre-season. es. El País. 3 January 2022. 4 January 2022.
11. Web site: Oficial: Arturo Reyes deja de ser DT de Junior de Barranquilla. Official: Arturo Reyes ceases to be manager of Junior de Barranquilla. es. AS Colombia. 17 December 2021. 18 December 2021.
12. Web site: Juan Cruz Real es técnico de Junior de Barranquilla: anuncio oficial. Juan Cruz Real is Junior de Barranquilla's manager: official announcement. es. Futbolred. 20 December 2021. 20 December 2021.
13. Web site: ¡Primer técnico caído! Patriotas anunció la salida de Juan David Niño. First manager down! Patriotas announced the departure of Juan David Niño. es. Win Sports. 7 February 2022. 12 February 2022.
14. Web site: Patriotas ya tiene nuevo cuerpo técnico. Patriotas already have a new coaching staff. es. RCN Radio. 10 February 2022. 12 February 2022.
15. Web site: ¡No va más! Atlético Bucaramanga se quedó sin director técnico. He is no more! Atlético Bucaramanga were left without a manager. es. Futbolred. 21 February 2022. 21 February 2022.
16. Web site: Armando Osma Rueda fue designado como nuevo entrenador del Atlético Bucaramanga. Armando Osma Rueda was appointed as new manager of Atlético Bucaramanga. es. Gol Caracol. 24 February 2022. 24 February 2022.
17. Web site: Atlético Nacional anuncia la salida de Alejandro Restrepo: quién llega. Atlético Nacional announces the departure of Alejandro Restrepo: who arrives. es. Futbolred. 1 March 2022. 1 March 2022.
18. Web site: Juan Carlos Osorio no va más como director técnico del América: es oficial. Juan Carlos Osorio is no more as América's manager: it's official. es. El Tiempo. 31 March 2022. 31 March 2022.
19. Web site: Pompilio Páez: "El rendimiento en nuestra gestión fue terrible, quedamos en deuda con América". Pompilio Páez: "The performance in our management was terrible, we are indebted to América". es. Gol Caracol. 3 April 2022. 6 April 2022.
20. Web site: Alexandre Guimaraes regresa al América de Cali: ¡ya es oficial!. Alexandre Guimarães returns to América de Cali: it is official!. Futbolred. es. 6 April 2022. 6 April 2022.
21. Web site: Claudio Rodríguez es el nuevo técnico del Unión. Claudio Rodríguez is Unión's new manager. es. Hoy Diario del Magdalena. 12 April 2022. 12 April 2022.
22. Web site: Martín Cardetti no es más el técnico de Santa Fe. Martín Cardetti is no longer the manager of Santa Fe. es. AS Colombia. 25 April 2022. 25 April 2022.
23. Web site: Eduardo Méndez: "Para evitar cualquier violación a la norma, inscribimos al profesor Grigori Méndez". Eduardo Méndez: "To avoid any breach of rules, we registered professor Grigori Méndez". es. ESPN. 2 May 2022. 3 May 2022.
24. Web site: Cortuluá se quedó sin DT: el chileno Manuel Suárez Jiménez se fue por malos resultados. Cortuluá were left without a manager: the Chilean Manuel Suárez Jiménez left due to poor results. es. El País Cali. 2 May 2022. 2 May 2022.
25. Web site: Dos técnicos perdieron su puesto tras la fecha 18 de la Liga BetPlay. Two managers lost their job after the Liga BetPlay’s 18th round. es. Antena 2. 3 May 2022. 3 May 2022.
26. Web site: Grigori Méndez es el nuevo entrenador de Jaguares de Córdoba. Grigori Méndez is the new manager of Jaguares de Córdoba. es. Caracol Radio. 27 May 2022. 27 May 2022.
27. Web site: Alexis Márquez: "Hasta acá llega mi ciclo con el Deportivo Pereira". Alexis Márquez: "My cycle with Deportivo Pereira ends here". es. Gol Caracol. 14 May 2022. 15 May 2022.
28. Web site: Alejandro Restrepo es el nuevo entrenador del Deportivo Pereira. Alejandro Restrepo is the new manager of Deportivo Pereira. es. Caracol Radio. 20 May 2022. 21 May 2022.
29. Web site: Cortuluá le apuesta al otro semestre: este será su nuevo técnico. Cortuluá bet on the other semester: this will be their new manager. es. Futbolred. 24 May 2022. 24 May 2022.
30. Web site: Arturo Boyacá no es más el técnico de Patriotas. Arturo Boyacá is no longer the manager of Patriotas. es. Antena 2. 18 May 2022. 19 May 2022.
31. Web site: Es un hecho: equipo de Liga da bienvenida a José 'Cheché' Hernández. It's a fact: League team welcomes José 'Cheché' Hernández. es. Futbolred. 6 June 2022. 8 June 2022.
32. Web site: Santa Fe, fiel a escuela uruguaya: confirmado Alfredo Arias, nuevo DT. Santa Fe, faithful to the Uruguayan school: Alfredo Arias confirmed as new manager. es. Futbolred. 19 May 2022. 19 May 2022.
33. Web site: ¡Fin de ciclo! Medellín anunció la salida de Julio Comesaña. End of cycle! Medellín announced the departure of Julio Comesaña. es. Futbolred. 17 June 2022. 17 June 2022.
34. Web site: David González es el nuevo técnico de Independiente Medellín. David González is the new manager of Independiente Medellín. es. Blu Radio. 28 June 2022. 28 June 2022.
35. Web site: Rafael Dudamel no es más técnico de Deportivo Cali. Rafael Dudamel is no longer manager of Deportivo Cali. es. Gol Caracol. 1 July 2022. 1 July 2022.
36. Web site: Deportivo Cali confirmó a su nuevo DT: Mayer Candelo regresa a casa. Deportivo Cali confirmed their new manager: Mayer Candelo returns home. es. Futbolred. 9 July 2022. 9 July 2022.
37. Web site: Pedro Sarmiento dirigirá a Atlético Nacional: ¿y el 'Arriero'?. Pedro Sarmiento will manage Atlético Nacional: and the Arriero?. es. Futbolred. 6 September 2022. 6 September 2022.
38. Web site: Juan Cruz Real se va Junior de Barranquilla: vuelve Julio Comesaña. Juan Cruz Real leaves Junior de Barranquilla: Julio Comesaña is back. es. Futbolred. 11 September 2022. 11 September 2022.
39. Web site: Cambio de entrenador en Jaguares: Grigori Méndez no va más y su reemplazo será Alexis Márquez. Change of manager in Jaguares: Grigori Méndez is no more and his replacement will be Alexis Márquez. es. Gol Caracol. 13 September 2022. 13 September 2022.
40. Web site: ¡Se acabó!: César Torres deja el cargo como técnico de Cortuluá, Velasco asume el puesto. It's over! César Torres leaves the position as manager of Cortuluá, Velasco takes over the post. es. El País. 18 September 2022. 18 September 2022.
41. Web site: COMUNICADO OFICIAL. OFFICIAL STATEMENT. es. Cortuluá FC. 19 September 2022. 21 September 2022.
42. Web site: Mayer Candelo no seguirá como técnico de Deportivo Cali: es oficial. Mayer Candelo will not continue as manager of Deportivo Cali: it is official. es. Futbolred. 22 September 2022. 22 September 2022.
43. Web site: Otro técnico libre en Colombia: salió de su club y es el 'Plan B' del Cali. Another free manager in Colombia: he left his club and is Cali's "Plan B". es. Antena 2. 30 September 2022. 3 October 2022.
44. Web site: Se agotan los puntos y el descenso acecha: dura pelea para evitar la B. Points are running out and relegation looms: tough fight to avoid the "B". es. Futbolred. 7 October 2022. 10 October 2022.
45. Web site: Jorge Luis Pinto es el nuevo entrenador del Deportivo Cali. Jorge Luis Pinto is the new manager of Deportivo Cali. es. Futbolred. 1 October 2022. 1 October 2022.
46. Web site: Bucaramanga confirma la salida de Armando 'El Piripi' Osma. Bucaramanga confirm the departure of Armando El Piripi Osma. es. Marca Claro Colombia. 10 October 2022. 10 October 2022.
47. Web site: Paulo Autuori es el nuevo técnico de Atlético Nacional. Paulo Autuori is the new manager of Atlético Nacional. es. Gol Caracol. 3 October 2022. 3 October 2022.
48. Web site: Julio Comesaña sale de la dirección técnica de Junior. Julio Comesaña leaves the technical direction of Junior. es. El Heraldo. 17 November 2022. 17 November 2022.
49. Web site: Junior confirmó el regreso de Arturo Reyes como nuevo técnico. Junior confirmed the return of Arturo Reyes as new manager. es. Antena 2. 18 November 2022. 18 November 2022.
50. Web site: REGLAMENTO LIGA BetPlay DIMAYOR I-2022 . LIGA BetPlay DIMAYOR I-2022 REGULATIONS. División Mayor del Fútbol Colombiano . 7 February 2022.