Segunda División Explained
The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Segunda División, commonly known as Segunda División, and officially known as LaLiga HyperMotion for sponsorship reasons, is the men's second professional association football division of the Spanish football league system. Administered by Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional, it is contested by 22 teams, with the top two teams plus the winner of a play-off promoted to La Liga and replaced by the three lowest-placed teams in that division.
History
The Second Division National Championship was inaugurated concurrently with the First Division, during the 1928-29 season. This setup comprised twenty teams divided into two groups: A and B. Group A functioned as the secondary national level, where the leading team would contest for promotion to the First Division and the bottom two faced relegation to the Third Division. Conversely, Group B represented the third tier, wherein two teams were promoted to the Second Division, while the remaining eight joined the newly formed Third Division in the subsequent season.
For this inaugural season, Group A consisted of the following clubs: Sevilla F. C., Iberia S. C., Deportivo Alavés, Real Sporting de Gijón, Valencia F. C., Real Betis Balompié, Real Oviedo F. C., Real Club Celta, R. C. Deportivo de La Coruña, and Racing Club de Madrid. On the other hand, Group B featured Cultural y Deportiva Leonesa, Real Murcia F. C., C. D. Castellón, C. D. Torrelavega, Zaragoza C. D., Real Valladolid Deportivo, C. A. Osasuna, Tolosa C. F., Barakaldo C. F., and Cartagena F. C..
The structure and number of teams in the competition have evolved over time. In the 1934-35 season, the league was segmented into multiple groups. This format persisted until the 1968-69 season when it transitioned back to the singular group system that is in place today. From 1977 to 1984, when its management transitioned to the National Professional Football League, the tournament was referred to as Second Division A, after the introduction of the Second Division B as the third level in the national football hierarchy.
During the 2019-20 season, a global outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 emerged,[1] having originated in Asia and subsequently spreading to Europe.[2] [3] As the virus rapidly spread across the continent, leading to rising infections and fatalities, sports entities began implementing preventative measures. In Spain, to mitigate the spread, only one match was held behind closed doors, without spectators,[4] yet the concern and rate of infections did not diminish, with several players and club executives testing positive. In light of the escalating situation, La Liga opted to halt all competitions temporarily,[5] following a precedent set by UEFA, which had suspended both the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Europa League.[6] [7] In a similar vein, Italy's CONI and FIGC put the Serie A on hold due to the same health concerns.[8] After a period of lockdown which saw a decrease in the spread of the virus, the government allowed sporting competitions to recommence,[9] culminating on July 20 as the remaining games were played, mirroring events in the First Division. Nonetheless, on the final matchday, multiple players from Club de Fútbol Fuenlabrada, S.A.D. were diagnosed with the virus. Consequently, their pivotal game against Real Club Deportivo de La Coruña, which was of great importance to the league standings, was delayed. This disruption impacted several clubs and the ensuing promotion playoffs.[10]
Naming Conventions
The 2006-07 and 2007-08 seasons marked the first instances when the championship adopted a commercial designation, being named "Liga BBVA" following a sponsorship agreement between the National Professional Football League and the bank of the same title.[11] From the 2008-09 through to the 2015-16 seasons, the division was rebranded as "Liga Adelante" as the bank transitioned to sponsor the First Division.[12] In the 2016-17 season, Banco Santander emerged as the primary sponsor, prompting the names "LaLiga 1|2|3" (with an enlarged "2" thus taking on the "LaLiga 2" moniker unsponsored). From the 2019-20 season onward, it became "LaLiga SmartBank". During the 2023-24 season, the new sponsor was introduced as EA Sports, resulting in the title "LaLiga Hypermotion".[13] [14]
Records
Real Murcia has participated in the Second Division for the most seasons, a total of 53, and has secured the championship title on eight occasions. They are followed by Sporting de Gijón with 48 seasons, Tenerife and Sabadell with 44, Hércules de Alicante with 43, and Real Club Deportivo de La Coruña, Castellón, and Cádiz each with 41 seasons.
Sociedad Deportiva Eibar holds the record for consecutive seasons in the division, with 18 seasons running from 1987/88 to 2005/06.
Among all teams that have ever competed in this division, only six have never featured in lower divisions: Atlético de Madrid, Espanyol, Valencia, Sevilla, Real Sociedad, and Sporting de Gijón.
In the 2011-12 season, Deportivo de La Coruña set a new record by amassing 91 points, leading them to clinch the championship.[15] [16] The subsequent season, 2012-13, witnessed Elche as the first team to maintain the top position throughout all 42 matchdays.[17] [18]
League format
The league contains 22 teams that play each other home and away for a 42-match season. Each year three teams are promoted to La Liga. The top two teams earn an automatic promotion. The third team to be promoted is the winner of a play-off between the teams that finished 3rd to 6th (reserve teams are not eligible for promotion). The play-offs comprise two-legged semi-finals followed by a two-legged final. The bottom four are relegated to Primera Federación.[19]
Clubs
This season was the first since 2006–07 season without any teams from Catalonia, as well as the first season without any teams from Community of Madrid since 2007–08 season, and without any reserve teams since the 2020–21 season.
Stadiums and locations
Team | Location | Stadium | Capacity |
---|
| | | [20] |
| | | [21] |
| | | [22] |
Cádiz | Cádiz | Nuevo Mirandilla | [23] |
| | | [24] |
| | | [25] |
| | | [26] |
| La Coruña | | [27] |
| | | [28] |
| | | [29] |
| Elda | | [30] |
Granada | | | [31] |
| | | [32] |
| | | [33] |
| | | [34] |
| | | [35] |
| | | [36] |
| Ferrol | | [37] |
| Santander | | [38] |
| | | [39] |-| Tenerife || Santa Cruz de Tenerife || Heliodoro Rodríguez López || align="center"| [40] |-| Zaragoza || Zaragoza || La Romareda || align="center"| [41] |-|}Segunda División seasons
Notes
Champions and promotions
Clubs in bold are competing in Segunda División as of the 2024–25 season. Clubs in italics no longer exist. Seasons in itallcs mean shared titles due to regionalisation (1949–1968).
Club | Winners | Promotions | Winning Years |
---|
Murcia | | | 1939–40, 1954–55, 1962–63, 1972–73, 1979–80, 1982–83, 1985–86, 2002–03 | Real Betis | | | 1931–32, 1941–42, 1957–58, 1970–71, 1973–74, 2010–11, 2014–15 | Real Sociedad | 6 | | u | Deportivo La Coruña | | | 1961–62, 1963–64, 1965–66, 1967–68, 2011–12 | Sporting Gijón | | | 1943–44, 1950–51, 1956–57, 1969–70, 1976–77 | Oviedo | | | 1932–33, 1951–52, 1957–58, 1971–72, 1974–75 | Málaga | | | 1951–52, 1966–67, 1987–88, 1998–99 | Alavés | | | 1929–30, 1953–54, 1997–98, 2015–16 | Osasuna | | | 1952–53, 1955–56, 1960–61, 2018–19 | Las Palmas | | | 1953–54, 1963–64, 1984–85, 1999–2000 | Granada | | | 1940–41, 1956–57, 1967–68, 2022–23 | Sevilla | | | 1929, 1933–34, 1968–69, 2000–01 | Celta Vigo | | | 1935–36, 1981–82, 1991–92 | Hércules | | | 1934–35, 1965–66, 1995–96 | Valladolid | | | 1947–48, 1958–59, 2006–07 | Alcoyano | | | 1944–45, 1946–47, 1949–50 | Racing Santander | | | 1949–50, 1959–60 | Mallorca | | | 1959–60, 1964–65 | Elche | | | 1958–59, 2012–13 | Levante | | | 2003–04, 2016–17 | Castellón | | | 1980–81, 1988–89 | Sabadell | | | 1942–43, 1945–46 | Espanyol | | | 1993–94, 2020–21 | Mérida | | | 1994–95, 1996–97 | Valencia | | | 1930–31, 1986–87 | Pontevedra | | | 1962–63, 1964–65 | Jaén | | | 1952–53, 1955–56 | Zaragoza | | | 1977–78 | Rayo Vallecano | | | 2017–18 | Cádiz | | | 2004–05 | Tenerife | | | 1960–61 | Almería | | | 2021–22 | Numancia | | | 2007–08 | Recreativo | | | 2005–06 | Córdoba | | | 1961–62 | Leganés | | | 2023–24 | Huesca | | | 2019–20 | Atlético Madrid | | | 2001–02 | Lleida | | | 1992–93 | Albacete | | | 1990–91 | Burgos CF (I) | | | 1975–76 | Eibar | | | 2013–14 | Xerez | | | 2008–09 | Real Burgos | | | 1989–90 | AD Almería | | | 1978–79 | Cultural Leonesa | | | 1954–55 | Atlético Tetuán | | | 1950–51 | Castilla | | | 1983–84 | |
*Championships won by Málaga CF and CD Málaga
Media coverage
Spain
List of all-time top scorers by season
Sponsorship names for seasons
- Liga BBVA (2006–2008)
- Liga Adelante (2008–2016)
- LaLiga |2| (2016–2019)
- LaLiga SmartBank (2019–2023)
- LaLiga Hypermotion (2023–Present)[45]
See also
External links
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Notes and References
- Web site: WHO declares the coronavirus outbreak a global pandemic. El País. March 12, 2020. 11 March 2020 .
- Web site: China quarantines the city of Wuhan, the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak. El Español. March 12, 2020. 22 January 2020 .
- News: The map illustrating the global extent of the coronavirus epidemic. BBC. March 12, 2020. BBC News Mundo .
- Web site: Eibar vs. Real Sociedad match played without spectators due to the Coronavirus threat. Marca. March 12, 2020. 10 March 2020 .
- Web site: La Liga halted due to the coronavirus crisis. Marca. March 12, 2020. 12 March 2020 .
- Web site: UEFA arranges a meeting with European football's stakeholders. Official UEFA Website. March 12, 2020. 12 March 2020 .
- Web site: Coronavirus live updates: Champions League, Europa League, and LaLiga suspended. Marca. March 12, 2020.
- Web site: All sports, including Serie A, suspended in Italy amidst the coronavirus crisis. InfoBAE. March 12, 2020. 9 March 2020 .
- Web site: LaLiga set to return the week of June 8. Diario Marca. July 17, 2020.
- Web site: LaLiga SmartBank - Second Division - Debate arises over the decision not to postpone the entire matchday: the aggrieved teams gear up for a showdown. Diario Marca. July 21, 2020. 20 July 2020 .
- Web site: The Second Division will be named 'Liga BBVA' for the forthcoming 3 years . September 8, 2012 . Europa Press . October 23, 2006 . El Economista.
- Web site: LFP Sponsors . September 8, 2012 . Spanish Professional Football League.
- Web site: EA rebrands the Spanish competition: LaLiga EA Sports and LaLiga Hypermotion . 4 July 2023 . July 5, 2023.
- Web site: 2020-09-14 . La Federación desvela el misterio: La nueva Segunda B se denominará Primera División RFEF . 2023-08-21 . Diario ABC . es.
- Web site: Deportivo establishes a points record in the Second Division . Agencia EFE . June 3, 2012 . Diario As.
- Web site: Ranking Goals Second Division BDFutbol . 2023-08-21 . www.bdfutbol.com.
- Web site: Elche, a singular leader. marca.com. May 30, 2013.
- Web site: Darwin Núñez, el traspaso más caro de segunda división . 2023-08-21 . www.canalsur.es . es.
- http://www.rfef.es/GetDoc?UniqueKeyValue=22727&ShowPath=false&Download=true Spanish League regulations 2010/11 – see pages 12–13 of pdf
- Web site: Estadio Carlos Belmonte. 16 August 2014 . es. Football Tripper. 6 January 2020.
- Web site: Estadio de los Juegos del Mediterráneo. UD Almería. es. 1 July 2019. 24 October 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201024002903/http://www.udalmeriasad.com/club/datosdelclub/estadio-juegos-del-mediterraneo. dead.
- Web site: Estadio Municipal El Plantío. Burgos CF. 20 June 2016. es. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20160708190227/http://www.burgoscf.es/el-club/estadio-municipal-el-plantio/. 8 July 2016.
- Web site: Estadio Ramón de Carranza. 11 August 2018 . Cádiz CF. es. 19 October 2019.
- Web site: Estadio Cartagonova. es. FC Cartagena. 23 July 2020.
- Web site: Estadio. es. CD Castellón. 23 July 2020.
- Web site: es. 24 June 2016. Córdoba CF. Datos del club.
- Web site: Abanca-Riazor. RC Deportivo. 3 June 2021.
- Web site: El Eibar inicia la próxima semana la reubicación de los abonados para la próxima temporada. SD Eibar. es. 21 May 2019.
- Web site: Estadio Martínez Valero. Elche CF. 30 May 2016. es. 22 December 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20151222234615/http://www.elchecf.es/club/estadio-martinez-valero. dead.
- Web site: Estadio Nuevo Pepico Amat . 2024-05-17 . www.cdeldense.es . es.
- Web site: Datos del Club. Granada CF. es. 21 June 2023.
- Web site: El Alcoraz. 1 July 2019. SD Huesca. es.
- Web site: Estadi Ciutat de Valencia . StadiumDB . 20 July 2018.
- Web site: LA ROSALEDA STADIUM. Málaga CF. 1 July 2019.
- Web site: El Estadio Municipal de Anduva. CD Mirandés. 1 July 2019. 22 October 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201022062835/https://www.cdmirandes.com/club/instalaciones. dead.
- Web site: Stadiums. Real Oviedo. 30 May 2016. 3 May 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160503115440/http://www.realoviedo.es/en/club/stadiums. dead.
- Web site: Racing Ferrol . es . Resultados de Futbol. 3 June 2021.
- Web site: El Estadio. Real Racing Club. 3 June 2021. 13 August 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170813181725/http://www.realracingclub.es/club/instalaciones/el-estadio. dead.
- https://www.lavozdeasturias.es/noticia/sporting1905/2023/12/07/cifras-nuevo-aforo-molinon-meteria-top15-espana-mantendria-antiguedad-real-sporting-gijon/00031701982889116471195.htm Las cifras del nuevo aforo de El Molinón, se metería en el top15 de España y mantendría su antigüedad
- Web site: Instalaciones. CD Tenerife. es. 26 May 2016. 20 June 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160620143903/http://www.clubdeportivotenerife.es/el-club/instalaciones/instalaciones-estadio-heliodoro-rodriguez-lopez. dead.
- Web site: Estadio La Romareda. Real Zaragoza. es. 19 October 2019. 28 November 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201128000431/https://www.realzaragoza.com/club/la-romareda. dead.
- Web site: La emoción de LaLiga SmartBank más accesible que nunca . 2023-07-05 . Página web oficial de LaLiga LaLiga . es.
- Web site: Campanal I . bdfutbol.com . BD Futbol . 17 May 2024.
- Web site: Adolfo, Adolfo Suárez Morán - Footballer BDFutbol . 2024-05-17 . www.bdfutbol.com.
- Web site: 2023-07-03 . EA SPORTS and LaLiga sign new partnership for the 2023/24 season . 2023-07-04 . Diario AS . en-us.