Paraguayan Primera División Explained

División Profesional
Pixels:260px
Country:Paraguay
Confed:CONMEBOL
Founded:1906
Teams:12
Relegation:División Intermedia
Levels:1
Domest Cup:Copa Paraguay
Confed Cup:Copa Libertadores
Copa Sudamericana
Champions:Libertad (25th title)
Season:2024 Apertura
Most Successful Club:Olimpia (46 titles)
Top Goalscorer:Santiago Salcedo
(166 goals)
Tv: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

The División Profesional de la Asociación Paraguaya de Fútbol (pronounced as /es/; "Professional Division of the Paraguayan Football Association"), also known as the Primera División (pronounced as /es/; "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.

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

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).[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

The 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

Results of the 'Big Five' in the last 6 seasons
Season
28341
34261
14352
13254
1 5 3 4 2
25 1 4 6
6 1 6 0 4
6 5 6 5 5
out of 6
Apertura and/or Clausura champions / Copa Libertadores group stage
Copa Libertadores group stage
Copa Libertadores qualifying round
Copa Sudamericana qualifying round

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

The following are the teams in the first division in 2024:

TeamCityStadiumCapacity
25,000
45,000
10,000
6,000
10,000
4,000
25,000
11,000
Sportivo Ameliano800
23,000
3,000
3,000
Notes

List of champions

Complete list of champions since 1906. Paraguayan football turned professional since the 1935 season.

width= width=40px colspan=2 Seasonwidth=180px Champion width=180px Runner-upwidth=180px Third
Guaraní (1) Libertad
Guaraní (2) Libertad
1908
Nacional (1) Olimpia
Libertad (1) Nacional
1911Nacional (2) Sol de América
Olimpia (1) Nacional
Cerro Porteño (1) Nacional
Olimpia (2) River Plate
Cerro Porteño (2) Guaraní
Olimpia (3) Nacional
1917Libertad (2) Cerro Porteño
Cerro Porteño (3) Olimpia
1919Cerro Porteño (4) Olimpia
Libertad (3) Cerro Porteño
Guaraní (3) Sol de América
1922
Guaraní (4) Libertad
Nacional (3) Olimpia
Olimpia (4) Nacional
Nacional (4) River Plate
Sol de América
Olimpia (5) no third-place awarded
Olimpia (6) Nacional
Olimpia (7) Sportivo Luqueño
River Plate
Libertad (4) Olimpia
Olimpia (8) no third-place awarded
1932
1933
1934
Cerro Porteño (5) Libertad
Olimpia (9) Nacional
Olimpia (10) Guaraní
Olimpia (11) Libertad
Cerro Porteño (6) Nacional
Cerro Porteño (7) Guaraní
Cerro Porteño (8) Nacional
Nacional (5) Guaraní
Libertad (5) Sol de América
Cerro Porteño (9) Guaraní
Libertad (6) Presidente Hayes
Nacional (6) Cerro Porteño
Olimpia (12) Nacional
Olimpia (13) Sportivo Luqueño
Guaraní (5) Cerro Porteño
Cerro Porteño (10) Olimpia
Sportivo Luqueño (1) Nacional
Presidente Hayes (1) no third-place awarded
Sportivo Luqueño (2) no third-place awarded
Cerro Porteño (11) Olimpia
Libertad (7) Cerro Porteño
Olimpia (14) Sol de América
Olimpia (15) no third place awarded
Olimpia (16) Guaraní
Olimpia (17) Sportivo Luqueño
Olimpia (18) Sportivo Luqueño
Cerro Porteño (12) Sportivo Luqueño
Olimpia (19) River Plate
Cerro Porteño (13) Libertad
River Plate
Guaraní (6) no third-place awarded
Olimpia (20) Cerro Porteño
Cerro Porteño (14) Olimpia
Guaraní (7) Olimpia
Olimpia (21)
Guaraní (8)
Cerro Porteño (15)
Olimpia (22)
Cerro Porteño (16)
Cerro Porteño (17)
Cerro Porteño (18)
Olimpia (23)
Libertad (8)
Cerro Porteño (19)
Olimpia (24)
Olimpia (25)
Olimpia (26)
Olimpia (27)
Olimpia (28)
Olimpia (29) Libertad
Guaraní (9) Olimpia
Olimpia (30) Sol de América
Sol de América (1) Cerro Porteño
Cerro Porteño (20) Sol de América
Olimpia (31) Libertad
Olimpia (32) Cerro Porteño
Cerro Porteño (21) Olimpia
Sportivo Luqueño
Sol de América (2) Olimpia
Guaraní
Cerro Porteño (22) Olimpia
Sportivo Luqueño
Olimpia (33) Guaraní
Cerro Porteño (23) Sport Colombia
Olimpia (34) Guaraní
Nacional
Cerro Porteño (24) Olimpia
Olimpia (35) Guaraní
Olimpia (36) Guaraní
Olimpia (37) Colegiales
Olimpia (38) Cerro Porteño
Cerro Porteño (25) 12 de Octubre
Libertad (9) Cerro Porteño
Libertad (10) Olimpia
Cerro Porteño (26) Tacuary
Cerro Porteño (27) Nacional
Libertad (11) Tacuary
Libertad (12) Cerro Porteño
2008 Libertad (13) Cerro Porteño
ClausuraLibertad (14) Cerro Porteño
Apertura Cerro Porteño (28) Nacional
ClausuraNacional (7) Guaraní
Apertura Guaraní (10) Olimpia
ClausuraLibertad (15) Nacional
Apertura Nacional (8) Libertad
ClausuraOlimpia (39) Libertad
Apertura Cerro Porteño (29) Libertad
ClausuraLibertad (16) Guaraní
Apertura Nacional (9) Cerro Porteño
ClausuraCerro Porteño (30) Capiatá
Apertura Libertad (17) Olimpia
ClausuraLibertad (18) Guaraní
Apertura Cerro Porteño (31) Libertad
ClausuraOlimpia (40) Guaraní
Apertura Libertad (19) Sol de América
ClausuraGuaraní (11)
Apertura Libertad (20)
ClausuraCerro Porteño (32) Guaraní
Apertura Olimpia (41)
ClausuraOlimpia (42)
Apertura Olimpia (43)
ClausuraOlimpia (44)
Apertura Cerro Porteño (33)
ClausuraOlimpia (45) no third-place awarded
Apertura Libertad (21) Nacional
Clausura Cerro Porteño (34) Sol de América
Apertura Libertad (22) Olimpia
Clausura Olimpia (46) Nacional
Apertura Libertad (23) Sportivo Trinidense
Clausura Libertad (24) Nacional
Apertura Libertad (25) Olimpia
Clausura

Titles by club

Rankscope=col class="unsortable" width=120Clubscope=col Winnersscope=col Runners-upscope=col class="unsortable" Winning yearsscope=col class="unsortable" Runners-up years
146 27 1906, 1907, 1915, 1917, 1920, 1923, 1926, 1939, 1941, 1943, 1955, 1961, 1963, 1969, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1986, 1987, 1994, 2011 Apertura, 2012 Apertura, 2016 Apertura, 2016 Clausura, 2017 Clausura, 2020 Apertura, 2021 Apertura
2Cerro Porteño34 38 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, 2015 Clausura, 2018 Apertura, 2018 Clausura, 2019 Apertura, 2022 Apertura, 2022 Clausura, 2023 Apertura, 2023 Clausura, 2024 Apertura
325 22 1909, 1924, 1927, 1928, 1929, 1931, 1944, 1950, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1956, 1967, 1977, 1990, 1992, 2004, 2005, 2009 Apertura, 2009 Clausura, 2013 Clausura, 2019 Clausura
411 18 1916, 1925, 1947, 1957, 1965, 1966, 1970, 1989, 1996, 2000, 2003, 2008 Clausura, 2013 Apertura, 2014 Apertura, 2015 Apertura, 2017 Apertura, 2020 Clausura, 2021 Clausura
59 10 1918, 1921, 1927, 1949, 1962, 1964, 1982, 1985, 2008 Apertura, 2012 Clausura
62 11 1912, 1913, 1935, 1940, 1946, 1952, 1957, 1978, 1979, 1981, 1988
2 4 1975, 1983, 2001, 2007
81  —

Topscorers

See main article: Primera División de Paraguay topscorers.

Sponsors

Main sponsors

Current official sponsors

Former official sponsors

Media coverage

See main article: article.

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. https://www.iol.co.za/sport/soccer/brazil-have-the-worlds-best-national-league-in-2022-south-africa-rated-at-53-after-a-previous-31-slot-d9c3033d-a411-491c-9295-183aefb7f066 Brazil have the world’s best national league in 2022, South Africa rated at 53 after a previous 31 slot
  2. http://apf.cerocinco.net/hist_apf.php Historia de la APF