Ecuadorian Serie B Explained

Primera Categoría Serie B
Country:Ecuador
Confed:CONMEBOL
Founded:1971
Teams:10
Promotion:Serie A
Relegation:Segunda Categoría
Levels:2
Champions:Macará (5th title)
Season:2023
Most Successful Club:Técnico Universitario
(6 titles)
Website:Official webpage
Current:2024 Serie B season

The Primera Categoría Serie B, shortened to Serie B or Primera B, is a professional football league in Ecuador. It is in the second tier of the Ecuadorian football league system. Currently contested by ten clubs, it operates a system of promotion and relegation with the top-flight Serie A and the bottom-level Segunda Categoría. The season runs from February to December in two stages. For sponsorship reasons, it is known as the LigaPro Banco Pichincha Pymes.

Serie B has been in place since 1971 and has been held on a yearly basis since (except 1973 and 1983–88), often holding two tournaments a year. The number of teams being promoted or relegated changed through the years because, like the Serie A, the format often changes on a seasonal basis. With the creation of LigaPro for the beginning of the 2019 season, the format consisted of two separate round robin stages. The top four teams with the most points after both stages were placed in a playoffs to determine the two teams who would earn promotion to Serie A the following season. Additionally, the two teams with the fewest points at the end of the season are relegated to the Segunda Categoría.

Thirty two different clubs have won the Serie B, but only twelve have won it multiple times. The most successful team is Técnico Universitario, who won their sixth title in 2017, while the current champion is Macará.

Current teams

There are currently ten teams in the 2024 Serie B.

ClubCityStadiumCapacity
9 de OctubreAlejandro Ponce Noboa5,000
ChacaritasPelileoCiudad de Pelileo8,000
CuniburoCayambeOlímpico Guillermo Albornoz12,000
GualaceoGualaceoGerardo León Pozo2,791
Guayaquil CityGuayaquilChristian Benítez10,152
Independiente JuniorsSangolquíBanco Guayaquil12,000
Leones del NorteAtuntaquiOlímpico Jaime Terán10,000
MantaMantaJocay21,000
San AntonioIbarraOlímpico de Ibarra18,600
Vargas TorresFolke Anderson14,000

List of champions

width=pxEd.width=80px colspan=2 Seasonwidth=170pxChampion (title count)width=170pxRunner-up
1971Macará (1)Olmedo
1972E1LDU Portoviejo (1)Deportivo Quito
E2Deportivo Cuenca (1)Universidad Católica
1974E1 LDU Quito (1)América de Quito
E2 Aucas (1)Deportivo Quito
1975Audaz Octubrino (1)9 de Octubre
1976E1 Carmen Mora (1)Deportivo Quito
E2 LDU Portoviejo (2)América de Quito
1977E1 LDU Cuenca (1)Manta Sport
E2 Técnico Universitario (1)Deportivo Quito
1978E1 Bonita Banana (1)Valdez
E2 América de Quito (1)LDU Quito
1979E1 Manta Sport (1)Aucas
E2 El Nacional (1)Everest
1980E1 Deportivo Quito (1)LDU Cuenca
E2 LDU Portoviejo (3)Deportivo Cuenca
1981E1 Emelec (1)9 de Octubre
E2 Técnico Universitario (2)LDU Portoviejo
1982E1 Quevedo (1)Aucas
E2 Manta Sport (2)América de Quito
1989E1 Delfín (1)
E2 Juventus (1)River Plate Riobamba
1990E1 Universidad Católica (1)LDU Portoviejo
E2 Juvenil (1)LDU Loja
1991E1 Green Cross (1)LDU Portoviejo
E2 Aucas (2)ESPOLI
1992E1 LDU Portoviejo (4)ESPOLI
E2Santos (1)Calvi
1993 ESPOLI (1)LDU Portoviejo
1994 Olmedo (1)9 de Octubre
1995 Deportivo Cuenca (2)Técnico Universitario
1996 Quevedo (2)Calvi
1997 Panamá (1)Delfín
1998 Macará (2)Audaz Octubrino
1999 Técnico Universitario (3)LDU Portoviejo
2000 LDU Portoviejo (5)Delfín
2001 LDU Quito (2)Deportivo Cuenca
2002 Técnico Universitario (4)Manta
2003 Olmedo (2)Macará
2004 Quevedo (3)LDU Loja
2005A ESPOLI (2)Manta
C Macará (3)
2006E1 Deportivo Azogues (1)
E2 Imbabura (1)
2007 Universidad Católica (2)ESPOLI
2008 Manta (1)LDU Portoviejo
2009Independiente del Valle (1)Universidad Católica
2010LDU Loja (1)Imbabura
2011Técnico Universitario (5)Macará
2012Universidad Católica (3)Quevedo
2013 Olmedo (3)Mushuc Runa
2014 Aucas (3)River Ecuador
2015 Delfín (2)Fuerza Amarilla
2016 Macará (4)Clan Juvenil
2017 Técnico Universitario (6)Aucas
2018Mushuc Runa (1)América de Quito
2019Orense (1)LDU Portoviejo
20209 de Octubre (1)Manta
2021Cumbayá (1)Gualaceo
2022El Nacional (2)Libertad
2023Macará (5)Imbabura

Titles by club

scope=colClubscope=colTitlesscope=colSeasons won
6 1977 E2, 1981 E2, 1999, 2002, 2011, 2017
5 1972 E1, 1976 E2, 1980 E2, 1992 E1, 2000
5 1971, 1998, 2005 C, 2016, 2023
Aucas3 1974 E2, 1991 E2, 2014
3 1994, 2003, 2013
3 1982 E1, 1996, 2004
3 1990 E1, 2007, 2012
2 1993, 2005 A
2 1989 E1, 2015
2 1972 E2, 1995
2 1979 E2, 2022
2 1974 E1, 2001
2 1979 E1, 1982 E2
1 2020
1 1978 E2
1 1975
1 1978 E1, 1976 E1
1 2021
1 2006 E1
1 1980 E1
1 1981 E1
1 1991 E1
1 2006 E2
1 2009
1 1990 E2
1 1989 E2
1 1977 E1
1 2010
1 2008
1 2018
1 2019
1 1997
1 1992 E2

Titles by city

width=150Citywidth=75Nº of titlesClubs
14 Aucas (3), Universidad Católica (3), El Nacional (2), ESPOLI (2), LDU Quito (2), América de Quito (1), Deportivo Quito (1)
12 Técnico Universitario (6), Macará (5), Mushuc Runa (1)
6 Manta Sport (2), Delfín (2), Green Cross (1), Manta FC (1)
5 LDU Portoviejo (5)
3 Deportivo Cuenca (2), LDU Cuenca (1)
3 9 de Octubre (1), Emelec (1), Panamá (1)
3 Audaz Octubrino (1), Bonita Banana (1), Orense (1)
3 Olmedo (3)
2 Juvenil (1), Juventus (1)
1 Deportivo Azogues (1)
1 Cumbayá (1)
1 Santos (1)
1 Imbabura (1)
1 LDU Loja (1)
1 Carmen Mora (1)
1 Deportivo Quevedo (1)
1 Independiente del Valle (1)

External links