Liga FPD
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The Primera División of Costa Rica, commonly known as Liga de Fútbol de Primera División (Liga FPD),[1] and Liga Promerica for sponsorship reasons,[2] is the top professional association football division in Costa Rica. It is administered by the Unión de Clubes de Fútbol de la Primera División (UNAFUT).[3] The league consists of 12 teams, with the last-placed team relegated to the Liga de Ascenso.
 | |
| Founded | 13 June 1921; 103 years ago |
|---|---|
| Country | Costa Rica |
| Confederation | CONCACAF |
| Number of teams | 12 |
| Level on pyramid | 1 |
| Relegation to | Liga de Ascenso |
| International cup(s) | CONCACAF Champions Cup Central American Cup |
| Current champions | Saprissa (40th title) (2024 Clausura) |
| Most championships | Saprissa (40 titles) |
| TV partners | FUTV Tigo Sports TD+ |
| Website | unafut |
| Current: 2024–25 Liga FPD season | |
The league was founded in 1921,[3] with Herediano crowned as the first champions.[4] Saprissa is the most successful club having won the championship a record 40 times. Together with Alajuelense (30 titles) and Herediano (29 titles), they have dominated the league.
The Liga FPD features a format in which two separate tournaments are held over the course of one particular season. The Torneo de Apertura (Spanish for "Opening Tournament") lasts from July to December, while the Torneo de Clausura (Spanish for "Closing Tournament") lasts from January to May. From 2007 to 2017, these were known respectively as Torneo de Invierno ("Winter Tournament") and Torneo de Verano ("Summer Tournament"), based on the Costa Rican seasons, with the Invierno tournament played during the rainy season and the Verano tournament played during the dry season.
A separate tournament is played on stages. The first stage follows the usual double round-robin format. During the course of a tournament, each club plays every other club twice, once at home and once away, for a total of 22 matchdays. Teams receive three points for a win, one point for a draw, and no points for a loss. Teams are ranked by total points, with the top-four clubs at the end of the stage qualifying to the second stage. The second stage consists of a quadrangular in which the best four teams qualified will face each other twice again, adding 6 additional matchdays. If the top team of the first stage also wins the quadrangular, the club will be crowned as champions; otherwise, a double-legged final will be played between the winners of the first stage and the winners of the quadrangular to determine the champion.
Promotion and relegation
A system of promotion and relegation exists between the Primera División and the Segunda División. In spite of having two champions during a regular season, the Liga FPD only relegates one team per season based on the aggregate performance in both Apertura and Clausura tournaments. The last-placed team in the aggregate table is relegated to the Liga de Ascenso.
Qualifying for CONCACAF competitions
The top teams in the Liga FPD qualify to the CONCACAF Champions League. Starting in the 2017–18 season, the CONCACAF Champions League will be separated into two stages. The first stage is CONCACAF League, which consists of sixteen teams from Central America and the Caribbean, in which the winner qualifies to the second stage, the Champions League, joining other fifteen teams. Because of this format, the qualification criteria in the Liga FPD are:
- If one team wins both the Apertura and Clausura tournaments
- The double champion will qualify directly to the second stage of the Champions League
- The two non-champion teams with the best aggregate record at the end of the season will qualify to the CONCACAF League
- If two teams are crowned champions over the season
- The champion with the best aggregate record will qualify directly to the second stage of the Champions League
- The champion with the worst aggregate record will qualify to the CONCACAF League
- The non-champion team with the best aggregate record will qualify to the CONCACAF League
On 13 June 1921, the Costa Rican Football Federation was created. With its creation, the need of a tournament also emerged, along with the establishment of a national team, as a result of Costa Rica being invited to the 1921 Juegos del Centenario in Guatemala.[5]
The first season of the Costa Rican Primera División was played in 1921 with seven teams: Alajuelense, Cartaginés, Herediano, La Libertad, Sociedad Gimnástica Española, Sociedad Gimnástica Limonense and La Unión de Tres Ríos. La Libertad and Gimnástica Limonense played the first ever match of the Liga FPD, with La Libertad emerging victorious with a lone goal scored by Rafael Madrigal. Herediano were crowned as champions.[5]
In 1999, the Costa Rican Football Federation created the UNAFUT (acronym of Unión de Clubes de Fútbol de la Primera División), an entity designed for the organization and administration of the Primera División tournament and its youth leagues (known as Alto Rendimiento).[3]
On 9 January 2014, UNAFUT decided to rename the tournament to Liga FPD, in order to give more identity to the league.[6]
The main rivalry in the league is El Clásico, played by Alajuelense and Saprissa, as both teams are the most successful in the league and both share the vast majority of followers throughout the country. Since their first encounter at the old national stadium on 12 October 1949, the two teams have faced each other in over 300 matches, with the winning balance in favor of Saprissa.[7]
Location of clubs in 2024-25 season
Location of clubs in San José province
| Team | Location | Stadium | Capacity | Founded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alajuelense | Alajuela, Alajuela | Alejandro Morera Soto | 18,000 | 1919 |
| Cartaginés | Cartago, Cartago | José Rafael "Fello" Meza | 10,000 | 1906 |
| Guanacasteca | Nicoya, Guanacaste | Estadio Chorotega | 3,000 | 1973 |
| Herediano | Heredia, Heredia | Eladio Rosabal Cordero [9] | 8,000 | 1921 |
| Municipal Liberia | Liberia, Guanacaste | Edgardo Baltodano | 7,000 | 1977 |
| Puntarenas F.C. | Puntarenas, Puntarenas | Estadio Lito Pérez | 4,105 | 2004 |
| Pérez Zeledón | San Isidro de El General, San José | Estadio Municipal | 6,000 | 1991 |
| San Carlos | Ciudad Quesada, Alajuela | Carlos Ugalde Álvarez | 5,600 | 1965 |
| Santa Ana | Santa Ana, San José | Piedades de Santa Ana | 2,000 | 1993 |
| Santos de Guápiles | Guápiles, Limón | Ebal Rodríguez | 3,000 | 1961 |
| Saprissa | San Juan de Tibás, San José | Ricardo Saprissa | 23,000 | 1935 |
| Sporting F.C. | Pavas, San José | Ernesto Rohrmoser | 3,000 | 2016 |
| Club | Winners | Runners-up | Winning years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saprissa | 40 |
18 |
1952, 1953, 1957, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1982, 1988, 1989, 1993–94, 1994–95, 1997–98, 1998–99, 2003–04, 2005–06, 2006–07, 2007 Invierno, 2008 Verano, 2008 Invierno, 2010 Verano, 2014 Verano, 2014 Invierno, 2015 Invierno, 2016 Invierno, 2018 Clausura, 2020 Clausura, 2021 Clausura, 2022 Apertura, 2023 Clausura, 2023 Apertura, 2024 Clausura. |
| Alajuelense | 30 |
26 |
1928, 1939, 1941, 1945, 1949, 1950, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1966, 1970, 1971, 1980, 1983, 1984, 1990–91, 1991–92, 1995–96, 1996–97, 1999–00, 2000–01, 2001–02, 2002–03, 2004–05, 2010 Invierno, 2011 Verano, 2011 Invierno, 2012 Invierno, 2013 Invierno, 2020 Apertura |
| Herediano | 29 |
23 |
1921, 1922, 1924, 1927, 1930, 1931, 1932, 1933, 1935, 1937, 1947, 1948, 1951, 1955, 1961 Asofútbol, 1978, 1979, 1981, 1985, 1987, 1992–93, 2012 Verano, 2013 Verano, 2015 Verano, 2016 Verano, 2017 Verano, 2018 Apertura, 2019 Apertura, 2021 Apertura |
| La Libertad | 6 |
7 |
1925, 1926, 1929, 1934, 1942, 1946 |
| Cartaginés | 4 |
10 |
1923, 1936, 1940, 2022 Clausura |
| Orión | 2 |
6 |
1938, 1944 |
| Municipal Puntarenas | 1 |
3 |
1986 |
| San Carlos | 1 |
2 |
2019 Clausura |
| Pérez Zeledón | 1 |
1 |
2017 Apertura |
| Uruguay de Coronado | 1 |
1 |
1963 |
| Brujas | 1 |
0 |
2009 Invierno |
| Carmelita | 1 |
0 |
1961 Fedefútbol |
| Liberia Mía | 1 |
0 |
2009 Verano |
| Universidad de Costa Rica | 1 |
0 |
1943 |
| Rank | Nat. | Player | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Víctor Núñez | 244 | |
| 2 | Errol Daniels | 196 | |
| 3 | Álvaro Saborio | 168 | |
| 4 | Roy Sáenz | 168 | |
| 5 | Leonel Hernández | 164 | |
| 6 | Guillermo Guardia | 149 | |
| 7 | Evaristo Coronado | 148 | |
| 8 | Alejandro Alpízar | 147 | |
| 9 | Erick Scott | 144 | |
| 10 | Juan Ulloa | 140 | |
| 11 | Vicente Wanchope | 133 |
| Rank | Nat. | Player | Years | Apps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Marvin Obando | 1979–2000 | 685 | |
| 2 | Julio Fuller | 1975–1994 | 684 | |
| 3 | Enrique Díaz | 1977–1996 | 676 | |
| 4 | Danny Fonseca | 1999–2018 | 652 | |
| 5 | Luis Diego Arnáez | 1987–2005 | 579 | |
| 6 | Mauricio Montero | 1980–1990 | 556 | |
| 7 | Wílmer López | 1992–2009 | 550 | |
| 8 | Óscar Ramírez | 1983–1999 | 546 | |
| 9 | Evaristo Coronado | 1981–1995 | 536 | |
| 10 | Luis Quirós | 1986–2000 | 531 |
- ^ Molina Salas, José Pablo. "Legacy Irazú es el balón oficial presentado por Voit para la Liga FPD". unafut.com (in European Spanish). Retrieved 18 May 2017.
- ^ "Liga Promerica será el nuevo concepto del fútbol de la primera división". unafut.com. Retrieved 14 July 2019.
- ^ a b c "¿Quiénes Somos?". unafut.com (in European Spanish). Archived from the original on 6 June 2017. Retrieved 18 May 2017.
- ^ "Primera División". unafut.com (in European Spanish). Archived from the original on 9 August 2017. Retrieved 18 May 2017.
- ^ a b Coto, Gerardo. "1921". UNAFUT.com. UNAFUT. Archived from the original on 8 August 2017. Retrieved 25 May 2017.
- ^ Vargas, Gabriel (10 January 2014). "Fission es el balón que se usará en el torneo de Verano 2014". La Nación (in Spanish). Retrieved 25 May 2017.
- ^ "Una rivalidad que divide a los ticos". FIFA.com (in European Spanish). FIFA. 21 February 2014. Archived from the original on January 1, 2018. Retrieved 5 June 2017.
- ^ "Calendario Torneo Apertura 2023". www.unafut.org. UNAFUT, Genius Sports Group. Retrieved 9 Jan 2024.
- ^ Herediano is temporarily playing at Estadio "Colleya" Fonseca in Guadalupe, San José while their home stadium undergoes renovation [8]
- ^ "Primera División". www.unafut.com (in European Spanish). UNAFUT. Archived from the original on 9 August 2017. Retrieved 25 May 2017.
- ^ "Club de los 100". www.unafut.com (in European Spanish). UNAFUT. Archived from the original on 1 July 2017. Retrieved 25 May 2017.
- ^ "Jugadores con más partidos de campeonato nacional". unafut.com (in European Spanish). UNAFUT. Archived from the original on 28 July 2014. Retrieved 25 May 2017.
- (in Spanish) UNAFUT – Primera División de Costa Rica
- (in Spanish) Federación Costarricense de Fútbol (Football Federation of Costa Rica)
- (in English) Costa Rica – List of Champions and Runners Up, RSSSF.com
- (in English) Primera División summary Soccerway
- (in English) Primera Division, standings, results & fixtures at Donnael.com