Country | Andorra |
---|---|
Confederation | UEFA |
Founded | 1995 |
Number of teams | 8 |
Level on pyramid | 1 |
Relegation to | Segona Divisió |
Domestic cup(s) |
Copa Constitució Supercopa Andorrana |
International cup(s) |
Champions League UEFA Europa League |
Current champions |
FC Santa Coloma (11st title) (2016–17) |
Most championships | FC Santa Coloma (11 titles) |
Website | Official site |
2016–17 season |
The Lliga Nacional de Fútbol, also known as Primera Divisió (First Division) or Campionat de Lliga, is the top football league for the country of Andorra. The league is a semi-professional league: all of the clubs and the majority of the players are part-time.
The league was launched in 1995 sponsored by the local federation (Andorran Football Federation) which was created just one year before, in 1994. Until then the clubs played since 1970 an amateur league without a structure or affiliation with any official institution. After the UEFA and FIFA affiliation in 1996 the Andorran clubs are able to compete in the UEFA competitions. Until 2015 the league was known as Lliga Grup Becier. It was renamed in 2016 as Lliga Grup Sant Eloi for sponsorship reasons.
All the teams in the league play in the same stadiums owned by the federation. The same occurs in all other Andorran competitions, such as Copa Constitució and Supercopa.
FC Andorra, one of the major clubs in the country based in Andorra la Vella have never played in this league. They play in the Spanish league system, because they are registered with the Royal Spanish Football Federation, but the team is mostly composed of players with Andorran nationality.
The eight clubs that play in the league play each other twice in the same venue. After the first 14 rounds, the best four teams play a competition between them to decide the Andorran champion (play off per al títol), while the other four play to avoid relegation (play off pel descens). The last placed of the relegation round is relegated to Segona Divisió, the second highest football league in Andorra, while the penultimate classified play a two-legged relegation play-off against the runners-up of Segona Divisió. The number of teams of Primera Divisió has changed throughout the league's history:
The winner of the league win a place in the UEFA Champions League while the runners-up of the league and the Cup winner win a place in the UEFA Europa League.