Costa Rican Primera División
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| Country | Costa Rica |
|---|---|
| Confederation | CONCACAF |
| Founded | June 13, 1921 |
| Number of teams | 12 |
| Level on pyramid | 1 |
| Relegation to | Segunda División de Costa Rica |
| International cup(s) | CONCACAF Champions League |
| Current champions |
Herediano (25) (Torneo Invierno 2015) |
| Most championships | Deportivo Saprissa (32) |
| TV partners |
Teletica Canal 7, Extra TV 42, Repretel |
| Website | Official website |
 2016–17
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Primera División de Costa Rica (also known as the Costa Rican FPD) is a professional league for association football clubs in Costa Rica. At the top of the Costa Rican league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 12 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with Segunda División de Costa Rica. The seasons consist of two tournaments each year, the Invierno (Winter), from July to December, and the Verano (Summer), from January to May. Thus, there are two champions each season with teams playing anywhere from 32 to 44 games each, totalling 412 games in the season.
Most games are played on Saturdays and Sundays, but recently there have been games programmed on Friday afternoons and Monday nights. Also the league has some Wednesday nights available to program games if any club needs it. The Campeonatos de Invierno and Verano are sponsored by Junta Protección Social-ProGol.
The competition formed on June 13, 1921 following an invitation presented by Guatemala to Costa Rica to participate in its Centenary Games. A total of 12 clubs have won the title. The current champions are Saprissa, who won the Torneo Invierno 2015.
The current Primera División season has two championships. The 12 teams play each other twice (home and away) for a total of 22 games in each championship. The top four teams qualify to a round-robin phase. The team that wins the first round faces the team that wins the round-robin phase in the Finals to determine the tournament's champion. If the same team wins both rounds, they are automatically pronounced tournament champions. The winners of both tournaments (Invierno and Verano) qualify to the CONCACAF Champions League. Where one team wins both tournaments, the runners-up with the best aggregate record (Invierno and Verano combined) qualifies.
In the year 1921, the Liga Nacional de Fútbol was created by Liga Deportiva Alajuelense, CS Cartaginés, CS Herediano, Club Sport La Libertad, Sociedad Gimnástica Española de San José, Club Sport La Unión de Tres Ríos and Sociedad Gimnástica Limonense, and the Primera División was born. In 1931 the league was centralized and renamed as Federación Deportiva de Costa Rica, then Federación Nacional de Fútbol and in the 1970s to Federación Costarricense de Fútbol (FEDEFUTBOL).
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