Country | Colombia |
---|---|
Confederation | CONMEBOL |
Founded | 1948 |
Number of teams | 20 |
Level on pyramid | 1 |
Relegation to | Categoría Primera B |
Domestic cup(s) |
Copa Colombia Superliga Colombiana |
International cup(s) |
Copa Libertadores Copa Sudamericana |
Current champions |
Atlético Nacional (16th title) (2017–I) |
Most championships |
Atlético Nacional (16 titles) |
Most capped player | Gabriel Berdugo (733) |
Top goalscorer | Sergio Galván Rey (224) |
TV partners |
Win Sports (8 games by round) RCN Colombia (2 games by round) |
Website | http://www.laligaaguila.com/ |
2017 season |
The Categoría Primera A (Spanish pronunciation: [kateɣoˈɾi.a pɾiˈmeɾa ˈa]), commonly referred to as Liga Águila due to sponsorship by brewery company Bavaria (manufacturer of Águila beer), is a Colombian professional league for association football clubs. It is the country's premier football tournament and sits at the top of the Colombian football league system. The league was ranked 11th by the IFFHS in its list "The Strongest National League in The World 2015", being the third best in South America.
A total of twenty clubs compete in the league's regular season. División Mayor del Fútbol Profesional Colombiano, better known as DIMAYOR, operates the league system of promotion and relegation for both Categoría Primera A and Categoría Primera B leagues. Since its founding in 1948, fourteen teams have been crowned as Colombian football champions. The most successful club is Atlético Nacional with 16 titles.
During the league stage, which lasts for twenty matches, each team plays against every other team once. The league table follows a normal European league table, one point for ties and three points for a win. The top eight teams advance to the playoffs.
The playoffs have been organized in two different ways over the course of the short tournaments. They were first organized by dividing the eight teams into two groups where they would play home and away games; then, the two group winners would play the final. In later years, the playoffs are organized in pairs and play direct elimination in home and away games until only two teams reach the finals.
The finals involve two games. The team with the highest overall points achieved during the league stage gets to play the second game in their home stadium; if the aggregate points are the same, the home game is determined by the goal difference. The team with the highest aggregate score after both home and away games wins and is awarded the championship. If the games end up in a tie, there is no additional time and it proceeds directly to a penalty shoot-out. The away goals rule is not used.