Country | Panama |
---|---|
Confederation | CONCACAF |
Founded | 1988 |
Number of teams | 10 |
Level on pyramid | 1 |
Relegation to | Liga Nacional de Ascenso |
International cup(s) | CONCACAF Champions League |
Current champions | Árabe Unido |
Most championships | Árabe Unido (13 titles) |
TV partners | RPC TV, TV-Max |
Website | lpf.com.pa |
2016 Apertura |
The Liga Panameña de Fútbol (English: Panamanian Football League) is the top tier football league in Panama. Until 2009, the league was named Asociación Nacional Pro Fútbol (ANAPROF).
The league's season is divided into two tournaments called the Apertura and Clausura. Both tournaments have an identical format. Each tournament has two stages: the first stage is a double round-robin round where each team plays every other team twice, once at home and once away. The top-four teams advance to a final stage, a single-elimination culminating with a final match.
The first stage of both tournaments is combined into an aggregate table to determine relegation. The team with the fewest points is relegated to the Primera A for the following season.
The champions of both tournaments qualify to the CONCACAF Champions League.
In 1987, a group of men, composed of Giancarlo Gronchi, Jan Domburg, Edgar Plazas, Jorge Zelasny, Ángel Valero and Juan Carlos Delgado, founded the Asociación Nacional Pro-Fútbol (ANAPROF for short) on February 26, 1988.
Their objective was to establish the bases to organize professional footballers in Panama, in order to help the Panamanian national team in the long term.
1 Including 2 Winners in LINFUNA.
2 Including 2 Runners-up under the name Deportivo La Previsora.
Teams dissolved.
From 1994 to 1996 Panamese football went through a schism, with the alternative federation, LINFUNA (officially recognised by FIFA then). LINFUNA and ANAPROF joined again in 1996.
The following table shows past results for ANAPROF (1988-09) and the Liga Panameña de Fútbol (2009–present)