Categoría Primera A facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Liga BetPlay Dimayor

Organising body	DIMAYOR
Founded	15 August 1948; 77 years ago (1948-08-15)
Country	Colombia
Confederation	CONMEBOL
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	Santa Fe (10th title) (2025–I)
Most championships	Atlético Nacional (18 titles)
Most appearances	Gabriel Berdugo (733)
Top goalscorer	Dayro Moreno (251 goals)
TV partners	Win Sports, Win+ Fútbol

The Categoría Primera A, also known as Liga BetPlay Dimayor, is the top professional association football league in Colombia. It's like the highest level of soccer in the country! The league gets its name "BetPlay Dimayor" because of a sponsorship deal with an online betting company called BetPlay.

Twenty clubs play in this exciting league each year. The organization called DIMAYOR runs the competition. DIMAYOR also manages how teams move up or down between the Categoría Primera A and the Categoría Primera B leagues. Since the league started in 1948, sixteen different teams have won the championship. The team with the most wins is Atlético Nacional, with an amazing 18 titles! At the end of 2023, the league was ranked as the 11th strongest national league in the world by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics, which shows how good Colombian football is!

History of Colombian Football League

Independiente Medellín team in 1922

Before 1948, there wasn't a professional football league in Colombia. The first football clubs started in cities like Barranquilla and Bogotá. Some of these early clubs were Barranquilla FC, Polo Club, Escuela Militar, and Bartolinos. It took a little while for football to become super popular.

The very first tournament between Colombian clubs was the 1918 Campeonato Nacional. After that came the Copa Centenario Batalla de Boyacá. The oldest club that is still playing professionally today is Independiente Medellín, which was founded on April 15, 1913.

How the League Started in 1948

The first official tournament was organized in 1948 by the Colombian Football Federation and DIMAYOR. Ten teams joined this first tournament, each paying 1,000 pesos. Two teams came from Bogotá, Cali, Manizales, and Pereira, and one team from Barranquilla. A total of 252 players were registered that year. Most were Colombian, but there were also players from Argentina, Peru, Uruguay, Chile, Ecuador, the Dominican Republic, and Spain.

The "El Dorado" Era (1949-1954)

Soon after the league began, there were disagreements between Adefútbol (which managed amateur football) and DIMAYOR (the new professional league's organizer). DIMAYOR decided to operate independently, meaning it wouldn't follow FIFA's rules. Because of this, FIFA, the world's football governing body, punished Colombian football. They banned the national team and all its clubs from playing in international competitions. This period, from 1949 to 1954, is known as El Dorado.

A match between Deportivo Cali and Atlético Nacional

Even though it sounds like a bad time, "El Dorado" was actually a golden age for Colombian football! Since clubs didn't have to pay transfer fees to other countries, they started bringing in famous players from all over South America and Europe. Millonarios was one of the most active clubs in signing international stars, and they won many championships with players like Alfredo di Stéfano.

More and more fans came to watch the games. This growing excitement led to the creation of the Copa Colombia in 1950. This knockout competition was played sometimes over the next 58 years, but it only became an annual tournament in 2008. Even though the international stars went back to their home countries when Colombia rejoined FIFA in 1954, this special era was never forgotten.

Changes to the League Format

In 1968, the league changed its format. Instead of one long tournament all year, they started having two shorter ones. From then on, Colombian clubs would compete in two tournaments each year: the Apertura (meaning "opening") from February to June, and the Finalización (meaning "closing") from July to December. These became separate championships in 2002.

Another big change happened in 1991 when second and third divisions were added. The third division was stopped in 2010 for economic reasons and no longer promoted teams to the professional leagues after 2003.

How the League Works Today

The current way Colombian football is played started with the 2019 season. The top league has 20 teams. These teams play in both the Apertura and Finalización tournaments every year. Both tournaments follow the same three-stage plan, and they have been separate championships since the 2002 season.

Stages of the Tournament

The first part of the tournament is like a round-robin, where each team plays every other team once. This means 19 matches for each team. Sometimes, an extra round of local derby matches (games between rival teams from the same area) is added.

The top eight teams from this first stage then move on to the semi-final round. This round has two groups of four teams. Each team in these groups plays the others in their group twice. The two teams that win their groups then play in the final. The final is played over two games, one at each team's home stadium.

How Teams Move Up or Down

Teams can move down to the Categoría Primera B (the second division) based on their average points over the past three seasons. Each year, the two teams with the lowest average points are moved down. They are replaced by the top two teams from the Primera B league.

Teams Playing in the League

Teams for the 2024 season

Team	City	Stadium	Capacity	Head Coach	First season in Primera A	Last title
Águilas Doradas	Rionegro	Alberto Grisales	14,000	José Luis García (caretaker)	2011	None
Alianza	Valledupar	Armando Maestre Pavajeau	11,000	Hubert Bodhert	2024	None
América de Cali	Cali	Pascual Guerrero	38,000	Jorge da Silva	1948	2020
Atlético Bucaramanga	Bucaramanga	Alfonso López	28,000	Rafael Dudamel	1949	None
Atlético Nacional	Medellín	Atanasio Girardot	40,043	Pablo Repetto	1948	2022–I
Boyacá Chicó	Tunja	La Independencia	20,630	Jhon Jaime Gómez (caretaker)	2004	2008–I
Deportes Tolima	Ibagué	Manuel Murillo Toro	28,100	David González	1955	2021–I
Deportivo Cali	Cali	Deportivo Cali	44,000	Hernando Patiño (caretaker)	1948	2021–II
Deportivo Pasto	Pasto	Libertad	20,665	Gustavo Florentín	1999	2006–I
Deportivo Pereira	Pereira	Hernán Ramírez Villegas	30,297	Leonel Álvarez	1949	2022–II
Envigado	Envigado	Polideportivo Sur	11,000	Alexis Márquez	1992	None
Fortaleza C.E.I.F.	Bogotá	Metropolitano de Techo	8,000	Sebastián Oliveros	2014	None
Independiente Medellín	Medellín	Atanasio Girardot	40,043	Alfredo Arias	1948	2016–I
Jaguares	Montería	Jaraguay	12,000	Néstor Craviotto	2015	None
Junior	Barranquilla	Metropolitano Roberto Meléndez	49,692	Arturo Reyes	1948	2023–II
La Equidad	Bogotá	Metropolitano de Techo	8,000	Alexis García	2007	None
Millonarios	Bogotá	Nemesio Camacho	39,512	Alberto Gamero	1948	2023–I
Once Caldas	Manizales	Palogrande	32,000	Hernán Darío Herrera	1948	2010–II
Patriotas	Tunja	La Independencia	20,630	Harold Rivera	2012	None
Santa Fe	Bogotá	Nemesio Camacho	39,512	Pablo Peirano	1948	2016–II

Clubs and Their Seasons Played

This is a list of clubs that have played in at least one Categoría Primera A season since it started in 1948, up to the 2025 season. Teams that are currently playing in the league are shown in bold.

The Championship Trophy

The same trophy has been used to celebrate the annual champion since 1948. It's made of German silver, weighs about 5 kilograms, and is around 90 centimeters tall. At the top, it has a figure of the Winged Victory of Samothrace. This figure has been used throughout history to represent winning in sports.

The original trophy, which has the names of all the champion clubs engraved on it, is kept at the DIMAYOR headquarters. It's only shown for special events like drawing fixtures or with sponsors. The winning teams are given an exact copy of the trophy. Along with the main trophy, the champions also receive an extra trophy from the league's sponsor.

Colombian Clubs in International Competitions

Top Players in the League

Most Appearances by Players

These players have played the most games in the Categoría Primera A.

Rank	Player	Years	Appearances
1	Gabriel Berdugo	1968–1984	733
2	Alexis García	1980–1998	723
3	Arturo Segovia	1963–1979	706
4	Jorge Bermúdez	1989–96, 2005, 2006–07	682
5	Misael Flórez	1962–1981	652

Top Goal Scorers in the League

These players have scored the most goals in the Categoría Primera A.

Rank	Player	Years	Goals
1	Dayro Moreno	2003–present	251
2	Sergio Galván Rey	1996–2011	224
3	Iván Valenciano	1988–2009	217
4	Hugo Lóndero	1969–1981	211
5	Oswaldo Palavecino	1975–1985	204
6	Jorge Ramírez Gallego	1962–1975	201
7	Omar Devani	1962–1975	200
8	Víctor Aristizábal	1990–2007	187
9	Arnoldo Iguarán	1977–1997	186
10	Willington Ortiz	1972–1988	184

List of Champions by Club

This table shows which clubs have won the most championships in the Categoría Primera A.

• Teams in bold are currently playing in the Categoría Primera A as of the 2025 season.
• Italics means clubs that no longer exist or are not part of Dimayor anymore.

See also

In Spanish: Categoría Primera A para niños