Liga FPD facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Liga Promerica

Founded	13 June 1921; 104 years ago (1921-06-13)
Country	Costa Rica
Confederation	CONCACAF
Number of teams	12
Level on pyramid	1
Relegation to	Liga de Ascenso
International cup(s)	CONCACAF Champions Cup Central American Cup
Current champions	Saprissa (40th title) (2024 Clausura)
Most championships	Saprissa (40 titles)
TV partners	FUTV Tigo Sports TD+

The Primera División of Costa Rica, also known as Liga FPD or Liga Promerica, is the top professional association football league in Costa Rica. It's like the main soccer league for grown-ups! The league is managed by a group called UNAFUT. There are 12 teams in the league. The team that finishes last in the standings gets moved down to a lower league called the Liga de Ascenso. This is called relegation.

The league started way back in 1921. The first team to win was Herediano. The most successful team ever is Saprissa, with an amazing 40 championship titles! Other very strong teams are Alajuelense (30 titles) and Herediano (29 titles). These three teams have won most of the championships.

How the League Works

Former Liga FPD logo

The Liga FPD has a special way of playing. Instead of one long season, they have two separate tournaments each year.

• The Torneo de Apertura (which means "Opening Tournament") runs from July to December.
• The Torneo de Clausura (meaning "Closing Tournament") runs from January to May.

Before 2017, these tournaments were called Torneo de Invierno ("Winter Tournament") and Torneo de Verano ("Summer Tournament"). These names came from Costa Rica's rainy and dry seasons.

Each tournament has two main parts. First, all 12 clubs play each other twice. This means every team plays one game at home and one game away against every other team. This adds up to 22 games for each team.

• Teams get three points for winning a game.
• They get one point for a tie (draw).
• They get zero points for losing.

The top four teams with the most points then move on to the second part. This second part is a mini-tournament where these four teams play each other twice again. This adds 6 more games for each of them.

If the team that finished first in the first part also wins this mini-tournament, they are crowned champions! But if a different team wins the mini-tournament, then the winner of the first part and the winner of the mini-tournament play a final match (two games, home and away) to decide the champion.

Moving Up and Down Leagues

There's a system where teams can move between the Primera División (the top league) and the Segunda División (the second league). Even though there are two champions each season (one for Apertura and one for Clausura), only one team gets moved down to the Liga de Ascenso each year. This is based on how well teams do in both tournaments combined. The team with the fewest points overall at the end of the season is moved down.

Playing in International Competitions

The best teams in the Liga FPD get a chance to play in big international tournaments organized by CONCACAF. These are competitions against top clubs from other countries in North and Central America and the Caribbean.

Starting in 2017, the main tournament, the CONCACAF Champions League, was split into two parts:

• The first part is the CONCACAF League. This has 16 teams from Central America and the Caribbean. The winner of this tournament gets to move on to the next stage.
• The second part is the Champions League. Here, the winner of the CONCACAF League joins 15 other strong teams.

Here's how Costa Rican teams qualify:

• If one team wins both the Apertura and Clausura tournaments in a season:
  • That team goes straight to the main Champions League.
  • The two other best teams (who didn't win a tournament) get to play in the CONCACAF League.
• If two different teams win the Apertura and Clausura tournaments:
  • The champion with the best overall record goes directly to the main Champions League.
  • The other champion goes to the CONCACAF League.
  • The non-champion team with the best overall record also goes to the CONCACAF League.

League History

Saprissa player Christian Bolaños and Alajuelense player Rónald Matarrita battling for the ball. These two teams have the biggest rivalry in the league, called El Clásico.

The story of Costa Rican football began on June 13, 1921. That's when the Costa Rican Football Federation was created. People realized they needed a proper league and a national team because Costa Rica was invited to play in a big event in Guatemala that year.

The very first season of the Costa Rican Primera División was played in 1921. Seven teams took part: Alajuelense, Cartaginés, Herediano, La Libertad, Sociedad Gimnástica Española, Sociedad Gimnástica Limonense, and La Unión de Tres Ríos. The first-ever game was between La Libertad and Gimnástica Limonense. La Libertad won 1-0. Herediano became the first champions.

In 1999, the Costa Rican Football Federation created UNAFUT. This group was made to organize and manage the Primera División tournament, as well as youth leagues.

On January 9, 2014, UNAFUT decided to change the tournament's name to Liga FPD. They wanted to give the league its own special identity.

The biggest rivalry in the league is called El Clásico (The Classic). It's played between Alajuelense and Saprissa. These two teams are the most successful, and they have the most fans across the country. They first played each other on October 12, 1949. Since then, they've played over 300 matches, with Saprissa winning more often.

Teams in the League

Here are the teams that played in the 2023–24 season:

League Champions Through the Years

Here's a list of the champions and runner-up teams for each season:

Team Success: Winners and Runner-ups

This table shows how many times each club has won the league and how many times they've been the runner-up.

Player Records

Top Goal Scorers

These players have scored the most goals in the Liga FPD's history!

Rank	Nat.	Player	Goals
1		Víctor Núñez	244
2		Errol Daniels	196
3		Álvaro Saborio	168
4		Roy Sáenz	168
5		Leonel Hernández	164
6		Guillermo Guardia	149
7		Evaristo Coronado	148
8		Alejandro Alpízar	147
9		Erick Scott	144
10		Juan Ulloa	140
11		Vicente Wanchope	133

Most Games Played

These players have played the most matches in the Liga FPD, showing their long careers and dedication!

Danny Fonseca is one of the players with the most appearances in the Liga FPD.

Rank	Nat.	Player	Years	Apps
1		Marvin Obando	1979–2000	685
2		Julio Fuller	1975–1994	684
3		Enrique Díaz	1977–1996	676
4		Danny Fonseca	1999–2018	652
5		Luis Diego Arnáez	1987–2005	579
6		Mauricio Montero	1980–1990	556
7		Wílmer López	1992–2009	550
8		Óscar Ramírez	1983–1999	546
9		Evaristo Coronado	1981–1995	536
10		Luis Quirós	1986–2000	531

See also

In Spanish: Primera División de Costa Rica para niños