Colombian Football League

 

The Colombian people have one thing in common: The passion for football. It doesn't matter if you are man or woman, boy or a girl, young or old, The Colombian fans are fanatic regarding their favorite clubs and it also influence when the National Team plays. This is maybe the most regional league in South America, since all the teams spread across the country. Not so many people come to the stadium especially the fans of small teams but the fans of the bigger and popular clubs usually show their faces every week. One of the reason that people don't come to the stadium is because the TV live coverage. 5 matches out of 9 broadcast every week by two Colombian channels. RCN channel, which is "open" for everyone, broadcasts one game on Saturday and the last match on Sunday. Another channel called Telmex is close one. Only people who paid for this channel can see it. Telmex broadcasts two games on Saturday, or one in Friday and one in Saturday and another game on Sunday. The National Team games and the International games of Colombian clubs broadcast by the National Television network, Caracol. 

 

Colombia have also few daily sports newspaper, which everyone represents the city that it was published in.

for example, the most popular newspapers are EL TIEMPO and EL ESPECTADOR form the capital, Bogota;

EL COLOMBIANO from Medellin; EL HERALDO from the Atlantic coast of Colombia (Barranquilla, Santa Marta, Cartagena); and EL PAIS from Cali.

 

The league has 6 regular strong clubs that spread across the three big cities of Colombia: Bogota, Medellin and Cali. Millonarios and Independiente Santa Fe from Bogota, Atletico Nacional and Deportivo Independiente medellin from Medellin, America Cali and Deportivo Cali. The league is managed by the Dimayor, containing 18 clubs and called in Spanish "Futbol Profesional Colombiano" or "Copa Mustang".

 

                                                     

Dimayor logo.                                                      The Copa Mustang logo.

 

The League System has been changed during the years since the league was founded in 1948. Today, the league actually divided for two separate tournaments which each of them decide one champion club. The opening tournament of the year called "Apertura" which being played usually between February and June. 

The closing championship called Clausura and it's being played between July and December. Each team plays 18 games-17 games against the rest of the league and another one special round for "derbies" games which called in spanish "clasico". (Usually two teams from the same city, or from the same geographic area).

The first 8 teams qualify for the Playoff phase which also called in Spanish "Cuadrangulares". The second phase divide the 8 qualifying teams for two groups of 4 teams each and the division goes like this: The teams that finished in places 1, 3, 5, 7 are in group A and the teams that finished in places 2, 4, 6, 8 are in group B.

After 6 matches-3 home games and 3 away games, the first team of each group are qualify for the Gran Final. The final include 2 matches, home and away. In case of equal global result after two matches, the championship is being decided in penalty shoot-out.

The Clausura tournament are exactly the same, but with one different. in the first phase, the teams are switching domestication. The same fixtures, but the team that hosted in the first tournament became a visitor team in the Clausura and contrary.  

 

Colombia can send three clubs to participate in the most important International compatition of South America- The Copa Libertadores and two clubs to participate in the second competition, the Copa Sudamericana.

Usually, if there are two different champion clubs, they qualify automatically to the Copa Libertadores groups stage. The third club is the club that finished in the highest position at the complete standings of both Apertura and Clausura tournaments. If one team has won the championship back-to-back, the club that finish in the highest place goes directly to the Libertadores groups stage and the club in next place, qualify for the preliminary round.

The clubs that finish in the highest places at the complete standings and not participate in the Copa Libertadores, will qualify for the Copa Sudamericana.

So far only two teams from Colombia won the most important cup, The Copa Libertadores. Atletico Nacional did it in 1989 with a win in penalty shoot-out over Paraguayan side, Olimpia Asuncion, while Once Caldas repeated this achievement in 2004 after winning Argentine side, Boca Juniors, in penalty shoot-out.

Atletico Nacional also qualified for the Copa Sudamericana final in 2002 but lost to Argentine San Lorenzo 4:0 on aggregate.

 

The relegate team is being decided after the Clausura tournament. There is relegation standing which calculate the results of each team in the last three years and the team with the worst results will relegate to the "Primera B" division. Instead of the relegated team, The champion of "Primera B" tournament will qualify for the "Primera A". The team that finished in the 17 place after all the calculations, will play two playoff matches against the team that finished second in the "Primera B".

 

The leading teams:

 

 

                                                         

America Cali                Atletico Bucaramanga                  Deportivo Cali                    Boyaca Chico FC