Liga FPD
Introduction The '''Primera División of Costa Rica''', commonly known as '''Liga de Fútbol de Primera División''' ('''Liga FPD'''), and '''Liga Promerica''' for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional association football division in Costa Rica. It is administered by the Unión de Clubes de Fútbol de la Primera División (UNAFUT). The league consists of 12 teams, with the last-placed team relegated to the Liga de Ascenso.The league was founded in 1921, with Herediano crowned as the first champions. Saprissa is the most successful club having won the championship a record 39 times. Together with Alajuelense (30 titles) and Herediano (29 titles), they have dominated the league.
Competition format Former logoThe Liga FPD features a format in which two separate tournaments are held over the course of one particular season. The ''Torneo de Apertura'' (Spanish for "Opening Tournament") lasts from July to December, while the ''Torneo de Clausura'' (Spanish for "Closing Tournament") lasts from January to May. From 2007 to 2017, these were known respectively as ''Torneo de Invierno'' ("Winter Tournament") and ''Torneo de Verano'' ("Summer Tournament"), based on the Costa Rican seasons, with the ''Invierno'' tournament played during the rainy season and the ''Verano'' tournament played during the dry season.A separate tournament is played on stages. The first stage follows the usual double round-robin format. During the course of a tournament, each club plays every other club twice, once at home and once away, for a total of 22 matchdays. Teams receive three points for a win, one point for a draw, and no points for a loss. Teams are ranked by total points, with the top-four clubs at the end of the stage qualifying to the second stage. The second stage consists of a quadrangular in which the best four teams qualified will face each other twice again, adding 6 additional matchdays. If the top team of the first stage also wins the quadrangular, the club will be crowned as champions; otherwise, a double-legged final will be played between the winners of the first stage and the winners of the quadrangular to determine the champion.===Promotion and relegation===A system of promotion and relegation exists between the ''Primera División'' and the ''Segunda División''. In spite of having two champions during a regular season, the Liga FPD only relegates one team per season based on the aggregate performance in both ''Apertura'' and ''Clausura'' tournaments. The last-placed team in the aggregate table is relegated to the Liga de Ascenso.===Qualifying for CONCACAF competitions===The top teams in the Liga FPD qualify to the CONCACAF Champions League. Starting in the 2017–18 season, the CONCACAF Champions League will be separated into two stages. The first stage is CONCACAF League, which consists of sixteen teams from Central America and the Caribbean, in which the winner qualifies to the second stage, the Champions League, joining other fifteen teams. Because of this format, the qualification criteria in the Liga FPD are:*If one team wins both the ''Apertura'' and ''Clausura'' tournaments**The double champion will qualify directly to the second stage of the Champions League**The two non-champion teams with the best aggregate record at the end of the season will qualify to the CONCACAF League*If two teams are crowned champions over the season**The champion with the best aggregate record will qualify directly to the second stage of the Champions League**The champion with the worst aggregate record will qualify to the CONCACAF League**The non-champion team with the best aggregate record will qualify to the CONCACAF League
History Saprissa's Christian Bolaños disputes the ball against Alajuelense's Rónald Matarrita. Alajuelense and Saprissa have the biggest rivalry in the league, known as ''El Clásico''On 13 June 1921, the Costa Rican Football Federation was created. With its creation, the need of a tournament also emerged, along with the establishment of a national team, as a result of Costa Rica being invited to the 1921 Juegos del Centenario in Guatemala.The first season of the Costa Rican Primera División was played in 1921 with seven teams: Alajuelense, Cartaginés, Herediano, La Libertad, Sociedad Gimnástica Española, Sociedad Gimnástica Limonense and La Unión de Tres Ríos. La Libertad and Gimnástica Limonense played the first ever match of the Liga FPD, with La Libertad emerging victorious with a lone goal scored by Rafael Madrigal. Herediano were crowned as champions.In 1999, the Costa Rican Football Federation created the UNAFUT (acronym of Unión de Clubes de Fútbol de la Primera División), an entity designed for the organization and administration of the Primera División tournament and its youth leagues (known as Alto Rendimiento).On 9 January 2014, UNAFUT decided to rename the tournament to Liga FPD, in order to give more identity to the league.The main rivalry in the league is ''El Clásico'', played by Alajuelense and Saprissa, as both teams are the most successful in the league and both share the vast majority of followers throughout the country. Since their first encounter at the old national stadium on 12 October 1949, the two teams have faced each other in over 300 matches, with the winning balance in favor of Saprissa.
Clubs 2023–24 TeamLocationStadiumCapacityFoundedAlajuelenseAlajuela, AlajuelaAlejandro Morera Soto18,0001919CartaginésCartago, Cartago José Rafael "Fello" Meza10,0001906GuanacastecaNicoya, Guanacaste Estadio Chorotega3,0001973HeredianoHeredia, Heredia  Eladio Rosabal Cordero 8,0001921Municipal GreciaGrecia, AlajuelaAllen Riggioni 4,0001998Municipal LiberiaLiberia, GuanacasteEdgardo Baltodano7,0001977Puntarenas F.C.Puntarenas, PuntarenasEstadio Lito Pérez4,1052004Pérez ZeledónSan Isidro de El General, San José Estadio Municipal6,0001991San CarlosCiudad Quesada, AlajuelaCarlos Ugalde Álvarez5,6001965Santos de GuápilesGuápiles, LimónEbal Rodríguez3,0001961SaprissaSan Juan de Tibás, San JoséRicardo Saprissa23,0001935Sporting F.C.Pavas, San JoséErnesto Rohrmoser3,0002016
Champions Ed.SeasonChampionRunner-up   1921  Herediano  Gimnástica Española   1922   Herediano  La Libertad   1923   Cartaginés  La Libertad   1924   Herediano  Cartaginés   1925   La Libertad  Herediano   1926   La Libertad  Cartaginés   1927   Herediano   La Libertad   1928   Alajuelense  Gimnástica Española   1929   La Libertad   Alajuelense    1930   Herediano  Gimnástica Española   1931   Herediano  Orión   1932   Herediano  Orión   1933   Herediano  Gimnástica Española   1934   La Libertad   Alajuela Junior   1935   Herediano  Alajuela Junior   1936   Cartaginés  La Libertad   1937   Herediano  Gimnástica Española   1938   Orión  Gimnástica Española   1939   Alajuelense  Herediano   1940   Cartaginés  Orión   1941   Alajuelense  La Libertad   1942   La Libertad  Gimnástica Española   1943   Universidad de Costa Rica   Alajuelense   1944   Orión  Herediano   1945   Alajuelense  Orión   1946   La Libertad   Herediano   1947   Herediano  La Libertad   1948   Herediano  Alajuelense   1949   Alajuelense   Orión   1950   Alajuelense  Saprissa   1951   Herediano  Orión   1952   Saprissa  Alajuelense   1953   Saprissa  Herediano  1954 ''No tournament.'' 1955   Herediano  Saprissa  1956 ''No tournament.'' 1957   Saprissa  Alajuelense   1958   Alajuelense   Saprissa   1959   Alajuelense  Saprissa   1960   Alajuelense  Herediano   1961 Asofútbol  Herediano  Saprissa   1961 Fedefútbol  Carmelita  Uruguay de Coronado   1962   Saprissa  Alajuelense   1963   Uruguay de Coronado  Saprissa   1964   Saprissa    Orión   1965   Saprissa  Alajuelense    1966   Alajuelense  Saprissa   1967   Saprissa  Alajuelense    1968   Saprissa  Cartaginés   1969   Saprissa  Alajuelense    1970   Alajuelense  Saprissa   1971   Alajuelense  Saprissa   1972   Saprissa  Alajuelense   1973   Saprissa  Cartaginés   1974   Saprissa  Herediano   1975   Saprissa  Cartaginés   1976   Saprissa  Deportivo México   1977   Saprissa  Cartaginés   1978   Herediano  Municipal Puntarenas   1979   Herediano  Cartaginés   1980   Alajuelense  Herediano   1981   Herediano  Limonense   1982   Saprissa  Municipal Puntarenas   1983   Alajuelense  Municipal Puntarenas   1984   Alajuelense  Saprissa   1985   Herediano  Alajuelense   1986   Municipal Puntarenas  Alajuelense   1987   Herediano  Cartaginés   1988   Saprissa  Herediano   1989   Saprissa  Alajuelense  1990 ''No tournament.'' 1990–91   Alajuelense  Saprissa   1991–92   Alajuelense  Saprissa   1992–93   Herediano    Cartaginés   1993–94   Saprissa  Alajuelense   1994–95   Saprissa  Alajuelense   1995–96   Alajuelense    Cartaginés   1996–97   Alajuelense  Saprissa    1997–98   Saprissa  Alajuelense   1998–99   Saprissa  Alajuelense   1999–00   Alajuelense  Saprissa    2000–01   Alajuelense  Herediano   2001–02   Alajuelense  Santos de Guápiles   2002–03   Alajuelense  Saprissa    2003–04   Saprissa  Herediano   2004–05   Alajuelense  Pérez Zeledón   2005–06   Saprissa  Puntarenas F.C. 2006–07   Saprissa  Alajuelense   2007 Invierno  Saprissa   Herediano   2008 Verano  Saprissa   Alajuelense   2008 Invierno  Saprissa   Alajuelense   2009 Verano   Liberia Mía    Herediano   2009 Invierno  Brujas    Puntarenas F.C. 2010 Verano  Saprissa   San Carlos   2010 Invierno    Alajuelense   Herediano     2011 Verano  Alajuelense   San Carlos   2011 Invierno  Alajuelense   Herediano   2012 Verano  Herediano   Santos de Guápiles   2012 Invierno  Alajuelense   Herediano   2013 Verano   Herediano   Cartaginés   2013 Invierno  Alajuelense   Herediano   2014 Verano   Saprissa   Alajuelense   2014 Invierno   Saprissa    Herediano   2015 Verano  Herediano  Alajuelense   2015 Invierno   Saprissa    Alajuelense   2016 Verano   Herediano  Alajuelense   2016 Invierno  Saprissa   Herediano   2017 Verano   Herediano  Saprissa   2017 Apertura   Pérez Zeledón   Herediano   2018 Clausura   Saprissa   Herediano   2018 Apertura   Herediano   Saprissa   2019 Clausura   San Carlos   Saprissa   2019 Apertura   Herediano   Alajuelense     2020 Clausura  Saprissa   Alajuelense   2020 Apertura  Alajuelense  Herediano   2021 Clausura   Saprissa   Herediano   2021 Apertura   Herediano   Saprissa   2022 Clausura   Cartaginés   Alajuelense   2022 Apertura    Saprissa   Herediano    2023 Clausura   Saprissa   Alajuelense
Performance by club  Club Winners Runners-up Winning yearsSaprissa1952, 1953, 1957, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1982, 1988, 1989, 1993–94, 1994–95, 1997–98, 1998–99, 2003–04, 2005–06, 2006–07, 2007 Invierno, 2008 Verano, 2008 Invierno, 2010 Verano, 2014 Verano, 2014 Invierno, 2015 Invierno, 2016 Invierno, 2018 Clausura, 2020 Clausura, 2021 Clausura, 2022 Apertura, 2022 Clausura, 2023 AperturaAlajuelense1928, 1939, 1941, 1945, 1949, 1950, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1966, 1970, 1971, 1980, 1983, 1984, 1990–91, 1991–92, 1995–96, 1996–97, 1999–00, 2000–01, 2001–02, 2002–03, 2004–05, 2010 Invierno, 2011 Verano, 2011 Invierno, 2012 Invierno, 2013 Invierno, 2020 AperturaHerediano1921, 1922, 1924, 1927, 1930, 1931, 1932, 1933, 1935, 1937, 1947, 1948, 1951, 1955, 1961 Asofútbol, 1978, 1979, 1981, 1985, 1987, 1992–93, 2012 Verano, 2013 Verano, 2015 Verano, 2016 Verano, 2017 Verano, 2018 Apertura, 2019 Apertura, 2021 AperturaLa Libertad1925, 1926, 1929, 1934, 1942, 1946Cartaginés1923, 1936, 1940, 2022 ClausuraOrión1938, 1944Municipal Puntarenas1986Pérez Zeledón2017 AperturaUruguay de Coronado1963Brujas2009 InviernoCarmelita1961 FedefútbolLiberia Mía2009 Verano Universidad de Costa Rica1943San Carlos 2019 Clausura
Player records ===Top scorers===RankPlayerGoals1 Víctor Núñez2442Errol Daniels1963Álvaro Saborio1684Roy Sáenz1685Leonel Hernández1646Guillermo Guardia1497Evaristo Coronado1488Alejandro Alpízar1479Erick Scott14410Juan Ulloa14011Vicente Wanchope133===Most appearances===Danny Fonseca is the fourth most capped player in the Liga FPDRankPlayerYearsApps1Marvin Obando1979–20006852Julio Fuller1975–19946843Enrique Díaz1977–19966764Danny Fonseca1999–20186525Luis Diego Arnáez1987–20055796Mauricio Montero1980–19905567Wílmer López1992–20095508Óscar Ramírez1983–19995469Evaristo Coronado1981–199553610Luis Quirós1986–2000531
References
External links *  UNAFUT – Primera División de Costa Rica*  Federación Costarricense de Fútbol (Football Federation of Costa Rica)*  Costa Rica – List of Champions and Runners Up, RSSSF.com* Primera División summary(SOCCERWAY)