Liga Nacional de Fútbol de Guatemala

Liga Nacional de Guatemala

Founded	1919 (1919) as amateur league 1942 (1942) as professional league
Country	Guatemala
Confederation	CONCACAF
Number of teams	12
Level on pyramid	1
Relegation to	Primera División de Ascenso
Domestic cup(s)	Copa de Guatemala
International cup(s)	CONCACAF Champions League CONCACAF League
Current champions	Comunicaciones (31st title)
Most championships	Municipal (31 titles) Comunicaciones (31 titles)
Top goalscorer	Juan Carlos Plata (302)
TV partners	Claro Sports Tigo Sports Albavision
Website	https://ligagt.org
Current: 2022-23 Liga Nacional de Guatemala

Liga Nacional de Fútbol de Guatemala (National Football League of Guatemala), formerly known as Liga Mayor "A" (Major League "A") is a professional football division in Guatemala, the highest one in the country. It is sanctioned by the Federación Nacional de Fútbol de Guatemala. The champion and runner-up teams of the Liga Nacional's official tournaments qualify to participate in international competitions within their regional confederation. Twelve teams currently compete in the league. Municipal and Comunicaciones are the two most successful clubs in the league to date, having won 31 tournaments respectively.

History

Its first official professional tournament took place in 1942, and succeeded what was known as the Liga Capitalina (League of the Capital), which was an amateur tournament that started in 1919. The 1942-43 tournament was played by seven teams in a double round-robin tournament. Three teams – Municipal, Tipografía Nacional, and Guatemala FC – finished tied for the first place after the two rounds. A playoff between the three teams was conducted to determine the winner, with Municipal earning their first national title.

Competition Format

The league has had several different formats throughout its history; currently, the league season is divided into two tournaments. The Apertura, which is played in the fall, and the Clausura, which is played in the spring. The first 6 clubs in the standings at the end of each competition participate in the playoffs to determine the champion, 1st and 2nd place teams qualify directly to semi-finals, while the others have to play in the quarter-finals. The winners of the Apertura and Clausura tournaments participate in the CONCACAF Champions League.

At the end of 2008-2009 Apertura and Clausura tournaments the league expanded to 12 teams to compete in a larger versions of the Apertura and Clausura tournaments. Now the 12th placed team (the team with the fewest points) in the aggregated table standings (combined standings of both the Apertura and Clausura tournaments) is relegated to the Primera División de Ascenso (2nd division) automatically at the end of the Clausura tournament in late May. The teams that finish 10th and 11th in the aggregated table standings enter into a two-legged playoff with the second- and third-placed clubs of the Primera División de Ascenso, respectively. The playoff winners play in the top division while the losers spend the next season in the second division.

Current teams

Antigua

Cobán

Comunicaciones

Guastatoya

Iztapa

Malacateco

Municipal

Santa Lucía

Sanarate

Xelajú

Achuapa

Sacachispas

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Location of the 2020-21 Liga Nacional de Fútbol de Guatemala teams

Team	Home city	Stadium	Capacity
Achuapa	El Progreso, Jutiapa Department	Estadio El Cóndor	6,000
Antigua	Antigua, Sacatepéquez Department	Estadio Pensativo	10,000
Cobán Imperial	Cobán, Alta Verapaz Department	Estadio Verapaz	15,000
Comunicaciones	Guatemala City, Guatemala Department	Estadio Doroteo Guamuch Flores	26,000
Guastatoya	Guastatoya, El Progreso Department	Estadio David Cordón Hichos	3,100
Iztapa	Iztapa, Escuintla Department	Estadio El Morón	3,000
Malacateco	Malacatán, San Marcos Department	Estadio Santa Lucía	7,000
Mixco	Mixco, Guatemala Department	Estadio Santo Domingo de Guzmán	1,000
Municipal	Guatemala City, Guatemala Department	Estadio El Trébol	7,500
Santa Lucía	Santa Lucía Cotzumalguapa, Escuintla Department	Estadio Municipal Santa Lucía Cotzumalguapa	9,000
Xelajú	Quetzaltenango, Quetzaltenango Department	Estadio Mario Camposeco	11,220
Xinabajul	Huehuetenango, Huehuetenango Department	Estadio Los Cuchumatanes	5,340

Champions in Guatemalan Football History

Champions were: Amateur and Professional Champions.

Professional Champions
Team	Location	Champions
Municipal	Guatemala City	31
Comunicaciones	Guatemala City	31
Aurora	Guatemala City	8
Xelajú	Quetzaltenango	5
Antigua	Antigua	4
Tipografía Nacional	Guatemala City	3
Guastatoya	Guastatoya	3
Suchitepéquez	Mazatenango	2
Jalapa	Jalapa	2
Cobán Imperial	Cobán	1
Santa Lucía	Santa Lucía Cotzumalguapa	1
Malacateco	Malacatán	1

Amateur Champions
Team	Location	Champions
Universidad SC (formerly Escuela de Medicina)	Guatemala City	6
Tipografia Nacional	Guatemala City	3
Allies	Guatemala City	2
Cibeles	Guatemala City	2
Escuela Politécnica	Guatemala City	2
Guatemala FC (formerly Escuela Normal)	Guatemala City	2
Hércules	Guatemala City	2
La Joya	Guatemala City	2
Quetzal	Guatemala City	1

Top Goalscorers

No.	Player	Country	Goals
1	Juan Carlos Plata		302
2	Oscar Sánchez		259
3	Julio César Anderson		220
4	Carlos Kamiani Félix		211
5	Edwin Westphal		188
6	Israel Silva		186
7	René Morales		172
8	Mario Acevedo		170
9	Agustín Herrera		161
10	Selvin Pennant		156
11	León Ugarte		156
12	Edgar Araiza		150
13	Fredy García		144
14	Hugo Peña		136
15	Rolando Fonseca		135
16	Rudy Ramírez		130
17	Carlos Toledo		129
18	Jhonny Cubero		124
19	Julio Rodas		123
20	José Emilio Mitrovich		121

See also

• Guatemala national football team

External links

• Liga Nacional de Fútbol de Guatemala (in Spanish)
• League at FIFA
• Guatemala, 100 años de fútbol - prensalibre.com - Prensa Libre newspaper, Guatemala. (in Spanish)
• guatefutbol.com (in Spanish)
• League Summary at Soccerway (in English)