Uruguayan Primera División
| Founded | 1900 |
|---|---|
| Country | Uruguay |
| Confederation | CONMEBOL |
| Number of teams | 16 |
| Level on pyramid | 1 out of 3 |
| Relegation to | Segunda División |
| International cup(s) | Copa Libertadores Copa Sudamericana |
| Current champions | Peñarol (49 titles) (2017) |
| Most championships | Peñarol (49 titles) [note 1] |
| Top goalscorer | Fernando Morena (230) |
| TV partners | Tenfield, Gol TV |
| Website | Primera División |
| Current: 2018 season | |
The Liga Profesional de Primera División [ˈliɣa pɾofesjoˈnal de pɾiˈmeɾa ðiβiˈsjon] (English: First Division Professional League) (local: [pɾiˈmeɾa ðiβiˈsjon]) (English: First Division), named "Torneo Uruguayo Copa Coca-Cola" for sponsorship reasons, is the highest professional football league in Uruguay and organized by the Uruguayan Football Association (AUF).
The first championship was held in 1900, being an amateur competition until 1932 when the league became professional. From 1900 to the 2014–15 season there have been 111 first division seasons.
In 2011, the Uruguayan Primera División was regarded as the 23rd most difficult football league in the 21st century by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS).[5]
Peñarol is the most successful Uruguayan club with 49 titles,[note 1] followed by Nacional with 46. Of clubs to win titles, only Rampla Juniors did not win multiple titles. Rampla Juniors and Wanderers were the only clubs to not win titles consecutively.
History
The Uruguayan Primera División was held by the first time in 1900. Between 1923 and 1925, under the Uruguayan football schism, a dissident league, the Federación Uruguaya de Football, was established. The body operated in parallel with the official Association (AUF). After an intervention by the Uruguayan government to impose the dissolution of the FUF, in 1926 an Provisional Council ("Concejo Provisorio") organised a championship to unify the two organizations. Peñarol was the winner of the Serie A of the tournament. Nevertheless, neither the AUF nor the FIFA recognised the titles of the championships organized by FUF or CP.[3]
It took 44 seasons before a club besides Peñarol or Nacional won a title, when Defensor won its first title 1976. Besides Peñarol or Nacional, no other club has won titles consecutively. Both Peñarol (1958 to 1962 and 1993 to 1997) and Nacional (from 1939 to 1943) hold the record title streaks winning five titles consecutively. The longest period of time since either Peñarol or Nacional won a title was from 1987 to 1991, when Defensor, Danubio, Progreso, Bella Vista, and Defensor Sporting together won five titles in that period.[6]
After 1994, the competition was divided in two stages, called the Opening Championship (Torneo Apertura) and Closing Championship (Torneo Clausura), with an end-of-season two-legged final match between the winners of these two tournaments.
Originally, like other South American football leagues, the league was contested according to the calendar year, from austral summer to summer in the Southern Hemisphere. In 2005, the league started to play the "European season", from boreal summer to summer in Northern Hemisphere starting in August, with the aim of preventing clubs from losing many players in the middle of the season. In the first semester of 2005, a special tournament was held to decide the qualification to international competition. In the 2005–06 season, the winners of the Apertura and Clausura tournaments played a two (or three) legged play-off; the winner of that playoff played against the best team in the aggregate table to decide the 2005–06 season champion.
In the 2006–07 season, the competition was reduced to 16 clubs. The season of 2008–09 was intended to be the last one to be played in "European season", as the system appeared to be unable to prevent clubs from losing players between the Apertura (opening) tournament and the Clausura (closing). However, the transition did not take place for several years. After a regular 2015–16 season was played, a short 2016 was played in the latter half of the year, with the full calendar year system in place beginning with the 2017 season.
Participating teams
A total of 58 teams have participated in the Primera Division since its inception in 1900. Nacional has played the most seasons followed by Peñarol. Of the so-called 'minor' teams the record for most seasons lies with Montevideo Wanderers.
2018 season
All statistics pertain only to the Uruguayan Championships organized by the Uruguayan Football Association (AUF), not including FUF tournaments of 1923, 1924 and the 1926 Consejo Provisorio tournament in seasons counted. The founding dates of clubs are those declared by the clubs themselves involved.[note 2] The column "stadium" reflects the stadium where the team acts as home in their matches, but does not indicate that the team in question owns the stadium. [note 3]
| Club | City | Stadium | Capacity | Establ. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atenas | San Carlos | Atenas | 6,000 | 1928 |
| Boston River | Montevideo | José Nasazzi | 5,002 | 1939 |
| Cerro | Montevideo | Luis Tróccoli | 24,000 | 1922 |
| Danubio | Montevideo | Jardines del Hipódromo | 14,401 | 1932 |
| Defensor Sporting | Montevideo | Luis Franzini | 18,000 | 1913 |
| El Tanque Sisley | Florida | Campeones Olímpicos | 7,000 | 1941 |
| Fénix | Montevideo | Parque Capurro | 5,500 | 1916 |
| Liverpool | Montevideo | Belvedere | 10,000 | 1915 |
| Montevideo Wanderers | Montevideo | Parque Alfredo Víctor Viera | 7,420 | 1902 |
| Nacional | Montevideo | Gran Parque Central | 23,500 | 1899 |
| Peñarol | Montevideo | Campeón del Siglo | 40,000 | 1891 [7] |
| Progreso | Montevideo | Parque Abraham Paladino | 8,000 | 1917 |
| Racing | Montevideo | Osvaldo Roberto | 4,500 | 1919 |
| Rampla Juniors | Montevideo | Olímpico | 9,500 | 1914 |
| River Plate | Montevideo | Parque Federico Omar Saroldi | 5,624 | 1932 |
| Torque | Las Piedras | Parque Artigas | 12,000 | 2007 |
Champions
List of champions (1900–present)
All tournaments organized by the Uruguayan Football Association (AUF) except where indicated. No records for topscorers during the period 1900–1931.
Titles by club
| Club | Winners | Runners-up | Winning years |
|---|---|---|---|
| CURCC / Peñarol [note 1] | 49 | 41 | 1900, 1901, 1905, 1907, 1911, 1918, 1921, 1928, 1929, 1932, 1935, 1936, 1937, 1938, 1944, 1945, 1949, 1951, 1953, 1954, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1967, 1968, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1978, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1985, 1986, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2003, 2009–10, 2012–13, 2015–16, 2017 |
| Nacional | 46 | 42 | 1902, 1903, 1912, 1915, 1916, 1917, 1919, 1920, 1922, 1923, 1924, 1933, 1934, 1939, 1940, 1941, 1942, 1943, 1946, 1947, 1950, 1952, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1963, 1966, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1977, 1980, 1983, 1992, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2005–06, 2008–09, 2010–11, 2011–12, 2014–15, 2016 |
| Defensor Sporting | 4 | 8 | 1976, 1987, 1991, 2007–08 |
| Danubio | 4 | 3 | 1988, 2004, 2006–07, 2013–14 |
| River Plate FC | 4 | 0 | 1908, 1910, 1913, 1914 |
| Montevideo Wanderers | 3 | 9 | 1906, 1909, 1931 |
| Rampla Juniors | 1 | 5 | 1927 |
| Bella Vista | 1 | 1 | 1990 |
| Central Español | 1 | 0 | 1984 |
| Progreso | 1 | 0 | 1989 |
All-time top scorers
The chart includes championships since 1900 to present days.[9]
| Pos. | Player | Period | Goals | Appear. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Fernando Morena |
1969–84 | 230 | 244 |
| 2 | Atilio García |
1938–50 | 208 | 210 |
| 3 | Héctor Scarone |
1916–34 | 163 | 191 |
| 4 | Pablo Terevinto |
1920–31 | 124 | 157 |
| 5 |  Alberto Spencer |
1960–70 | 113 | 166 |
| 6 | René Borjas |
1920–31 | 109 | 199 |
| 7 | Héctor Castro |
1921–36 | 107 | 181 |
| 8 | Óscar Míguez |
1948–60 | 107 | 137 |
| 9 | Pedro Petrone |
1923–33 | 103 | 97 |
| 10 | Juan Peregrino Anselmo |
1922–35 | 102 | 180 |
See also
- Uruguayan football league system
- Uruguayan championship (FUF)
- Torneo del Consejo Provisorio
- Uruguayan Football Stadiums
- Uruguayan Segunda División
Notes
- ^ a b c With Peñarol being recognised as a CURCC's continuity by FIFA[1] and CONMEBOL[2], the club included the championships won by CURCC in its own honours. Apart from the 49 AUF titles, the club also won the 1924 and 1926 titles of championships organized by dissident bodies "Federación Uruguaya" and "Consejo Provisorio" respectively. Although some claim, those titles have not been recognized by AUF [3], Celestino Mibelli AUF's General Manager in 1938, send a note at the request of Peñarol´s President all official champions since 1900, the list included the dissident bodies champions too [4].
- ^ Controversy exists on the date of the founding of C.A. Peñarol. The club's official position assumes a change of name of CURCC (founded on December 28, 1891). On the other hand, some historians state that "C.A. Peñarol" was established on December 13, 1913.[7]
- ^ Torque and El Tanque Sisley present the Parque Artigas and Campeones Olímpicos respectively, as their exclusive stadiums, but it is important to clarify that they are not theirs, being municipal property. Boston River also present the José Nassazi as their exclusive stadium, but it is owned by Bella Vista.
- ^ The 1904 championship was not played due to the Battle of Masoller
- ^ The 1925 championship was not finished because of internal differences.
- ^ As the AUF did not organise a championship, a "Concejo Provisorio" was established to held a tournament, which was won by Peñarol
- ^ No championship was played because of the 1930 FIFA World Cup.
- ^ Not played due to a players strike
References
- ^ ¡Felicita a Peñarol! (120th anniversary) on FIFA.com, 27 Sep 2011
- ^ Guía de clubes sudamericanos, p. 19 on CONMEBOL website
- ^ a b "Hasta ahora se jugaron 109 Uruguayos" on Ovación Digital
- ^ "Peñarol presentó documentos para argumentar su último título como el 50º." on FutbolUY
- ^ The strongest Leagues of the World of the 21st Century (2001-2011) on IFFHS (Archive, 14 Jan 2013)
- ^ Uruguay – List of Champions at RSSSF
- ^ a b Discusiones por el decanato on Fútbol.uy, 29 Sep 2009
- ^ Tabeira, Martín (October 28, 2010). "Uruguay – League Top Scorers". RSSSF. Retrieved December 22, 2010.
- ^ "Uruguay All-Time Topscorers" at RSSSF
External links
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