Colombian Primera A (Colombia)

Historical highlights & eras

Origins & professional foundation (pre-1948 to 1948)

Colombian football first began in regional amateur competitions, particularly in port cities like Barranquilla and cities like Bogotá. The game’s popularity grew as a professional league was founded on 15 August 1948 when DIMAYOR was established to organise the first national professional championship. The inaugural title was claimed by Santa Fe.

The El Dorado era (1949-1954)

This “Golden Age” happened because of a dispute with FIFA and a player’s strike in Argentina. DIMAYOR operated outside of FIFA’s rules, which allowed Colombian clubs to attract top international talent with huge salaries. This included famous players like Alfredo Di Stéfano and Adolfo Pedernera. This era saw a huge amount of investment and glamour, with Millonarios winning three consecutive titles from 1951 to 1953. The era ended in 1954 with the Pacto de Lima agreement, which required the league to fall back in line with FIFA’s rules.

Evolution through the mid-century (1955-1970s)

After the El Dorado era, the league focused on domestic development. During the 1960s, Millonarios had a period of dominance, winning four consecutive titles from 1960 to 1963. In the 1970s, clubs like Deportivo Cali, Santa Fe, and Unión Magdalena began to make their mark on the league’s history.

Dominance of América de Cali (1980s) & turmoil

The 1980s was a period of dominance for América de Cali. They won five consecutive league titles from 1982 to 1986 and reached the Copa Libertadores final three times in a row. However, in 1989, the league was hit by a tragedy when referee Álvaro Ortega was assassinated, which forced the cancellation of the tournament. In that same year, Atlético Nacional made history by becoming the first Colombian club to win the Copa Libertadores.

Modernisation & format innovations (1990s to 2000s)

A second division, Primera B, was introduced in 1991, which formalised the promotion and relegation system. The early 2000s brought in the now-familiar Apertura and Finalización split-season format, which began in 2002. This also brought in semi-final cuadrangulares, which made the competition more exciting.

2020s: pandemic & resilience

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted football worldwide, including in Colombia. The 2020 Apertura was suspended mid-season, which led to the creation of the eLiga Dimayor virtual tournament to keep fans engaged. The league later resumed in 2020 amid economic and organisational challenges, which was a sign of its adaptability and resilience.

Competition format

Two independent tournaments per year

The league is split into two separate championships each year: the Apertura (opening) tournament in the first half of the year and the Finalización (closing) tournament in the second half. Each tournament crowns its own champion.

Tournament structure

The structure is the same for both the Apertura and Finalización tournaments and consists of three stages:
– First stage – single round-robin: All 20 teams play each other once, for a total of 19 matches. In most seasons, an extra match against a regional rival is also played to make the competition more intense. The top eight teams from this stage advance to the next phase.
– Second stage – cuadrangulares (group semi-finals): The eight teams that qualified are divided into two groups of four. They then compete in a round-robin format, playing every other team in their group twice. The winners of each of these two groups then go on to the final.
– Final – two-legged series: The two group winners play each other in a home-and-away final. The team that wins is declared the tournament champion.

Relegation system

Relegation is decided by a three-season average of the points a team earns in the first stage of the competition. The two teams with the lowest average points are relegated to Primera B and are replaced by the top two teams from Primera B.

Notes on format evolution

The current format was established in 2019 and continues to be used for the 2025 season. The 2025 season also reintroduced the regional derbies in the first stage after they were briefly removed in 2024.

Promotion & relegation

Relegation (“descenso”)

This is decided by a three-season points average from the first stage of both the Apertura and Finalización tournaments over the last three years.

To work out each team’s average:

1. Add up all the points they earned in those matches.
2. Divide that total by the number of matches they played.

The two teams with the lowest average in this table are relegated directly to Primera B. A new team starts with an average of zero.

Promotion (from Primera B to Primera A)

The champion and runner-up of the previous year’s Primera B are promoted to Primera A. For example, in the 2025 season, Unión Magdalena (the 2024 B champions) and Llaneros (the 2024 B runners-up) were promoted. They took the places of Jaguares and Patriotas, who were relegated.

International qualification

Copa Libertadores

Colombia gets four spots in the Copa Libertadores:
– The champions of both the Apertura and Finalización tournaments get a spot.
– The two teams with the best total points across both seasons that haven’t already qualified also get a place.

If the Copa Colombia champion has already qualified through their league position, that spot often goes to the next best team in the combined league table. This system rewards teams for strong performance in both the shorter tournaments and for being consistent throughout the season.

Copa Sudamericana

Qualification for the Copa Sudamericana usually goes to the teams that:
– Didn’t make it into the Copa Libertadores.
– Earn a spot based on their position in the combined league table.

Sometimes, the Copa Colombia winner will get a spot in the Copa Sudamericana if they haven’t already qualified for the Libertadores.

Cup competitions & historical tournament formats

Colombia has two main domestic cup competitions, which are separate from the league.

Copa Colombia (Copa BetPlay Dimayor)

This is a yearly knockout cup that is open to clubs from both the top league, Primera A, and the second league, Primera B. Winning this cup can be very important because it can give a team a place in a continental tournament like the Copa Sudamericana, especially if they haven’t already qualified through their league position.

Superliga Colombiana

This is a traditional two-legged match that is played every year between the winners of the Apertura and Finalización tournaments from the previous season. It serves as a domestic super cup, which adds a bit of prestige and extra competition before the new league season gets more intense.

Historical formats

The current league format uses cuadrangulares, which is a group semi-final stage. However, the league’s format has changed over the years. In the past, the league has used a knockout-style playoff system instead, with two-legged quarter-finals, semi-finals, and finals.

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