Spanish La Liga
Region: Spain
Teams: 20
Founded: 1929
The first division of the Spanish Professional Football League is known as La Liga, The League, and it is one of the best-supported professional sports leagues in the world. With close on 30 000 spectators cramming into stadia for virtually every single league tie, the La Liga clocks in just behind the Bundesliga and Premier League in popularity stakes.
Although dominated by two teams over the years, Real Madrid and Barcelona; twenty teams fight it out for the title and a spot in the UEFA Champions League in a season that runs from September to the following June each year.
La Liga format
Contested in a double round robin format, where each team plays the other twice, at home and away, the team that finishes the season with the most points is crowned league champion. The three clubs languishing at the bottom of the table each season are relegated to the Segundo Division, whilst the top three performers in the Second Division are promoted to La Liga.
The top 6 finishers are awarded berths into the top two European competitions – the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Europa League a follows:
- The winners, runners-up and the third placed team are awarded a spot in the UEFA Champions League Group stage
- The team that finishes fourth on the League table is giving a place in the third qualifying round of the Champions League
- The fifth team goes through to the UEFA Europa League’s play-off round
- The sixth teams enters the 3rd qualifying round of the Europa League
The La Liga places strong emphasis on developing domestic talent, with only three non-European Union players permitted in Spanish football squads. However, players of European ancestry or those who have qualified for Spanish citizenship after playing in Spain for 5 years are eligible to play in La Liga.