Liga Nacional de Fútbol de Guatemala

Liga Nacional de Fútbol de Guatemala (National Football League of Guatemala), officially known as the Liga Guate Banrural for sponsorship reasons, 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.[1]

Liga Nacional de Guatemala
Founded1919 (1919) as amateur league
1942 (1942) as professional league
CountryGuatemala
ConfederationCONCACAF
Number of teams12
Level on pyramid1
Relegation toPrimera División de Ascenso
Domestic cup(s)Copa de Guatemala
International cup(s)CONCACAF Champions League
CONCACAF League
Current championsCobán Imperial (2nd title)
Most championshipsMunicipal
(31 titles)
Comunicaciones
(31 titles)
Top goalscorerJuan Carlos Plata (302)
TV partnersClaro Sports
Tigo Sports
Albavision
Websitehttps://ligagt.org
Current: 2022-23 Liga Nacional de Guatemala

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.[2]

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. The playoff winners play in the top division while the losers spend the next season in the second division.

Current teams
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:[3] 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 2
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
1Juan Carlos PlataGuatemala302
2Oscar SánchezGuatemala259
3Julio César AndersonGuatemala220
4Carlos Kamiani FélixMexico211
5Edwin WestphalGuatemala188
6Israel SilvaBrazil186
7René MoralesGuatemala172
8Mario AcevedoGuatemala170
9Agustín HerreraMexico161
10Selvin PennantGuatemala156
11León UgarteArgentina156
12Edgar AraizaGuatemala150
13Fredy GarcíaGuatemala144
14Hugo PeñaGuatemala136
15Rolando FonsecaCosta Rica135
16Rudy RamírezGuatemala130
17Carlos ToledoGuatemala129
18Jhonny CuberoCosta Rica124
19Julio RodasGuatemala123
20José Emilio MitrovichArgentina121

See also

References
  1. "Liga Nacional - Lista de campeones". livefutbol.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 2020-05-24.
  2. "Guatemala, 100 años de fútbol - Municipal" Archived 2006-12-09 at the Wayback Machine - prensalibre.com - Prensa Libre newspaper, Guatemala
  3. "Guatemala - List of Champions". RSSSF. Retrieved 1 October 2011.
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