The División de Honor or División Profesional de la Asociación Paraguaya de Fútbol (locally [diβiˈsjom pɾofesjoˈnal de la asosjaˈsjom paɾaˈɣwaʝa ðe ˈfuðβol]; "Professional Division of the Paraguayan Football Association"), or due to sponsorship reasons Copa de Primera Tigo – ueno bank, is the top-flight professional football league in Paraguay. Currently, there are 12 teams in the first division.
 | |
| Founded | 1906 |
|---|---|
| Country | Paraguay |
| Confederation | CONMEBOL |
| Number of clubs | 12 |
| Level on pyramid | 1 |
| Relegation to | División Intermedia |
| Domestic cup | Copa Paraguay |
| International cup(s) | Copa Libertadores Copa Sudamericana |
| Current champions | Cerro Porteño (35th title) (2025 Clausura) |
| Most championships | Olimpia (48 titles) |
| Top scorer | Santiago Salcedo (166 goals) |
| Broadcaster(s) | Multideporte & Unicanal (Three games per matchday are broadcast live plus One game per matchday are broadcast delayed Sunday at 22:00) Tigo Sports & Tigo Max (Four games per matchday) Telefuturo (Only emits highlights per matchday) Paravisión (Only are broadcast live called El Partido del Viernes Friday at 21:00 (K.O 21:10)) TVC Sports 2 (Only are broadcast live Friday at 20:55 (K.O 21:10)) GolTV TVC Sports ESPN Brasil (only are broadcast live Sunday) |
| Website | www |
| Current: 2026 season | |
The most successful club is Olimpia, with 47 championships. Cerro Porteño are the most recent champions, having won the 2025 Clausura tournament. As of 2022, IFFHS ranked the league as the 10th strongest in the world and 3rd in South America.[1]
History
editLiga Paraguaya's first game was played in 1906, after the director of the El Diario newspaper, Don Adolfo Riquelme, brought to his office on 18 June 1906, the representatives of the five existing football teams in Paraguay at that time (Olimpia, Guaraní, Libertad, General Díaz, and Nacional) to create the governing body of football in Paraguay: the Liga Paraguaya de Fútbol (known today as Asociación Paraguaya de Fútbol). The representatives were William Paats and Junio Godoy (Olimpia) Ramón Caballero, Manuel Bella and Salvador Melián (Guaraní), Juan Escalada (Libertad), César Urdapilleta (General Díaz), and Vicente Gadea (Nacional).[2] The Liga Paraguaya saw Club Guaraní as the first champion in 1906, after defeating Olimpia in the final.
The Primera División was founded in 1906 with 5 teams, and turned professional in 1935 when 10 clubs broke away from the amateur leagues to form a professional league. Since 1996 the format of tournament was changed to Torneo Apertura and Clausura, but since 2008 each tournament is independent.
Traditionally, the dominance of Olimpia and Cerro Porteño went mostly unchallenged for decades. All of this changed at the turn of the 21st century. Since then, Libertad has been the most dominant club, while Nacional and Guaraní have also experienced success at the local level.
Format
editThe league is currently contested by 12 teams that play home and away games in a round-robin format. The league is traditionally divided into two halves: the Torneo Apertura (Opening Tournament) from February to July, and the Torneo Clausura (Closing Tournament) from July to December.
Relegation is based on an averaging system. At the end of each season, the two teams with the worst three-year averages are relegated, and the two best teams in the "División Intermedia" (second division) are promoted to Primera División.
International cup participation
edit| Season | CCP | GUA | LIB | NAC | OLI | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 2 | 8 | 3 | 4 | 1 | |
| 2019 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 1 | |
| 2020 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 2 | |
| 2021 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 4 | |
| 2022 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 2 | |
| 2023 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 6 | |
| 2024 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 8 | 1 | |
| 2025 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 7 | |
| Top 3 | 8 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 5 | |
| Top 5 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 6 | |
| out of 6 | ||||||
| Apertura and/or Clausura champions / Copa Libertadores group stage Copa Libertadores group stage | ||||||
Since 2017, Paraguay have eight slots in international cups (four in the Copa Libertadores de America and four in the Copa Sudamericana). These eight slots will be filled by eight teams.
In the Copa Libertadores, the winner of the Apertura and Clausura tournaments qualify automatically. The third (going into the second round play-off) and fourth (going into the first round play-off) representatives are the best placed non-champion teams from the accumulative table of both the Apertura and Clausura.
In the Copa Sudamericana, the 4th, 5th and 6th best placed teams from the Apertura and Clausura accumulative table qualify for the first stage, alongside the winners of the Copa Paraguay.
Teams
editThe following are the teams in the first division for the 2026 season:
- Notes
- ↑ Teams occasionally play home matches at Estadio Defensores del Chaco in Asunción.
- ↑ Guaraní play their home matches at Estadio La Arboleda since their stadium Estadio Rogelio Livieres was closed for reconstruction.[3]
- ↑ Olimpia play their home matches at Estadio Erico Galeano since their stadium Estadio Osvaldo Domínguez Dibb in Asunción was closed for reconstruction.[4]
- ↑ Recoleta play their home matches at Estadio Ricardo Gregor since their stadium Estadio Roque Battilana did not meet APF requirements.[5]
- ↑ Sportivo Luqueño play their home matches at Estadio Luis Alberto Salinas since their stadium Estadio Feliciano Cáceres in Luque is closed for remodeling works.
List of champions
editComplete list of champions since 1906. Paraguayan football turned professional since the 1935 season.
- (In bracket, title count):
Titles by club
edit- Teams in bold compete in the Primera División as of the 2025 season.
- Italics indicates clubs that no longer exist or disaffiliated from the APF.
Topscorers
editSponsors
editMain sponsors
edit- Pepsi (1997-1998)
- Brahma (1997-1998)
- Lloyds TSB (1998-1999)
- Banco del Paraná (2000 only)
- Gillette (2005-2007)
- Tigo (2008-present)
- Visión Banco (2010-2024)
- Ueno Bank (2024-present)
- Aposta.LA (2025-present)
Current official sponsors
edit- Coca-Cola (1987-2004/2011-present)
- Pilsen (1988-2007/2011-present)
- Caña Fortin
- Vino Toro
- Lácteos Trébol
- Lácteos Lactolanda
- Pastas Anita
- Supermercado Superseis
- Supermercado La Bomba
- Supermercado Arete
- Supermercados Kingo
- Bein TV (1999-present)
- DirecTV (1999-present)
- GOL TV (2003-presente)
Former official sponsors
edit- Daewoo Motor
- Suzuki Motor
- Pirelli
- Pulp (2005-2010)
- Pepsi (1994-1999)
- Brahma (1995-1999)
- Budweiser (2007-2008)
- Multicanal (1996-2006)
- Nuevo Siglo Cable TV (1996-2007)
- SKY (2000-2004)
- Supermercado Real
- Supermercado Gran Vía
- Supermercado Ycua Bolaños
- Shopping Multiplaza
- González Giménez
Media coverage
editSee also
edit- Football in Paraguay
- Paraguayan football league system
- División Intermedia
- Paraguayan Tercera División
- Paraguayan Primera División B
- Primera División B Nacional
- Paraguayan Cuarta División
- Campeonato Nacional de Interligas
- Unión del Fútbol del Interior
- Paraguayan women's football championship
- Football Federation of the 1st Department Concepción
- Football Federation of the 2nd Department San Pedro
- Football Federation of the 3rd Department Cordillera
- Football Federation of the 4th Department Guairá
- Football Federation of the 5th Department Caaguazú
- Football Federation of the 6th Department Caazapá
- Football Federation of the 7th Department Itapúa
- Football Federation of the 8th Department Misiones
- Football Federation of the 9th Department Paraguarí
- Football Federation of the 10th Department Alto Paraná
- Football Federation of the 11th Department Central
- Football Federation of the 12th Department Ñeembucú
- Football Federation of the 13th Department Amambay
- Football Federation of the 14th Department Canindeyú
- Football Federation of the 15th Department Presidente Hayes
- Football Federation of the 16th Department Alto Paraguay
- Football Federation of the 17th Department Boquerón
References
edit- ↑ Brazil have the world’s best national league in 2022, South Africa rated at 53 after a previous 31 slot
- ↑ Historia de la APF Archived 22 June 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- ↑ "Guaraní: Carpa del Cacique en La Arboleda" [Guaraní: Chief's Tent at La Arboleda] (in Spanish). ABC Color. 29 July 2025. Retrieved 5 December 2025.
- ↑ "¡Olimpia alquilará la cancha de Capiatá para jugar de local!" [Olimpia will rent Capiatá's field to play their home games!] (in Spanish). Onefootball. 29 July 2025. Retrieved 5 December 2025.
- ↑ "Es oficial: Se viene el primer estadio con cancha sintética en la División de Honor" [It is official: The first stadium with synthetic turf in the División de Honor is coming] (in Spanish). Versus. 4 December 2024. Retrieved 5 December 2024.