La Liga

The official name of this league is Primera División, or First League. However, it is generally known around the world as La Liga. According to the main sponsor, it is also known as La Liga Santander. This top football competition in Spain is organised by the Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional (LFP), the Spanish professional football association. La Liga has been played since 1929 and, along with the English Premier League, is considered the best football league in the world.

Clubs in the top league

There are 20 teams in the Spanish top flight. Over the history of the competition, 69 teams have competed here, with only 9 having reached the top level at least once. Real Madrid is one of the most successful teams in the long term, with a total of 33 titles. Second best is Barcelona with 26 titles. They are a pair of dominant clubs in the league who have celebrated success in the past and have done so in recent years.

Atlético Madrid have also managed to break into the top two in modern history, having also captured the title in the last decade. Overall, it has 10 titles, making it the third most successful club in the Spanish league. We must also mention the traditional club Athletic Bilbao, which is the fourth most successful with 8 titles, but more importantly, together with Real and Barcelona, they form a trio of clubs that play the top competition continuously.

The competition format

Teams in the league play in a one-on-one format, always in two matches on home and away grounds. The winner of the table is the league champion and will also play in the Supercopa de España, where they will face the winner of the Copa del Rey. The bottom three are relegated to the second highest league, the Segunda División, with the top three again moving up from that league.

As for Europe, the teams that finish in the top four places in the table at the end of the season are promoted to the UEFA Champions League. This is also where the winners of the Champions League and Europa League qualify for the following season. If this meant qualifying 6 teams from La Liga, then the 4th team from La Liga plays in the Europa League instead, as participation in the Champions League has a limit of 5 teams for each nation. The 5th team and the winner of the Copa del Rey will also qualify for the Europa League. However, the number of qualifiers always depends on the league's current coefficient in the UEFA rankings. Currently, Spain is in the first position.