2023 Venezuelan Primera División season

The 2023 Primera División season, officially Liga de Fútbol Profesional Venezolano or Liga FUTVE, is the 67th season of the Venezuelan Primera División, the top-flight football league in Venezuela, and the 42nd season since the start of the professional era. The season began on 3 February and is scheduled to end on 25 November 2023.^[1]

Liga FUTVE

Season	2023
Dates	3 February – 25 November 2023
Relegated	Mineros de Guayana
Copa Libertadores	Deportivo Táchira Caracas Portuguesa Academia Puerto Cabello
Copa Sudamericana	Carabobo Deportivo La Guaira Metropolitanos Deportivo Rayo Zuliano
Matches played	222
Goals scored	543 (2.45 per match)
Top goalscorer	Luifer Hernández (18 goals)
Biggest home win	Dep. Táchira 5–0 Rayo Zuliano (4 March) Est. Mérida 5–0 Angostura (6 July) UCV 5–0 Zamora (14 July) Carabobo 6–1 Mineros (22 July)
Biggest away win	Zamora 1–5 Est. Mérida (19 February) Mineros 0–4 Dep. Táchira (6 May)
Highest scoring	Rayo Zuliano 4–4 Mineros (26 February) La Guaira 5–3 Rayo Zuliano (6 May)
← 2022 2024 → All statistics correct as of 12 November 2023.

Metropolitanos were the defending champions.

Format

The competition format for this season was announced by the Liga FUTVE on 31 January 2023. Similar to the previous season, the 15 participating clubs took part in a double round-robin first stage in which they played each other twice (once at home and once away) for a total of 28 games. The top four clubs, which qualified for the 2024 Copa Libertadores, also advanced to a final stage where they played each other twice with the top two teams playing a single-match final to decide the league champions. However, and unlike the previous season, no final stage to decide the teams qualified for the 2024 Copa Sudamericana was played, with the four berths to that competition instead being awarded to the teams placing 5th to 8th in the first stage.^[2] The team placing last in the first stage was relegated to Segunda División for the following season.

Teams

16 teams were expected to compete in the 2023 season, subject to the fulfillment of club licensing requirements: the top 15 teams in the first stage of the 2022 season as well as the 2022 Segunda División champions Angostura, who defeated Academia Anzoátegui in the Segunda División final on 16 October 2022.^[3] They replaced Aragua, who were relegated to Segunda División at the end of the previous season after finishing in bottom place.

On 12 December 2022, it was announced that Zulia and Segunda División side Deportivo Rayo Zuliano would merge, with the latter taking the former's place in the league.^[4] The merger was officially confirmed on 28 January 2023, with which Rayo Zuliano competed in the top flight for the first time ever in this season.^[5] Furthermore, two days later it was confirmed that Deportivo Lara would not take part in the season, ultimately bringing the number of participating teams down to 15.^[6][7]

 

 

Pto. Cabello

 

Angostura

 

Barinas

 

Carabobo

 

Caracas

 

Deportivo Táchira

 

Est. Mérida

 

Portuguesa

 

Mineros

 

Monagas

 

Rayo Zuliano

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Locations of the 2023 Primera División teams

 

 

Hnos. Colmenarez

 

Zamora

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Locations of the 2023 Primera División teams – Barinas state

 

 

Caracas

 

Deportivo La Guaira

 

Metropolitanos

 

Universidad Central

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Locations of the 2023 Primera División teams – Caracas

Relegated to 2023 Segunda División 16 Aragua	Failed club licensing process Deportivo Lara	Promoted to 2023 Primera División 1 Angostura

Stadia and locations

Team	City	Stadium	Capacity
Academia Puerto Cabello	Puerto Cabello	La Bombonerita	7,500
Angostura	Ciudad Bolívar	Ricardo Tulio Maya	2,500
Carabobo	Valencia	Misael Delgado	10,400
Caracas	Caracas	Olímpico de la UCV	23,940
Deportivo La Guaira	Caracas	Olímpico de la UCV	23,940
Deportivo Rayo Zuliano	Maracaibo	José Pachencho Romero	40,800
Deportivo Táchira	San Cristóbal	Polideportivo de Pueblo Nuevo	38,755
Estudiantes de Mérida	Mérida	Metropolitano de Mérida	42,200
Hermanos Colmenarez	Barinas	Agustín Tovar	29,800
Metropolitanos	Caracas	Olímpico de la UCV	23,940
Mineros de Guayana	Ciudad Guayana	Polideportivo Cachamay	41,600
Monagas	Maturín	Monumental de Maturín	51,796
Portuguesa	Acarigua	General José Antonio Páez	18,000
Universidad Central	Caracas	Olímpico de la UCV	23,940
Zamora	Barinas	Agustín Tovar	29,800

Personnel and kits

Team	Manager	Kit manufacturer	Shirt sponsor(s)
Academia Puerto Cabello	Noel Sanvicente	Givova
Angostura	Osmar Castillo	RS	Genpar
Carabobo	Juan Tolisano	New Arrival	Fospuca, El Maizal, Juega En Línea
Caracas	Leonardo González	RS	Maltín Polar, SellaTuParley, Pepsi, Canguro Venezuela^[8]
Deportivo La Guaira	Enrique García	Fila	Traki, Furia Energy, Pepsi
Deportivo Rayo Zuliano	Elvis Martínez	Attle	PDVSA, Javitour
Deportivo Táchira	Eduardo Saragó	Attle	Juega En Línea, Grupo JHS, VenApp
Estudiantes de Mérida	Franklin Lucena	New Arrival	Petro, Oriente, Visite Mérida, VenApp, Vnet
Hermanos Colmenarez	Leonel Vielma	Attle	Corporation CSA
Metropolitanos	José María Morr	RS	Aerolíneas Estelar
Mineros de Guayana	Jesús Alonso Cabello	RS
Monagas	Tony Franco	RS	Banplus
Portuguesa	Jesús Ortiz	RS	Alimentos Fina Ideal
Universidad Central	Daniel Sasso	RS	Avanti, Bancamiga
Zamora	Enrique Maggiolo	RS	Thundernet

Managerial changes

Team	Outgoing manager	Manner of departure	Date of vacancy	Position in table	Incoming manager	Date of appointment
First stage
Deportivo Rayo Zuliano	Alex García King	Change of role	2 October 2022^[9]	Pre-season	Elvis Martínez	29 September 2022^[10]
Caracas	Henry Meléndez	End of caretaker spell	21 October 2022		Leonardo González	1 November 2022^[11]
Carabobo	Enrique Maggiolo	End of contract	22 October 2022		Juan Tolisano	17 November 2022^[12]
Estudiantes de Mérida	Leonardo González	Resigned	29 October 2022^[13]		Alí Cañas	27 January 2023^[14]
Zamora	Noel Sanvicente		31 October 2022^[15]		Francesco Stifano	5 January 2023^[16]
Academia Puerto Cabello	Juan Tolisano	Mutual agreement	1 November 2022^[17]		Noel Sanvicente	2 November 2022^[18]
Deportivo La Guaira	Daniel Farías	End of contract	9 November 2022^[19]		Enrique García	20 November 2022^[20]
Mineros de Guayana	Elías Emmons	End of caretaker spell	27 January 2023		Tony Franco	27 January 2023^[21]
Portuguesa	Martín Brignani	Sacked	1 March 2023^[22]	15th	Jesús Ortiz	1 March 2023^[22]
Hermanos Colmenarez	Horacio Matuszyczk		25 March 2023^[23]	6th	Leonel Vielma	29 March 2023^[24]
Mineros de Guayana	Tony Franco	Mutual agreement	13 April 2023^[25]	14th	Jesús Alonso Cabello^[i]	14 April 2023^[25]
Universidad Central	Edson Rodríguez	Sacked	21 April 2023^[26]	15th	Luis De Oliveira^[i]	21 April 2023^[26]
	Luis De Oliveira	End of caretaker spell	4 May 2023		Daniel Sasso	4 May 2023^[27]
Mineros de Guayana	Jesús Alonso Cabello		6 May 2023		Jorge Luis Bernal	6 May 2023^[28]
	Jorge Luis Bernal	Resigned	22 May 2023^[29]		Jesús Alonso Cabello^[i]	22 May 2023^[29]
Estudiantes de Mérida	Alí Cañas		30 May 2023^[30]	10th	Franklin Lucena	31 May 2023^[31]
Mineros de Guayana	Jesús Alonso Cabello	End of caretaker spell	24 June 2023	15th	Matías Mazmud	24 June 2023^[32]
Monagas	Jhonny Ferreira	Promoted to sporting director	10 July 2023^[33]	10th	Tony Franco	10 July 2023^[33]
Zamora	Francesco Stifano	Resigned	16 July 2023^[34]	12th	Alí Alvarado^[i]	21 July 2023^[35]
Mineros de Guayana	Matías Mazmud	Sacked	26 July 2023^[36]	15th	Jesús Alonso Cabello	26 July 2023^[36]
Zamora	Alí Alvarado	End of caretaker spell	1 August 2023	12th	Enrique Maggiolo	1 August 2023^[37]

Notes

1. Caretaker manager.

First stage

The first stage started on 3 February and ended on 8 October 2023.

Standings

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Deportivo Táchira	28	19	7	2	47	17	+30	64	Advance to Final stage and qualification for Copa Libertadores
2	Academia Puerto Cabello	28	19	3	6	49	19	+30	60
3	Portuguesa	28	13	7	8	32	26	+6	46
4	Caracas	28	10	15	3	44	27	+17	45
5	Carabobo	28	11	12	5	35	21	+14	45	Qualification for Copa Sudamericana first stage
6	Deportivo La Guaira	28	9	12	7	37	33	+4	39
7	Metropolitanos	28	11	6	11	37	37	0	39
8	Deportivo Rayo Zuliano	28	8	12	8	33	39	−6	36
9	Estudiantes de Mérida	28	9	6	13	39	41	−2	33
10	Angostura	28	8	6	14	32	41	−9	30
11	Monagas	28	8	6	14	29	41	−12	30
12	Zamora	28	8	6	14	31	50	−19	30
13	Universidad Central	28	6	9	13	27	36	−9	27
14	Hermanos Colmenarez	28	5	9	14	25	37	−12	24
15	Mineros de Guayana (R)	28	4	8	16	25	57	−32	20	Relegation to Segunda División

Source: Liga FUTVE, Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Head-to-head results; 5) Drawing of lots.
(R) Relegated

Results

Home \ Away	APC	ANG	CBO	CAR	DLG	DRZ	TAC	ESM	HCO	MET	MIN	MON	POR	UCV	ZAM
Academia Puerto Cabello	—	2–0	0–0	2–1	1–0	3–0	0–0	1–0	1–0	1–0	2–0	2–0	4–1	4–0	2–0
Angostura	2–2	—	0–1	2–0	1–2	1–1	0–1	2–3	0–0	3–2	2–0	2–0	1–2	1–1	2–1
Carabobo	0–2	1–1	—	1–1	3–2	0–0	1–3	2–0	1–0	2–2	6–1	3–0	1–0	2–1	3–0
Caracas	2–1	4–1	0–0	—	1–1	3–3	2–2	2–2	2–2	2–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	0–0	4–0
Deportivo La Guaira	2–1	1–0	1–1	2–1	—	5–3	0–0	1–3	2–2	2–0	1–1	0–0	2–2	0–0	3–0
Deportivo Rayo Zuliano	1–0	2–1	0–0	0–0	0–1	—	1–2	2–1	1–1	1–1	4–4	1–0	1–1	0–0	1–1
Deportivo Táchira	1–0	1–0	1–0	1–1	2–0	5–0	—	3–0	1–0	2–0	4–1	1–0	1–1	1–1	1–1
Estudiantes de Mérida	1–3	5–0	1–1	0–2	2–1	1–2	1–3	—	1–0	0–2	3–1	1–1	0–1	2–0	2–2
Hermanos Colmenarez	0–1	2–2	2–1	0–0	0–0	1–3	3–1	1–0	—	0–1	1–2	2–1	0–2	1–1	0–2
Metropolitanos	2–1	1–0	1–0	2–2	2–2	2–1	2–0	0–1	2–3	—	3–0	3–2	0–1	1–1	1–2
Mineros de Guayana	0–3	1–2	0–1	1–3	0–2	1–0	0–4	1–1	2–2	1–1	—	2–1	0–0	2–0	1–2
Monagas	3–2	1–0	1–1	0–2	2–2	1–3	1–2	1–1	2–1	0–2	3–1	—	1–2	1–0	2–1
Portuguesa	0–2	0–2	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–2	0–1	2–0	1–0	0–1	2–0	1–2	—	2–0	2–1
Universidad Central	2–3	1–2	0–0	0–2	1–1	2–0	1–2	3–2	2–1	3–2	2–0	0–2	0–1	—	5–0
Zamora	1–3	3–2	0–2	1–2	2–1	0–0	0–1	1–5	2–0	4–1	1–1	1–1	1–2	1–0	—

Source: Soccerway
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Final stage

The top four teams in the first stage contested the competition's final stage, playing each other twice. The top two teams advanced to the final and also qualified for the group stage of the 2024 Copa Libertadores, whilst the third- and fourth-placed teams qualified for the preliminary stages of the same competition.

Standings

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Deportivo Táchira	6	3	3	0	8	3	+5	12	Advance to Final and qualification for Copa Libertadores group stage
2	Caracas	6	2	3	1	5	4	+1	9
3	Portuguesa	6	1	3	2	6	9	−3	6	Qualification for Copa Libertadores second stage
4	Academia Puerto Cabello	6	0	3	3	3	6	−3	3	Qualification for Copa Libertadores first stage

Source: Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Head-to-head results; 5) Drawing of lots.

Results

Home \ Away	APC	CAR	TAC	POR
Academia Puerto Cabello	—	0–0	0–1	1–1
Caracas	1–0	—	0–0	2–0
Deportivo Táchira	2–1	1–1	—	3–0
Portuguesa	1–1	3–1	1–1	—

Source: Soccerway
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Final

The final match will be hosted by the finalist with the best performance in the first stage of the season.

25 November 2023 (2023-11-25)

--:-- UTC−4

Deportivo Táchira	v	Caracas

Estadio Polideportivo de Pueblo Nuevo, San Cristóbal

Top goalscorers

As of 12 November 2023

Rank	Player	Club	Goals
1	Luifer Hernández	Academia Puerto Cabello	18
2	Richard Blanco	Mineros de Guayana / Portuguesa	14
3	Ade Oguns	Caracas	12
4	Franklin González	Hermanos Colmenarez	9
	Saúl Guarirapa	Caracas
	Ervin Zorrilla	Estudiantes de Mérida
7	Edder Farías	Deportivo Táchira / Deportivo La Guaira	8
	Charlis Ortiz	Metropolitanos
	Gonzalo Ritacco	Deportivo Táchira
	Anthony Uribe	Deportivo Táchira

Source: Soccerway

References

1. "Nueva campaña comenzará el 2 de febrero con igual formato" [New campaign will begin on 2 February with the same format] (in Spanish). Líder. 5 January 2023. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
2. "Liga Futve tendrá un nuevo formato de competición" [Liga Futve will have a new competition format] (in Spanish). Líder en Deportes. 31 January 2023. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
3. "Angostura FC logró el título de la segunda división y el ascenso" [Angostura FC achieved the second division title and promotion] (in Spanish). La Vinotinto. 16 October 2022. Retrieved 21 November 2022.
4. "Extraoficial: Deportivo Rayo Zuliano y Zulia Fútbol Club conformarían una sola institución" [Unofficial: Deportivo Rayo Zuliano and Zulia Fútbol Club would form a single institution] (in Spanish). Versión Final. 13 December 2022. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
5. "¡CONFIRMARON FUSIÓN CON EL ZULIA FC! Rayo Zuliano llegó a primera división de la liga Futve" [THEY CONFIRMED MERGER WITH ZULIA FC! Rayo Zuliano reached the Liga Futve's first division] (in Spanish). Red Digital Noticias. 29 January 2023. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
6. "La Liga FutVe confirma vía Twitter que la temporada 2023 arranca el 3 y que el Dvo Lara no estará" [Liga FutVe confirms via Twitter that the 2023 season kicks off on the 3rd and that Dvo Lara will not be there] (in Spanish). Balonazos. 30 January 2023. Retrieved 31 January 2023.
7. "FVF anuncia listado de clubes que han obtenido su licencia para el 2023" [FVF announces list of clubs that have obtained their license for 2023] (in Spanish). FVF. 31 January 2023. Retrieved 31 January 2023.
8. "Caracas FC sumó a Canguro Venezuela como nuevo patrocinador hasta diciembre del año 2023" [Caracas FC added Canguro Venezuela as new sponsor until December 2023] (in Spanish). Balonazos. 16 December 2022. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
9. Deportivo Rayo Zuliano [@RayoDvo] (2 October 2022). "Por su gran experiencia y trayectoria en las canchas, el profe Alex García King pasa a asumir una nueva responsabilidad de gran importancia para nuestro Club. Gracias por confiar en nosotros. ¡Seguimos profe Alex!" [Due to his great experience and track record on the fields, professor Alex García King is taking on a new responsibility of great importance for our Club. Thanks for trusting us. We continue, prof Alex!] (Tweet) (in Spanish). Retrieved 29 January 2023 – via Twitter.
10. "Elvis Martínez asume la dirección técnica del Deportivo Rayo Zuliano en la Liga FutVe 2" [Elvis Martínez takes over the technical direction of Deportivo Rayo Zuliano in Liga FutVe 2] (in Spanish). Balonazos. 30 September 2022. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
11. "Leonardo González es el nuevo técnico del Caracas FC" [Leonardo González is the new manager of Caracas FC] (in Spanish). El Nacional. 1 November 2022. Retrieved 21 November 2022.
12. "El entrenador Juan Domingo Tolisano regresa a la conducción técnica del Carabobo Fútbol Club" [Coach Juan Domingo Tolisano returns to the technical management of Carabobo FC]. Balonazos (in Spanish). 17 November 2022. Retrieved 21 November 2022.
13. "El entrenador Leonardo González se despidió de la dirección técnica de Estudiantes de Mérida" [Manager Leonardo González bidded farewell to the technical direction of Estudiantes de Mérida] (in Spanish). Balonazos. 30 October 2022. Retrieved 21 November 2022.
14. "Alí Cañas será el técnico de Estudiantes de Mérida" [Alí Cañas will be the manager of Estudiantes de Mérida] (in Spanish). La Vinotinto. 27 January 2023. Retrieved 27 January 2023.
15. "Noel Sanvicente no seguirá con Zamora" [Noel Sanvicente will not continue with Zamora] (in Spanish). Líder en Deportes. 31 October 2022. Retrieved 21 November 2022.
16. "Zamora se encomienda a Stifano" [Zamora entrust themselves to Stifano] (in Spanish). Líder en Deportes. 16 January 2023. Retrieved 20 January 2023.
17. "Puerto Cabello anunció la salida de Juan Domingo Tolisano" [Puerto Cabello announced the departure of Juan Domingo Tolisano] (in Spanish). Líder en Deportes. 1 November 2022. Retrieved 21 November 2022.
18. "Noel Sanvicente tomó el timón de Academia Puerto Cabello, con la mira puesta en su novena estrella" [Noel Sanvicente took the helm of Academia Puerto Cabello, with the sight set on his ninth star] (in Spanish). Sports Venezuela. 2 November 2022. Retrieved 21 November 2022.
19. "Daniel Farías terminó su ciclo en el Deportivo La Guaira" [Daniel Farías ended his spell at Deportivo La Guaira] (in Spanish). La Vinotinto. 9 November 2022. Retrieved 21 November 2022.
20. "Enrique García dirigirá al Deportivo La Guaira" [Enrique García will manage Deportivo La Guaira] (in Spanish). La Vinotinto. 20 November 2022. Retrieved 21 November 2022.
21. "Tony Franco tuvo su primera práctica con Mineros de Guayana" [Tony Franco had his first training session with Mineros de Guayana] (in Spanish). Correo del Caroní. 27 January 2023. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
22. "Jesús Ortiz llegó al Portuguesa en lugar de Brignani" [Jesús Ortiz arrived at Portuguesa in the place of Brignani] (in Spanish). Líder en Deportes. 1 March 2023. Retrieved 1 March 2023.
23. "CD Hermanos Colmenárez anunció que Horacio Matuszyczk y su cuerpo técnico no seguirán" [CD Hermanos Colmenárez announced that Horacio Matuszyczk and his coaching staff will not continue] (in Spanish). Balonazos. 25 March 2023. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
24. "CD Hermanos Colmenárez anunció a Leonel Vielma como su nuevo Director Técnico" [CD Hermanos Colmenarez announced Leonel Vielma as their new manager] (in Spanish). Balonazos. 29 March 2023. Retrieved 29 March 2023.
25. "Tony Franco termina su vínculo con Mineros de Guayana" [Tony Franco ends his link with Mineros de Guayana] (in Spanish). Correo del Caroní. 14 April 2023. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
26. "UCV FC despide a Edson Rodríguez como DT y encargó a Luis De Oliveira ante Estudiantes" [UCV sack Edson Rodríguez as manager and put Luis De Oliveira in charge against Estudiantes] (in Spanish). Balonazos. 22 April 2023. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
27. UCV Fútbol Club [@UCVFCOFICIAL] (4 May 2023). "¡Bienvenido a casa nuevamente! Daniel Sasso asume la dirección técnica del equipo tricolor" [Welcome home again! Daniel Sasso takes over the technical direction of the tricolor team.] (Tweet) (in Spanish). Retrieved 4 May 2023 – via Twitter.
28. "Jorge Luis Bernal confirmado como técnico de Mineros" [Jorge Luis Bernal confirmed as manager of Mineros] (in Spanish). La Vinotinto. 6 May 2023. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
29. "El entrenador colombiano José Luis Bernal se desligó de Mineros de Guayana" [Colombian manager José Luis Bernal left Mineros de Guayana] (in Spanish). Balonazos. 22 May 2023. Retrieved 24 May 2023.
30. "Estudiantes de Mérida se quedó sin director técnico por salida de José Ali Cañas" [Estudiantes de Mérida ended up without a manager due to the departure of José Ali Cañas] (in Spanish). Balonazos. 30 May 2023. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
31. "Franklin Lucena dirigirá a Estudiantes de Mérida" [Franklin Lucena will manage Estudiantes de Mérida] (in Spanish). Líder en Deportes. 2 June 2023. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
32. "Argentino Matías Mazmud asume las riendas de Mineros" [Argentine Matías Mazmud takes the reins of Mineros] (in Spanish). Correo del Caroní. 24 June 2023. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
33. "Monagas SC nombró a Tony Franco como nuevo DT y a Jhonny Ferreira de Director Deportivo" [Monagas SC appointed Tony Franco as new manager and Jhonny Ferreira as Sporting Director] (in Spanish). Balonazos. 11 July 2023. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
34. "DT Francesco Stifano se desvincula del Zamora FC sumergido en una crisis de resultados" [Manager Francesco Stifano leaves Zamora FC immersed in a crisis of results] (in Spanish). Balonazos. 16 July 2023. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
35. "Zamora y Rayo Zuliano igualaron sin goles" [Zamora and Rayo Zuliano tied with no goals] (in Spanish). Liga FUTVE. 21 July 2023. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
36. "Matías Mazmud no sigue como DT de Mineros" [Matías Mazmud does not continue as manager of Mineros] (in Spanish). Primicia. 26 July 2023. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
37. "Zamora FC por fin anunció oficialmente al técnico Enrique Maggiolo como nuevo DT" [Zamora FC finally officially announced coach Enrique Maggiolo as the new manager] (in Spanish). Balonazos. 1 August 2023. Retrieved 1 August 2023.

External links

• Official website of the Venezuelan Football Federation (in Spanish)
• Liga FUTVE