Colombian Women's Football League
The Liga Femenina Profesional de Fútbol Colombiano (Colombian Professional Women's Football League) or Liga Femenina BetPlay DIMAYOR (sponsored name) is the top level women's football league in Colombia. The first season was held in 2017, with 18 teams taking part. The champion qualifies to the Copa Libertadores Femenina.[1]
| Founded | 2017 |
|---|---|
| Country | Colombia |
| Confederation | CONMEBOL |
| Number of teams | 17 |
| Level on pyramid | 1 |
| International cup(s) | Copa Libertadores Femenina |
| Current champions | Santa Fe (3rd title) (2023) |
| Most championships | Santa Fe (3 titles) |
| TV partners | Win Sports |
| Website | Official Site |
| Current: 2023 season | |
History edit
Colombia women's football had only regional leagues until 2016. The entrant to the Copa Libertadores Femenina was decided in a tournament called Copa Pre-Libertadores, in which non-professional clubs took part. The winning team in all editions was Formas Íntimas. In 2016 a tournament called Campeonato Nacional Interclubes was held, organized by the División Aficionada del Fútbol Colombiano (Difútbol). About 40 teams played in four stages for the championship. Generaciones Palmiranas won the final 6–5 on aggregate over Molino Viejo and qualified to the 2016 Copa Libertadores Femenina.[2]
With the approval of Dimayor, the first professional women's football league was organized and played starting from 2017, with 18 out of Dimayor's 36 affiliate clubs, which were split into 3 groups of 6. It was planned to create a second level league to which new clubs would have entered starting from 2018, but this did not happen. A national women's league is a requirement to host the FIFA Women's World Cup, in which Colombia showed interest for the 2023 edition.[3]
Format edit
In 2017 the 18 teams were divided into three groups of six. After playing each other twice, the top two in each group and the best two third-placed teams advanced to the quarter-finals, with the winners going on to play the semi-finals and finals. All matches in the knockout stages were played as double-legged series. The tournament lasted five months between February and June.
In 2018 the 23 teams were divided into three groups of six and one group of five. After playing each other twice, the top two in each group advanced to the quarter-finals, with the winners going on to play the semi-finals and finals. All matches in the knockout stages were played as double-legged series. The tournament lasted four months between February and May.
2023 teams edit
Notably absent from the list of clubs is Formas Íntimas, who have joined alliances with professional clubs such as Envigado (from 2017 to 2018), Independiente Medellín (from 2019 to 2022), and Atlético Nacional (from 2023 onwards) since participation in the league is restricted to professional clubs (DIMAYOR affiliates) only.[4] In the 2023 season, the league had 17 clubs participating:[5]
List of finals edit
| Ed. | Season | Winner | Scores | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2017[6] | Santa Fe (1) | 2–1, 1–0 | Atlético Huila |
2 | 2018[7] | Atlético Huila (1) | 0–1, 2–1 (3–0 p) | Atlético Nacional |
3 | 2019 | América de Cali (1) | 2–0, 1–2 | Independiente Medellín |
4 | 2020 | Santa Fe (2) | 2–1, 2–0 | América de Cali |
5 | 2021 | Deportivo Cali (1) | 4–1, 2–2 | Santa Fe |
6 | 2022 | América de Cali (2) | 1–2, 3–1 | Deportivo Cali |
7 | 2023 | Santa Fe (3) | 2–0, 0–0 | América de Cali |
Titles by club edit
| Club | Winners | Runners-up | Winning years | Runners-up years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Santa Fe | 3 | 1 | 2017, 2020, 2023 | 2021 |
| América de Cali | 2 | 2 | 2019, 2022 | 2020, 2023 |
| Atlético Huila | 1 | 1 | 2018 | 2017 |
| Deportivo Cali | 1 | 1 | 2021 | 2022 |
| Atlético Nacional | 0 | 1 | — | 2018 |
| Independiente Medellín | 0 | 1 | — | 2019 |
See also edit
References edit
- ^ . hsbnoticias.com. Archived from the original on 2016-10-21.
- ^ (in Spanish). elpais.com.co. 23 November 2016. Archived from the original on 24 November 2016. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
- ^ "Colombia tendrá liga femenina de fútbol". 20 October 2016.
- ^ "Junior, Medellín, Nacional y Millonarios no jugarán la Liga Femenina". 18 October 2016.
- ^ "Liga Femenina: Dimayor cambió la fecha del torneo y confirmó los equipos" [Women's League: Dimayor changed the tournament's date and confirmed the teams] (in Spanish). Futbolete. 24 January 2023. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
- ^ "¡Santa Fe, primer campeón de la Liga femenina!" (in Spanish). El Tiempo. 24 June 2017. Retrieved 3 July 2017.
- ^ "Atlético Huila, el nuevo campeón de la Liga Femenina" (in Spanish). El Tiempo. 31 May 2018.
External links edit
- DIMAYOR
- Colombian Football Federation