The 1948 Campeonato Profesional was the first season of Colombia's top-flight football league. The tournament was started on 15 August, with the match between Atlético Municipal and Universidad. Ten teams competed against one another and played each weekend until 19 December.
Independiente Santa Fe were the champions, after earning 27 points in 18 matches played. Atlético Junior were the runners-up and Deportes Caldas ended in third place. Striker Alfredo Castillo, who played for Millonarios, ended as the season's top scorer.
Background The creation of the Colombian Football Federation dates back to 1924, but it was not until 1948 that a professional club tournament was played, with the creation of Dimayor on 27 June 1948. Ten teams signed up for the tournament, with each one having to pay a fee of 1,000 pesos: one from Barranquilla, three from Bogotá, two from Cali, two from Manizales, and two from Medellín. 252 players were registered as follows: 182 Colombians, 13 Argentines, 8 Peruvians, 5 Uruguayans, 2 Chileans, 2 Ecuadorians, 1 Dominican and 1 Spanish.
League system Every team played two games against each other team, one at home and one away. Teams received two points for a win and one point for a draw. If two or more teams were tied on points, places were determined by goal difference. The team with the most points was the champion of the league.
Teams
The competition was contested by 10 clubs, all of which were founding members of Dimayor. Out of the 13 founding members of the entity, only Victoria F.C., Huracán de Medellín, and Boca Juniors de Cali did not enter the competition, with the latter two joining the league for the following edition.
Team City Stadium América Cali Olímpico Pascual Guerrero Atlético Municipal Medellín Hipódromo San Fernando Deportes Caldas Manizales Fernando Londoño Londoño Deportivo Cali Cali Olímpico Pascual Guerrero Independiente Medellín Medellín Hipódromo San Fernando Junior Barranquilla Romelio Martínez Millonarios Bogotá El Campín Once Deportivo Manizales Fernando Londoño Londoño Santa Fe Bogotá Alfonso López Pumarejo Universidad Bogotá Alberto Mora Mora Notes
Final standings
Results
Top goalscorers Rank Name Club Goals 1 Alfredo CastilloMillonarios 31 2 Jesús María LiresSanta Fe 20 3 Germán AntonSanta Fe 18 4 Pedro CabillónMillonarios 14 Jaime CardonaDeportes Caldas 14 6 Rigoberto GarcíaJunior 11 Carlos ArangoDeportes Caldas 11 8 Ricardo LópezUniversidad 10 9 Ricardo RuizDeportivo Cali 9 10 Octavio CarrilloJunior 8
Source: RSSSF.com Colombia 1948
References
External links Dimayor Official Page