The Primera División of Costa Rica, commonly known as Liga de Fútbol de Primera División (Liga FPD), and Liga Promerica for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional association football division in Costa Rica. It is administered by the Unión de Clubes de Fútbol de la Primera División (UNAFUT). The league consists of 10 teams, with the last-placed team relegated to the Liga de Ascenso.
The league was founded in 1921, with Herediano crowned as the first champions. Saprissa is the most successful club having won the championship a record 40 times. Together with Alajuelense (31 titles)and Herediano (32 titles)they have dominated the league.
Competition format The Liga FPD features a format in which two separate tournaments are held over the course of one particular season. The Torneo de Apertura (Spanish for "Opening Tournament") lasts from July to December, while the Torneo de Clausura (Spanish for "Closing Tournament") lasts from January to May. From 2007 to 2017, these were known respectively as Torneo de Invierno ("Winter Tournament") and Torneo de Verano ("Summer Tournament"), based on the Costa Rican seasons, with the Invierno tournament played during the rainy season and the Verano tournament played during the dry season.
A separate tournament is played on stages. The first stage follows the usual double round-robin format. During the course of a tournament, each club plays every other club twice, once at home and once away, for a total of 22 matchdays. Teams receive three points for a win, one point for a draw, and no points for a loss. Teams are ranked by total points, with the top-four clubs at the end of the stage qualifying to the second stage. The second stage consists of a quadrangular in which the best four teams qualified will face each other twice again, adding 6 additional matchdays. If the top team of the first stage also wins the quadrangular, the club will be crowned as champions; otherwise, a double-legged final will be played between the winners of the first stage and the winners of the quadrangular to determine the champion.
Promotion and relegation A system of promotion and relegation exists between the Primera División and the Segunda División. In spite of having two champions during a regular season, the Liga FPD only relegates one team per season based on the aggregate performance in both Apertura and Clausura tournaments. The last-placed team in the aggregate table is relegated to the Liga de Ascenso.
Qualifying for CONCACAF competitions
The top teams in the Liga FPD qualify to the CONCACAF Champions League. Starting in the 2017–18 season, the CONCACAF Champions League will be separated into two stages. The first stage is CONCACAF League, which consists of sixteen teams from Central America and the Caribbean, in which the winner qualifies to the second stage, the Champions League, joining other fifteen teams. Because of this format, the qualification criteria in the Liga FPD are: If one team wins both the Apertura and Clausura tournaments The double champion will qualify directly to the second stage of the Champions League The two non-champion teams with the best aggregate record at the end of the season will qualify to the CONCACAF League If two teams are crowned champions over the season The champion with the best aggregate record will qualify directly to the second stage of the Champions League The champion with the worst aggregate record will qualify to the CONCACAF League The non-champion team with the best aggregate record will qualify to the CONCACAF League
History
On 13 June 1921, the Costa Rican Football Federation was created. With its creation, the need of a tournament also emerged, along with the establishment of a national team, as a result of Costa Rica being invited to the 1921 Juegos del Centenario in Guatemala.
The first season of the Costa Rican Primera División was played in 1921 with seven teams: Alajuelense, Cartaginés, Herediano, La Libertad, Sociedad Gimnástica Española, Sociedad Gimnástica Limonense and La Unión de Tres Ríos. La Libertad and Gimnástica Limonense played the first ever match of the Liga FPD, with La Libertad emerging victorious with a lone goal scored by Rafael Madrigal. Herediano were crowned as champions.
In 1999, the Costa Rican Football Federation created the UNAFUT (acronym of Unión de Clubes de Fútbol de la Primera División), an entity designed for the organization and administration of the Primera División tournament and its youth leagues (known as Alto Rendimiento).
On 9 January 2014, UNAFUT decided to rename the tournament to Liga FPD, in order to give more identity to the league.
The main rivalry in the league is El Clásico, played by Alajuelense and Saprissa, as both teams are the most successful in the league and both share the vast majority of followers throughout the country. Since their first encounter at the old national stadium on 12 October 1949, the two teams have faced each other in over 300 matches, with the winning balance in favor of Saprissa.
Clubs 2025-26
TeamLocationStadiumCapacityFoundedAlajuelenseAlajuela, AlajuelaAlejandro Morera Soto17,8951919CartaginésCartago, Cartago José Rafael "Fello" Meza13,5001906HeredianoHeredia, Heredia Eladio Rosabal Cordero8,0681921GuadalupeGuadalupe, San José"Colleya" Fonseca4,5002017LiberiaLiberia, GuanacasteEdgardo Baltodano6,5001977Pérez ZeledónSan Isidro de El General, San José Estadio Municipal3,2591991Puntarenas F.C.Puntarenas, PuntarenasEstadio Lito Pérez4,1052004San CarlosCiudad Quesada, AlajuelaCarlos Ugalde Álvarez4,0801965SaprissaSan Juan de Tibás, San JoséRicardo Saprissa23,1121935Sporting F.C.Pavas, San JoséErnesto Rohrmoser3,0002016
Champions Ed.SeasonChampionRunner-up 1921 Herediano Gimnástica Española 1922 Herediano La Libertad 1923 Cartaginés La Libertad 1924 Herediano Cartaginés 1925 La Libertad Herediano 1926 La Libertad Cartaginés 1927 Herediano La Libertad 1928 Alajuelense Gimnástica Española 1929 La Libertad Alajuelense 1930 Herediano Gimnástica Española 1931 Herediano Orión 1932 Herediano Orión 1933 Herediano Gimnástica Española 1934 La Libertad Alajuela Junior 1935 Herediano Alajuela Junior 1936 Cartaginés La Libertad 1937 Herediano Gimnástica Española 1938 Orión Gimnástica Española 1939 Alajuelense Herediano 1940 Cartaginés Orión 1941 Alajuelense La Libertad 1942 La Libertad Gimnástica Española 1943 Universidad de Costa Rica Alajuelense 1944 Orión Herediano 1945 Alajuelense Orión 1946 La Libertad Herediano 1947 Herediano La Libertad 1948 Herediano Alajuelense 1949 Alajuelense Orión 1950 Alajuelense Saprissa 1951 Herediano Orión 1952 Saprissa Alajuelense 1953 Saprissa Herediano 1954 No tournament. 1955 Herediano Saprissa 1956 No tournament. 1957 Saprissa Alajuelense 1958 Alajuelense Saprissa 1959 Alajuelense Saprissa 1960 Alajuelense Herediano 1961 Asofútbol Herediano Saprissa 1961 Fedefútbol Carmelita Uruguay de Coronado 1962 Saprissa Alajuelense 1963 Uruguay de Coronado Saprissa 1964 Saprissa Orión 1965 Saprissa Alajuelense 1966 Alajuelense Saprissa 1967 Saprissa Alajuelense 1968 Saprissa Cartaginés 1969 Saprissa Alajuelense 1970 Alajuelense Saprissa 1971 Alajuelense Saprissa 1972 Saprissa Alajuelense 1973 Saprissa Cartaginés 1974 Saprissa Herediano 1975 Saprissa Cartaginés 1976 Saprissa Deportivo México 1977 Saprissa Cartaginés 1978 Herediano Municipal Puntarenas 1979 Herediano Cartaginés 1980 Alajuelense Herediano 1981 Herediano Limonense 1982 Saprissa Municipal Puntarenas 1983 Alajuelense Municipal Puntarenas 1984 Alajuelense Saprissa 1985 Herediano Alajuelense 1986 Municipal Puntarenas Alajuelense 1987 Herediano Cartaginés 1988 Saprissa Herediano 1989 Saprissa Alajuelense 1990 No tournament. 1990–91 Alajuelense Saprissa 1991–92 Alajuelense Saprissa 1992–93 Herediano Cartaginés 1993–94 Saprissa Alajuelense 1994–95 Saprissa Alajuelense 1995–96 Alajuelense Cartaginés 1996–97 Alajuelense Saprissa 1997–98 Saprissa Alajuelense 1998–99 Saprissa Alajuelense 1999–00 Alajuelense Saprissa 2000–01 Alajuelense Herediano 2001–02 Alajuelense Santos de Guápiles 2002–03 Alajuelense Saprissa 2003–04 Saprissa Herediano 2004–05 Alajuelense Pérez Zeledón 2005–06 Saprissa Puntarenas F.C. 2006–07 Saprissa Alajuelense 2007 Invierno Saprissa Herediano 2008 Verano Saprissa Alajuelense 2008 Invierno Saprissa Alajuelense 2009 Verano Liberia Mía Herediano 2009 Invierno Brujas Puntarenas F.C. 2010 Verano Saprissa San Carlos 2010 Invierno Alajuelense Herediano 2011 Verano Alajuelense San Carlos 2011 Invierno Alajuelense Herediano 2012 Verano Herediano Santos de Guápiles 2012 Invierno Alajuelense Herediano 2013 Verano Herediano Cartaginés 2013 Invierno Alajuelense Herediano 2014 Verano Saprissa Alajuelense 2014 Invierno Saprissa Herediano 2015 Verano Herediano Alajuelense 2015 Invierno Saprissa Alajuelense 2016 Verano Herediano Alajuelense 2016 Invierno Saprissa Herediano 2017 Verano Herediano Saprissa 2017 Apertura Pérez Zeledón Herediano 2018 Clausura Saprissa Herediano 2018 Apertura Herediano Saprissa 2019 Clausura San Carlos Saprissa 2019 Apertura Herediano Alajuelense 2020 Clausura Saprissa Alajuelense 2020 Apertura Alajuelense Herediano 2021 Clausura Saprissa Herediano 2021 Apertura Herediano Saprissa 2022 Clausura Cartaginés Alajuelense 2022 Apertura Saprissa Herediano 2023 Clausura Saprissa Alajuelense 2023 Apertura Saprissa Herediano 2024 Clausura Saprissa Alajuelense 2024 Apertura Herediano Alajuelense 2025 Clausura HeredianoAlajuelense 2025 Apertura Alajuelense Saprissa 2026 Clausura Herediano Saprissa
Performance by club Rank Club Winners Runners-up Winning years1Saprissa1952, 1953, 1957, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1982, 1988, 1989, 1993–94, 1994–95, 1997–98, 1998–99, 2003–04, 2005–06, 2006–07, 2007 Invierno, 2008 Verano, 2008 Invierno, 2010 Verano, 2014 Verano, 2014 Invierno, 2015 Invierno, 2016 Invierno, 2018 Clausura, 2020 Clausura, 2021 Clausura, 2022 Apertura, 2023 Clausura, 2023 Apertura, 2024 Clausura2Herediano1921, 1922, 1924, 1927, 1930, 1931, 1932, 1933, 1935, 1937, 1947, 1948, 1951, 1955, 1961 Asofútbol, 1978, 1979, 1981, 1985, 1987, 1992–93, 2012 Verano, 2013 Verano, 2015 Verano, 2016 Verano, 2017 Verano, 2018 Apertura, 2019 Apertura, 2021 Apertura, 2024 Apertura, 2025 Clausura, 2026 Clausura3Alajuelense1928, 1939, 1941, 1945, 1949, 1950, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1966, 1970, 1971, 1980, 1983, 1984, 1990–91, 1991–92, 1995–96, 1996–97, 1999–00, 2000–01, 2001–02, 2002–03, 2004–05, 2010 Invierno, 2011 Verano, 2011 Invierno, 2012 Invierno, 2013 Invierno, 2020 Apertura, 2025 Apertura4La Libertad1925, 1926, 1929, 1934, 1942, 19465Cartaginés1923, 1936, 1940, 2022 Clausura6Orión1938, 19447Municipal Puntarenas1986San Carlos 2019 ClausuraUruguay de Coronado1963Pérez Zeledón2017 AperturaUniversidad de Costa Rica1943Carmelita1961 FedefútbolLiberia Mía2009 Verano Brujas2009 Invierno
Player records Top scorers
RankPlayerGoals1 Victor Núñez Rodríguez2462Errol Daniels1963Jonathan McDonald1834Roy Sáenz1685Álvaro Saborio1676Leonel Hernández1647Guillermo Guardia1498Evaristo Coronado1489Alejandro Alpízar1479Erick Scott14711Juan Ulloa14012Vicente Wanchope133
Most appearances
RankPlayerYearsApps1Marvin Obando1979–20006852Julio Fuller1975–19946843Enrique Díaz1977–19966764Danny Fonseca1999–20186565Allen Guevara2008–6256Félix Montoya1999–20196197Óscar Granados2004–20226088Marvin Angulo2006–6069Luis Diego Arnáez1987–200557910Keilor Soto2001–202157611Mauricio Montero1980–199055712Wílmer López1992–200955013Óscar Ramírez1983–199954214Evaristo Coronado1981–199553615Luis Quirós1986–2000531
References
External links UNAFUT – Primera División de Costa Rica Federación Costarricense de Fútbol (Football Federation of Costa Rica) Costa Rica – List of Champions and Runners Up, RSSSF.com Primera División summary Soccerway Primera Division, standings, results & fixtures at Donnael.com