The 2026 Copa de Primera (officially the Copa de Primera Tigo ueno bank Apostala 2026 for sponsorship reasons) is the 92nd season of the División de Honor, the top-flight professional football league in Paraguay. The season, which consists of two tournaments (Apertura and Clausura), began on 23 January and is scheduled to end on 29 November 2026. The fixture draw for both of the season's tournaments was held on 3 December 2025.
In the Torneo Apertura Olimpia were the champions, clinching their forty-eighth league title with three matches in hand after a 1–1 draw with Sportivo Ameliano and a 2–1 loss for Cerro Porteño against Recoleta on 3 May. Cerro Porteño entered the season as defending champions, having won the 2025 Clausura tournament.
Teams Twelve teams compete in the season: the top ten teams in the relegation table of the 2025 season and the top two teams in the 2025 Paraguayan División Intermedia.
Team changes General Caballero (JLM) and Tembetary were relegated to the second tier league División Intermedia after ending in the bottom two places of the relegation table at the end of the 2025 season, and they were replaced by the 2025 División Intermedia champions Rubio Ñu and runners-up San Lorenzo.
Rubio Ñu, who returned to the top flight after 8 years, clinched promotion with a 1–0 win over Sportivo Carapeguá on 14 September 2025, while San Lorenzo returned to the Copa de Primera for the first time since 2020 by defeating Fernando de la Mora on 4 October 2025, the final matchday of the División Intermedia tournament.
Pos.Relegated from 2025 Copa de Primera11thGeneral Caballero (JLM)12thTembetary
Pos.Promoted from 2025 División Intermedia1stRubio Ñu2ndSan Lorenzo
Stadia and locations
Team City Stadium Capacity2 de Mayo Pedro Juan Caballero Río Parapití 25,000Cerro Porteño Asunción General Pablo Rojas 45,000Guaraní Asunción La Arboleda 8,000Libertad Asunción La Huerta 14,000Nacional Asunción Arsenio Erico 7,500Olimpia Capiatá Erico Galeano 13,500Recoleta Asunción Ricardo Gregor 4,000Rubio Ñu Asunción La Arboleda 8,000San Lorenzo San Lorenzo Gunther Vogel 5,000Sportivo Ameliano Villeta Ameliano Villeta 7,000Sportivo Luqueño Capiatá Erico Galeano 13,500Sportivo Trinidense Asunción Martín Torres 3,000 Notes
Personnel and kits Team Head coach Kit manufacturer Main shirt sponsors 2 de Mayo Eduardo Ledesma Kyrios Zero Grau, Banco Continental, Fleming Cerro Porteño Gustavo Costas Puma Tigo, Ueno Guaraní Francisco Arce Kyrios Tigo, Ueno, Aposta.La Libertad Nelson Haedo Valdez Puma Tigo Nacional Víctor Bernay Kappa Kia, Banco Continental, Coca-Cola, Santa Clara Olimpia Pablo Sánchez Nike Tigo, Ueno Recoleta Jorge González Running Sport Ueno, BYD, Universidad Central del Paraguay Rubio Ñu Javier Torrente Garcis Lácteos Trébol, Pinturas Bambi San Lorenzo Pablo Fornasari Temple Ochsi Sportivo Ameliano Roberto Nanni Netanya Sport Slots del Sol, Kia, Banco Continental, Ayres Sportivo Luqueño Lucas Barrios Kyrios Comercial Vírgen del Rosario, Ueno, Betsson Sportivo Trinidense José Arrúa Lotto Noroda, Lácteos Trébol, Chorti Beef, Ueno
Managerial changes TeamOutgoing head coachManner of departureDate of vacancyPosition in tableIncoming head coachDate of appointmentTorneo AperturaOlimpia Ever AlmeidaSacked26 November 2025Pre-season Pablo Sánchez28 November 20252 de Mayo Felipe GiménezResigned27 November 2025 Eduardo Ledesma5 December 2025Libertad Pablo GuiñazúSacked1 December 2025 Francisco Arce5 December 2025Nacional Pedro SarabiaEnd of contract1 December 2025 Felipe Giménez15 December 2025Rubio Ñu Héctor Marecos11 December 2025 Gustavo Morínigo11 December 2025San Lorenzo Sergio ÓrtemanSacked6 February 202612th Julio César Cáceres8 February 2026Sportivo Luqueño Lucas BarriosResigned3 March 20268th Pedro Sarabia3 March 2026Guaraní Víctor BernaySacked16 March 202610th Claudio Vargas16 March 2026Cerro Porteño Jorge Bava19 March 20263rd Jorge Achucarro19 March 2026Sportivo Luqueño Pedro SarabiaResigned22 March 202611th Hernán Rodrigo López23 March 2026Guaraní Claudio VargasEnd of caretaker spell25 March 20268th Leandro Romagnoli26 March 2026Cerro Porteño Jorge Achucarro31 March 20262nd Ariel Holan30 March 2026Rubio Ñu Gustavo MorínigoResigned7 April 20269th Miguel Pavani Roberto Acuña8 April 2026Nacional Felipe GiménezSacked7 April 20264th Víctor Bernay8 April 2026Rubio Ñu Miguel Pavani Roberto AcuñaEnd of caretaker spell14 April 20269th Felipe Giménez14 April 2026Libertad Francisco ArceResigned21 April 20268th Juan Samudio23 April 2026San Lorenzo Julio César CáceresMutual agreement26 April 202612th Mario Grana27 April 2026 Mario GranaEnd of caretaker spell4 May 2026 Troadio Duarte4 May 2026Torneo ClausuraLibertad Juan SamudioChange of role27 May 2026Pre-tournament Nelson Haedo Valdez25 May 2026Guaraní Leandro RomagnoliResigned13 July 2026 Ariel Galeano14 July 2026Rubio Ñu Felipe GiménezSacked8 August 202612th Javier Torrente12 August 2026Cerro Porteño Ariel Holan28 August 20269th Gustavo Costas28 August 2026San Lorenzo Troadio Duarte29 August 202612th Pablo Fornasari30 August 2026Guaraní Ariel Galeano30 August 20268th Francisco Arce31 August 2026Sportivo Luqueño Hernán Rodrigo López14 September 20269th Lucas Barrios15 September 2026 Notes
Torneo Apertura The Torneo Apertura was the 133rd official División de Honor championship and the first tournament of the 2026 season. It began on 23 January and ended on 24 May 2026. The champions, Olimpia, qualified for the 2027 Copa Libertadores group stage.
Standings
Results
Top scorers Rank Player Club Goals 1 Lorenzo MelgarejoLibertad 13 Allan WlkRecoleta 3 Iván MaggiSportivo Luqueño 10 4 Elvio VeraSportivo Ameliano 9 5 Néstor CamachoSportivo Trinidense 7 Fernando RomeroSportivo Trinidense Adrián AlcarazOlimpia 8 Aldo GonzálezRecoleta 6 Estiven PérezRubio Ñu 10 Cecilio DomínguezCerro Porteño 5 Ignacio AlisedaCerro Porteño Ignacio BailoneNacional Diego Acosta2 de Mayo Wilfrido BáezRecoleta
Source: BeSoccer
Torneo Clausura The Torneo Clausura is the 134th official División de Honor championship and the second tournament of the 2026 season. It began on 24 July and is scheduled to end on 29 November 2026. The champions will qualify for the 2027 Copa Libertadores group stage.
Standings
Results
Top scorers
{| class="wikitable" border="1" |- ! Rank ! Player ! Club ! Goals |- | rowspan=2 align=center | 1 | Elvio Vera |Libertad | rowspan=2 align=center | 6 |- | Pablo Vegetti |Cerro Porteño |- | rowspan=4 align=center | 3 | Luis Abreu |Sportivo Trinidense | rowspan=4 align=center | 5 |- | Hugo Adrián Benítez |Nacional |- | Iván Valdez |Nacional |- | Estivel Moreira |Sportivo Ameliano |- | rowspan=2 align=center | 7 | Hugo Sandoval |Olimpia | rowspan=2 align=center | 4 |- | Cristhian Ocampos |Sportivo Ameliano
Source: BeSoccer
Aggregate table The results of the Apertura and Clausura tournaments are combined into a single table to determine the distribution of the remaining Copa Libertadores and Copa Sudamericana berths. The best-placed team in this table (other than the tournament champions) will qualify for the Copa Libertadores second stage, while the next four teams that do not qualify for the Copa Libertadores will enter the Copa Sudamericana first stage.
Relegation Relegation is determined at the end of the season by computing an average of the number of points earned per game over the past three seasons. The two teams with the lowest average will be relegated to the División Intermedia for the following season.
Pos Team 2024Pts 2025Pts 2026Pts TotalPts TotalPld Avg Relegation 1 Olimpia 80 59 75 214 123 2 Cerro Porteño 74 85 55 214 123 3 Libertad 74 70 57 201 123 4 Guaraní 66 83 50 199 123 5 Nacional 55 60 62 177 123 6 46 67 55 168 123 7 2 de Mayo 65 51 47 163 123 8 Sportivo Ameliano 56 48 51 155 123 9 Recoleta — 59 36 95 79 10 Sportivo Luqueño 61 47 33 141 123 11 Rubio Ñu — — 35 35 35 12 San Lorenzo (R) — — 18 18 35 Updated to match(es) played on 6 October 2026. Source: APF
See also 2026 APF División Intermedia 2026 Copa Paraguay
References
External links APF's official website