Liga Bantrab

The Liga Nacional de Fútbol de Guatemala, officially known as the Liga Bantrab for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Guatemala and the highest level of the Guatemalan football league system. It is controlled by the Federación Nacional de Fútbol de Guatemala and contested by 12 teams.

Competition format The league has had several different formats throughout its history; currently, the league season is divided into two tournaments. The Apertura, which is played in the fall, and the Clausura, which is played in the spring. The first 6 clubs in the standings at the end of each competition participate in the playoffs to determine the champion, 1st and 2nd place teams qualify directly to semi-finals, while the others have to play in the quarter-finals. The winners of the Apertura and Clausura tournaments participate in the CONCACAF Champions League.

At the end of 2008-2009 Apertura and Clausura tournaments the league expanded to 12 teams to compete in a larger versions of the Apertura and Clausura tournaments. Now the 12th placed team (the team with the fewest points) in the aggregated table standings (combined standings of both the Apertura and Clausura tournaments) is relegated to the Primera División de Ascenso (2nd division) automatically at the end of the Clausura tournament in late May. The teams that finish 10th and 11th in the aggregated table standings enter into a two-legged playoff with the second- and third-placed clubs of the Primera División de Ascenso. The playoff winners play in the top division while the losers spend the next season in the second division. History Its first official professional tournament took place in 1942, and succeeded what was known as the Liga Capitalina (League of the Capital), which was an amateur tournament that started in 1919. The 1942–43 tournament was played by seven teams in a double round-robin tournament. Three teams – Municipal, Tipografía Nacional, and Guatemala FC – finished tied for the first place after the two rounds. A playoff between the three teams was conducted to determine the winner, with Municipal earning their first national title."Guatemala, 100 años de fútbol – Municipal". – prensalibre.com – Prensa Libre newspaper, Guatemala.

Clubs

Team City Stadium Capacity Antigua Antigua Guatemala Pensativo 10,000 Aurora Amatitlán Guillermo Slowing 12,000 Cobán Imperial Cobán Verapaz 15,000 Comunicaciones Guatemala City Cementos Progreso 17,000 Guastatoya Guastatoya David Cordón Hichos 3,100 Malacateco Malacatán Santa Lucía 8,000 Marquense San Marcos Estadio Marquesa de la Ensenada 11,000 Mixco Mixco Santo Domingo de Guzmán 5,200 Municipal Guatemala City El Trébol 10,000San PedroSan Pedro SacatepéquezEstadio Municipal Sampedrano4,000SuchitepéquezMazatenangoCarlos Salazar Hijo Stadium10,000 Xelajú Quetzaltenango Mario Camposeco 11,220

Managers + Current Liga Nacional managersManagerNationalityClub Rónald GómezAchuapa Javier López Antigua Roberto MontoyaCobán Imperial Ronald GonzálezComunicaciones Dwight PezzarossiGuastatoya Roberto Hernández Malacateco Mauricio TapiaMarquense Fabricio Benítez Mixco Sebastián BiniMunicipal Amarini VillatoroXelajú Pablo CentroneXinabajul Rafael DíazZacapa

Important matches

Comunicaciones vs Municipal - "El Clásico Chapín" Comunicaciones vs Antigua - "El Clásico Provincial" Antigua vs Mixco - "El Clásico del Valle" Comunicaciones vs Xelajú - "El Clásico del Oeste" Marquense vs Xelajú - "El Clásico del Occidente" Marquense vs Malacateco - "Derbi de San Marcos" Cobán Imperial vs Zacapa - "Clásico del Norte"

Champions Liga Capitalina Amateur Era Ed.SeasonChampionRunner-up 1919 Allies Hércules 1920 Hércules España 1921 No tournament due to the Juegos del Centenario 1922 Allies Alemán 1923 La Joya Allies 1924 USAC Allies 1925 La Joya Hércules 1926 USAC Hércules 1927 Hércules USAC 1928 USAC Allies 1929 USAC Tipografía Nacional 1930 USAC Germania 1931 USAC Germania 1932 Guatemala FC Germania 1933 Escuela Politécnica Tipografía Nacional 1934 Escuela Politécnica Tipografía Nacional 1935 Cibeles Quetzal 1936 Cibeles Quetzal 1937 Quetzal Tipografía Nacional 1938 Tipografía Nacional Municipal 1939 Tipografía Nacional Hércules 1940 Tipografía Nacional Independiente 1941 Guatemala FC Tipografía Nacional

Liga Nacional de Fútbol de Guatemala Professional Era Ed.SeasonChampionRunner-up 1942–43 Municipal Tipografía Nacional 1943 Tipografía Nacional Municipal 1944–45 Tipografía Nacional Municipal 1947 Municipal España 1948–50 No tournament due to the 1950 Central American and Caribbean Games 1950–51 Municipal Comunicaciones 1952–53 Tipografía Nacional Comunicaciones 1954–55 Municipal Comunicaciones 1956 Comunicaciones USAC 1957–58 Comunicaciones Municipal 1959–60 Comunicaciones Municipal 1961–62 Xelajú Comunicaciones 1963–64 Municipal Xelajú 1964 Aurora Municipal 1965–66 Municipal Comunicaciones 1966 Aurora Xelajú 1967–68 Aurora Municipal 1968–69 Comunicaciones Aurora 1969–70 Municipal Aurora 1970–71 Comunicaciones Aurora 1971 Comunicaciones Aurora 1972 Comunicaciones Municipal 1973 Municipal Aurora 1974 Municipal Aurora 1975 Aurora Comunicaciones 1976 Municipal Comunicaciones 1977–78 Comunicaciones Municipal 1978 Aurora Comunicaciones 1979–80 Comunicaciones Cobán Imperial 1980 Xelajú Juventud Retalteca 1981 Comunicaciones Xelajú 1982 Comunicaciones Suchitepéquez 1983 Suchitepéquez Comunicaciones 1984 Aurora Suchitepéquez 1985 Comunicaciones Juventud Retalteca 1986 Aurora Galcasa 1987 Municipal Aurora 1988–89 Municipal Aurora 1989–90 Municipal Suchitepéquez 1990–91 Comunicaciones Municipal 1991–92 Municipal Comunicaciones 1992–93 Aurora Comunicaciones 1993–94 Municipal Escuintla 1994–95 Comunicaciones Aurora 1995–96 Xelajú Comunicaciones 1996–97 Comunicaciones Aurora 1997–98 Comunicaciones Cobán Imperial 1998–99 Comunicaciones Municipal 1999 Apertura Comunicaciones Municipal 2000 Clausura Municipal Comunicaciones 2000 Apertura Municipal Comunicaciones 2001 Clausura Comunicaciones Antigua 2001 Reordenamiento Municipal Cobán Imperial 2002 Clausura Municipal Comunicaciones 2002 Apertura Comunicaciones Municipal 2003 Clausura Comunicaciones Cobán Imperial 2003 Apertura Municipal Comunicaciones 2004 Clausura Cobán Imperial Municipal 2004 Apertura Municipal Comunicaciones 2005 Clausura Municipal Suchitepéquez 2005 Apertura Municipal Comunicaciones 2006 Clausura Municipal Marquense 2006 Apertura Municipal Comunicaciones 2007 Clausura Xelajú Marquense 2007 Apertura Jalapa Suchitepéquez 2008 Clausura Municipal Comunicaciones 2008 Apertura Comunicaciones Municipal 2009 Clausura Jalapa Municipal 2009 Apertura Municipal Comunicaciones 2010 Clausura Municipal Xelajú 2010 Apertura Comunicaciones Municipal 2011 Clausura Comunicaciones Municipal 2011 Apertura Municipal Comunicaciones 2012 Clausura Xelajú Municipal 2012 Apertura Comunicaciones Municipal 2013 Clausura Comunicaciones Heredia 2013 Apertura Comunicaciones Heredia 2014 Clausura Comunicaciones Municipal 2014 Apertura Comunicaciones Municipal 2015 Clausura Comunicaciones Municipal 2015 Apertura Antigua Guastatoya 2016 Clausura Suchitepéquez Comunicaciones 2016 Apertura Antigua Municipal 2017 Clausura Municipal Guastatoya 2017 Apertura Antigua Municipal 2018 Clausura Guastatoya Xelajú 2018 Apertura Guastatoya Comunicaciones 2019 Clausura Antigua Malacateco 2019 Apertura Municipal Antigua 2020 Clausura Canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic 2020 Apertura Guastatoya Municipal 2021 Clausura Santa Lucía Comunicaciones 2021 Apertura Malacateco Comunicaciones 2022 Clausura Comunicaciones Municipal 2022 Apertura Cobán Imperial Antigua 2023 Clausura Xelajú Antigua 2023 Apertura Comunicaciones Guastatoya 2024 Clausura Municipal Mixco 2024 Apertura Xelajú Cobán Imperial 2025 Clausura Antigua Municipal 2025 Apertura Antigua Municipal 2026 Clausura Municipal Xelajú

Titles by club in Guatemalan Football History Champions were: Amateur and Professional Champions.

Amateur Era ClubWinnersRunners-upWinning years USAC61 1924, 1926, 1928, 1929, 1930, 1931 Tipografia Nacional35 1938, 1939, 1940 Hércules24 1920, 1927 Allies23 1919, 1922 Cibeles20 1935, 1936 Escuela Politécnica20 1933, 1934 Guatemala FC20 1932, 1941 La Joya20 1923, 1925 Quetzal12 1937

Professional Era ClubWinnersRunners-upWinning yearsMunicipal33261942–43, 1947, 1950–51, 1954–55, 1963–64, 1965–66, 1969–70, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1987, 1988–89, 1989–90, 1991–92, 1993–94, 2000 Clausura, 2000 Apertura, 2001 Reordenamiento, 2002 Clausura, 2003 Apertura, 2004 Apertura, 2005 Clausura, 2005 Apertura, 2006 Clausura, 2006 Apertura, 2008 Clausura, 2009 Apertura, 2010 Clausura, 2011 Apertura, 2017 Clausura, 2019 Apertura, 2024 Clausura, 2026 ClausuraComunicaciones32261956, 1957–58, 1959–60, 1968–69, 1970–71, 1971, 1972, 1977–78, 1979–80, 1981, 1982, 1985, 1990–91, 1994–95, 1996–97, 1997–98, 1998–99, 1999 Apertura, 2001 Clausura, 2002 Apertura, 2003 Clausura, 2008 Apertura, 2010 Apertura, 2011 Clausura, 2012 Apertura, 2013 Clausura, 2013 Apertura, 2014 Clausura, 2014 Apertura, 2015 Clausura, 2022 Clausura, 2023 AperturaAurora 810 1964, 1966, 1967–68, 1975, 1978, 1984, 1986, 1992–93 Xelajú77 1961–62, 1980, 1995–96, 2007 Clausura, 2012 Clausura, 2023 Clausura, 2024 Apertura Antigua64 Apertura 2015, Apertura 2016, Apertura 2017, Clausura 2019, Clausura 2025, Apertura 2025 Guastatoya33 Clausura 2018, Apertura 2018, Apertura 2020 Tipografía Nacional31 1943, 1944–45, 1952–53 Suchitepéquez25 1983, 2016 Clausura Cobán Imperial24 2004 Clausura, 2022 Apertura Jalapa 20 2007 Apertura, 2009 Clausura Malacateco11 2021 Apertura Santa Lucía10 2021 Clausura

Top goalscorers Nr.PlayerCountryGoals 1 Juan Carlos Plata 302 2 Oscar Sánchez 259 3 Julio César Anderson 220 4 Carlos Kamiani Félix 211 5 Edwin Westphal 188 6 Israel Silva 186 7 René Morales 172 8 Mario Acevedo 170 9 Agustín Herrera 161 10 Selvin Pennant 156 11 León Ugarte 156 12 Edgar Araiza 150 13 Fredy García 144 14 Hugo Peña 136 15 Rolando Fonseca 135 16 Rudy Ramírez 130 17 Carlos Toledo 129 18 Jhonny Cubero 124 19 Julio Rodas 123 20 José Emilio Mitrovich 121 Sponsors Bantrab Molten Tigo Claro Betcris Gana777 Zeta Gas Forza Delivery Hielo Fiesta Gatorade Pepsi Sportline GNC Camas Olympia Vitalmed Café Quetzal Sponsorship names Liga Guate Banrural (2023–2026) Liga Bantrab (2026–)

Liga Bantrab

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