THE SPANISH LEAGUE

THE SPANISH LEAGUE

The Spanish league also known as the Primera División (First Division) of the Liga de Fútbol Profesional (LFP), commonly known in English as La Liga is the top professional association football division of the Spanish football league system. It is officially named Liga BBVA (BBVA League) for sponsorship reasons. It is contested by 20 teams, with the three lowest-placed teams relegated to the Segunda División and replaced by the top two teams in that division plus the winner of a play-off.

A total of 60 teams have competed in La Liga since its inception. Nine teams have been crowned champions, with Real Madrid winning the title a record 32 times and Barcelona 23 times. Real Madrid dominated the championship from the 1950s through the 1980s. Since the 1990s, however, Real Madrid and Barcelona have both dominated, although La Liga has seen other champions, including Atlético Madrid, Valencia, and Deportivo de La Coruña.

La Liga has been the top league in Europe over the last five years^[according to UEFA's league coefficient and La Liga clubs have been the top-rated club in Europe more times than any other league (18) double that of second placed Serie A with (9). La Liga based clubs have also won the most IFFS World's Club Team of the Year awards (9). La Liga clubs have won the most UEFA Champions League tournaments (15) and Real Madrid are the competition's most successful club, with ten titles. La Liga clubs have also won the highest number of UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League titles and Sevilla are the most successful club in the competition's history with 4 titles. La Liga is the first and only league to be represented by both finalists in a UEFA Champions League final on two occasions. La Liga-based players have won the highest number of FIFA World Player of the Year awards (11), Ballon d'Or awards (19) and UEFA Best Player in Europe awards (4). La Liga players also represent the most FIFPro World XI and UEFA Team of the Year places. Real Madrid and Barcelona are the La Liga clubs to have won the UEFA Champions League.

QUALIFICATION FOR EUROPEAN COMPETITIONS

The top teams in La Liga qualify for the UEFA Champions League, with the first, second, and third placed teams directly entering the group stage and the fourth placed team entering the playoffs for the group stage of UEFA Champions League. Teams placed fifth and sixth play in the UEFA Europa League, along with the cup winners. If both teams in the cup final finish in the top six, an additional berth in the Europa League is given to the team that finishes in seventh.

La Liga is one of the most popular professional sports leagues in the world, with an average attendance of 28,265 for league matches in the 2011–12 season. This is the sixth-highest of any domestic professional sports league in the world and the third-highest of any professional association football league in the world, behind Germany's Bundesliga and England's Premier League.^[1]