2023 Liga Panameña de Fútbol

Football league season From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The 2023 Liga Panameña de Fútbol or 2023 Liga LPF (known as the Liga LPF Tigo for sponsorship reasons) was the 36th season of the Liga Panameña de Fútbol (LPF), the top-flight football league in Panama, and the fourth under the management of the Liga Panameña de Fútbol. The season began on 13 January 2023, when the Apertura tournament started,[1] and ended on 12 November 2023 with the Clausura tournament Final.

Competition format

Same as previous years, the season was divided into two championships: Torneo Apertura and Torneo Clausura. Both Apertura and Clausura were played under the same format which consisted in a Classification stage, where the 12 teams were geographically divided into the Eastern and Western Conferences (6 teams per conference); Play-offs, Semifinals and Final.[2]

Within each conference, teams played each other twice on a double round-robin format (home and away). In addition, each team played one game against all the 6 teams in the opposite conference for a total of 16 games per team in the classification stage. Winners of each conference qualified directly to the semi-finals, whilst the second and third placed teams advanced to the play-offs stage.

The Play-offs stage was played on a single-leg format between the second placed team of each conference against the third placed team of the opposite conference, with the second placed teams hosting the matches. Winners of play-offs advanced to semi-finals to play against the first placed team of each conference on a home-and-away two-legged basis. Winners of the semifinals played the final on a single-leg match at a venue and date determined by the LFP, with highest team ranked in the classification stage acting as the "home" team for administrative purposes.

Teams

Locations of the 2023 Liga Panameña de Fútbol teams

A total of 12 teams took part in this season; the top eleven teams from the aggregate table of the 2022 season as well as UMECIT,[2] who were promoted from the 2022 Liga Prom after being champions of both Apertura and Clausura tournaments of the 2022 Liga Prom season.[3] They replaced and took the place in the Western Conference of Veraguas United, the bottom team in the aggregate table of the 2022 season, who were relegated to Liga Prom.

Stadia and locations

More information Team, City ...
Team City Stadium Capacity
Eastern Conference
Alianza Panama City Javier Cruz 700
Árabe Unido Colón Armando Dely Valdés 4,000
Plaza Amador Panama City Rommel Fernandez 32,000
Javier Cruz 700
Potros del Este Panama City Javier Cruz 700
Sporting San Miguelito San Miguelito Los Andes 1,450
Tauro Panama City Rommel Fernandez 32,000
Western Conference
Atlético Chiriquí David San Cristóbal 2,890
Independiente La Chorrera Agustín Sánchez 3,040
Herrera Chitré Los Milagros 1,000
San Francisco La Chorrera Agustín Sánchez 3,040
UMECIT[a] Atalaya Atalaya 500
Universitario Penonomé Universidad Latina 3,500
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  1. a By regulations, UMECIT took the venue of the relegated Veraguas United in the Western Conference even though its original location is in San Miguelito.[4]

Personnel and kits

More information Team, Head coach ...
Team Head coach Captain Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor(s)
Alianza Colombia Jair Palacios Panama Kevin Melgar Keuka ShowTime, Clinilab Panamá
Árabe Unido Venezuela Alberto Valencia Panama Harold Cummings Kelme Kendall Motor Oil, AguAseo
Atlético Chiriquí Colombia Herney Duque Panama Miguel Saavedra Transporte Rivera Hermanos S.A., Hotel Ciudad de David
Herrera Spain Miguel Corral Panama Juan González Adidas Varela Hermanos S.A., Betcris
Independiente Panama Franklin Narváez Panama Rafael Águila Everlast Altos De La Pradera, Eco Moda, Powerade
Plaza Amador Panama Ameth de León Panama Ricardo Buitrago Puma Sportium, SPARK
Potros del Este Venezuela Ángel Sánchez Panama Edgar Góndola Luanvi Bridgestone
San Francisco Panama Gary Stempel Panama Francisco Palacios Valor TicketMore
Sporting San Miguelito Spain David Dóniga Panama Pedro Jeanine Spirits Sparkle Power S.A.
Tauro Panama Felipe Baloy Panama Jan Carlos Vargas Patrick Terpel, Universidad del Istmo, KFC
Universitario Venezuela Julio Infante Panama Manuel Torres Sheffy Latin University of Panama, Learding Vila, Banco LAFISE
UMECIT Panama Javier Torres (interim) Panama Jacinto Fuentes Adidas UMECIT
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Managerial changes

More information Team, Outgoing manager ...
Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Position in table Incoming manager Date of appointment
Torneo Apertura
Plaza Amador Panama Jorge Dely Valdés Resigned 31 October 2022[5] Pre-season Uruguay Saúl Maldonado 2 December 2022[6]
Herrera Venezuela Alberto Valencia Mutual agreement[7] December 2022 Spain Miguel Corral 21 December 2022[8][9]
Plaza Amador Uruguay Saúl Maldonado Resigned 16 April 2023[10] 6th, EC Panama Ameth de León[i] 17 April 2023[12]
Tauro Venezuela Francisco Perlo Sacked 23 April 2023[13] 4th, EC Argentina Diego Gutierre[ii] 23 April 2023[13]
Atlético Chiriquí Colombia Dayron Pérez Resigned 29 April 2023[citation needed] 6th, WC Venezuela Jonathan Parra July 2023[citation needed]
UMECIT Colombia Fredy Romero Mutual agreement 30 April 2023[14] 4th, WC Venezuela Francisco Perlo 15 May 2023[15]
Potros del Este Venezuela Daniel Blanco End of contract[16] 9 May 2023[17] 4th, EC Venezuela Ángel Sánchez 1 June 2023[18]
Torneo Clausura
Tauro Argentina Diego Gutierre End of caretaker spell 27 May 2023[19] Pre-tournament Panama Felipe Baloy 11 June 2023[20]
Sporting San Miguelito Brazil Felipe Borowsky Sacked 31 May 2023[21] Spain David Dóniga 12 June 2023[22]
Árabe Unido Panama Julio Dely Valdés Resigned[23] 15 August 2023[24] 6th, EC Venezuela Alberto Valencia 16 August 2023[25]
Atlético Chiriquí Venezuela Jonathan Parra Resigned 11 September 2023[26] 6th, WC Colombia Herney Duque September 2023[citation needed]
UMECIT Venezuela Francisco Perlo Mutual agreement 12 September 2023[27] 5th, WC Panama Javier Torres[ii] 12 September 2023[27]
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Notes
  1. [i]
    Originally as caretaker manager, appointed on a permanent basis for the Clausura tournament.[11]
  2. [ii]
    Caretaker manager.

Torneo Apertura

The Torneo Apertura began on 13 January and ended on 27 May with the final.[28] Independiente were the defending champions, having won the Clausura 2022 tournament at the previous season.

Classification phase

The classification phase of the Apertura tournament ran from 13 January to 29 April 2023.

Eastern Conference

More information Pos, Team ...
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Sporting San Miguelito 16 7 6 3 20 13 +7 27 Advance to Semi-finals
2 Plaza Amador 16 6 4 6 19 17 +2 22 Advance to Play-offs
3 Tauro 16 6 4 6 15 13 +2 22
4 Potros del Este 16 6 2 8 22 25 −3 20
5 Árabe Unido 16 4 7 5 14 12 +2 19
6 Alianza 16 5 4 7 11 17 −6 19
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Source: LPF

Western Conference

More information Pos, Team ...
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Independiente 16 9 3 4 33 17 +16 30 Advance to Semi-finals
2 Herrera 16 7 6 3 24 14 +10 27 Advance to Play-offs
3 Universitario 16 6 4 6 18 22 −4 22
4 UMECIT 16 5 6 5 14 14 0 21
5 San Francisco 16 3 9 4 11 17 −6 18
6 Atlético Chiriquí 16 3 3 10 13 33 −20 12
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Source: LPF

Results

The match schedule was announced on 9 January 2023.[28][29]

More information Home \ Away, ALI ...
Home \ Away ALI DAU ACH HER IND PLA CDE SFR SSM TAU UME CDU
Alianza — 0–2 2–1 — 0–1 2–1 0–1 0–0 0–0 2–1 — —
Árabe Unido 0–0 — — 1–1 — 0–0 4–1 0–0 0–2 0–1 — 1–2
Atlético Chiriquí — 0–0 — 2–0 1–6 0–3 — 3–1 1–0 — 1–1 0–0
Herrera 2–1 — 4–0 — 3–0 — 3–2 0–0 — 0–0 1–0 3–4
Independiente — 2–1 3–0 1–3 — 1–2 — 3–0 — 0–0 4–0 4–1
Plaza Amador 3–1 0–1 — 0–2 — — 1–1 — 1–0 1–2 0–0 0–1
Potros del Este 2–0 0–2 2–1 — 1–1 1–2 — — 1–2 2–0 — 4–0
San Francisco — — 1–0 0–0 2–2 1–1 1–3 — 1–1 — 0–0 2–1
Sporting San Miguelito 2–0 1–0 — 1–1 1–2 4–2 2–1 — — 2–2 0–0 —
Tauro 0–1 1–1 3–0 — — 0–2 2–0 2–0 0–1 — 0–1 —
UMECIT 0–1 1–1 3–1 1–0 1–3 — 4–0 0–0 — — — 1–0
Universitario 1–1 — 4–2 1–1 1–0 — — 0–1 1–1 0–1 1–0 —
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Source: LPF, Soccerway
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Bracket

The play-offs, semi-finals and final were scheduled to be played between 6 and 27 May 2023.[28]

Play-offs Semi-finals Final
E2 Plaza Amador 0 1 1
E2 Plaza Amador 6 W1 Independiente 0 3 3
W3 Universitario 0 W1 Independiente 3
E3 Tauro 1
E3 Tauro 2 2 4
W2 Herrera 1 E1 Sporting San Miguelito 1 1 2
E3 Tauro 2

Play-offs

More information Plaza Amador, 6–0 ...
Plaza Amador6–0Universitario
  • Ramírez 32', 62'
  • Murillo 35', 49'
  • Dinolis 73', 78'
 Report
Close
Referee: Oliver Vergara
More information Herrera, 1–2 ...
Herrera1–2Tauro
Córdoba 48' Report
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Estadio Los Milagros, Chitré
Referee: Noriel Reina

Semi-finals

More information Tauro, 2–1 ...
Tauro2–1Sporting San Miguelito
 Report Dupuy 2'
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Referee: Cristian Pinilla
More information Sporting San Miguelito, 1–2 ...
Sporting San Miguelito1–2Tauro
Rodríguez 3' Report
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Estadio Los Andes, San Miguelito
Referee: Fernando Morón

Tauro won 4–2 on aggregate and advanced to the final.

More information Plaza Amador, 0–0 ...
Plaza Amador0–0Independiente
Report
Close
Referee: Fernando Morón
More information Independiente, 3–1 ...
Independiente3–1Plaza Amador
  • Small 6'
  • Águila 94'
  • Valverde 120+3'
 Report Ramírez 25' (o.g.)
Close
Referee: Noriel Reina

Independiente won 3–1 on aggregate and advanced to the final.

Final

More information Independiente, 3–1 ...
Independiente3–1Tauro
  • Negrete 2' (o.g.)
  • Ávila 77'
  • Valverde 90+2'
 Report Golúz 27'
Close
Referee: Oliver Vergara
More information Torneo Apertura 2023 winners ...
 Torneo Apertura 2023 winners 
 
5th title
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Top goalscorers

Players sorted first by goals scored, then by last name. The list includes goals scored in play-offs, semi-finals and final.

More information Rank, Player ...
Rank Player Club Goals
1 Panama Ronaldo Córdoba Herrera 16
2 Colombia Breidy Golúz Tauro 8
3 Panama Alessandro Canales Potros del Este 6
Panama José Murillo Plaza Amador
5 Panama Ronaldo Dinolis Plaza Amador 5
Panama Darwin Pinzón UMECIT
Panama Carlos Small Independiente
Panama César Yanis Potros del Este
9 Panama Rafael Águila Independiente 4
Panama Víctor Ávila Independiente
Panama Omar Browne Tauro
Panama Valentín Pimentel Sporting San Miguelito
Panama Miguel Saavedra Atlético Chiriquí
Panama Jorge Serrano Independiente
Panama Anthony Stewart Independiente
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Source: Soccerway

Clausura 2022 and Apertura 2023 aggregate table

The aggregate table of the Clausura 2022 and Apertura 2023 tournaments was used to determine the Panamanian teams qualified for the 2023 CONCACAF Central American Cup. As Independiente were the champions in both Clausura 2022 and Apertura 2023 tournaments, the remaining two qualified teams were the next two better placed teams in the aggregate table.[30]

More information Pos, Team ...
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Independiente (C) 32 19 5 8 59 28 +31 62 Qualification for CONCACAF Central American Cup
2 Sporting San Miguelito 32 13 13 6 41 29 +12 52
3 Universitario 32 13 9 10 43 42 +1 48
4 Plaza Amador 32 12 10 10 37 34 +3 46
5 Tauro 32 13 7 12 30 28 +2 46
6 Árabe Unido 32 11 11 10 34 25 +9 44
7 Alianza 32 12 7 13 26 32 −6 43
8 Potros del Este 32 12 6 14 47 46 +1 42
9 Herrera 32 9 13 10 34 42 −8 40
10 San Francisco 32 8 12 12 31 35 −4 36
11 Atlético Chiriquí 32 4 11 17 20 58 −38 23
12 UMECIT 16 5 6 5 14 14 0 21
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Source: LPF
(C) Champions

Torneo Clausura

The Torneo Clausura began on 21 July and ended on 2 December with the final.[31] Independiente were the two-time defending champions, having won the previous Clausura 2022 and Apertura 2023 tournaments.

Classification phase

The classification phase of the Clausura tournament ran from 21 July to 7 November 2023 (originally 1 November 2023).

Eastern Conference

More information Pos, Team ...
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Tauro 16 9 5 2 28 14 +14 32 Advance to Semi-finals
2 Sporting San Miguelito 16 8 4 4 24 11 +13 28 Advance to Play-offs
3 Alianza 16 6 6 4 17 17 0 24
4 Árabe Unido 16 6 5 5 16 16 0 23
5 Plaza Amador 16 5 4 7 22 17 +5 19
6 Potros del Este 16 4 4 8 20 29 −9 16
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Source: LPF

Western Conference

More information Pos, Team ...
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Independiente 16 11 4 1 39 16 +23 37 Advance to Semi-finals
2 San Francisco 16 7 4 5 19 14 +5 25 Advance to Play-offs
3 Herrera 16 6 5 5 28 20 +8 23
4 Universitario 16 5 6 5 15 19 −4 21
5 UMECIT 16 3 2 11 18 25 −7 11
6 Atlético Chiriquí 16 0 3 13 9 57 −48 3
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Source: LPF

Results

The match schedule was announced on 10 July 2023.[31][32]

More information Home \ Away, ALI ...
Home \ Away ALI DAU ACH HER IND PLA CDE SFR SSM TAU UME CDU
Alianza — 0–2 — 3–1 — 2–0 2–1 — 0–0 0–0 0–1 1–1
Árabe Unido 0–1 — 2–1 — 0–1 3–2 1–1 — 0–0 0–4 1–0 —
Atlético Chiriquí 1–2 — — 2–2 2–6 — 1–2 0–6 — 0–5 1–4 1–2
Herrera — 2–0 9–0 — 1–1 2–1 — 0–0 0–0 — 3–1 1–1
Independiente 1–1 — 4–0 4–2 — — 3–1 2–0 2–1 — 1–0 4–0
Plaza Amador 3–0 0–0 5–0 — 2–1 — 1–1 0–1 4–2 0–0 — —
Potros del Este 2–3 1–1 — 2–1 — 0–3 — 0–2 1–3 2–3 2–2 —
San Francisco 2–2 0–2 0–0 3–1 0–2 — — — — 0–0 2–1 2–1
Sporting San Miguelito 0–0 2–1 4–0 — — 1–0 0–1 2–0 — 3–0 — 4–0
Tauro 2–0 1–3 — 1–0 3–3 2–0 2–1 — 2–1 — — 1–1
UMECIT — — 4–0 1–2 3–4 0–0 — 0–1 0–1 0–2 — 0–2
Universitario — 0–0 0–0 0–1 0–0 2–1 1–2 1–0 — — 3–1 —
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Source: LPF, Soccerway
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Bracket

The play-offs, semi-finals and final were originally scheduled to be played between 11 November and 1 December,[31] however, the dates were pushed back in order to facilitate the call-up of players from the Liga Panameña de Fútbol to the Panama national football team during the November FIFA window.[33][34]

Play-offs Semi-finals Final
E2 Sporting San Miguelito 2 1 3
E2 Sporting San Miguelito 2 W1 Independiente 2 2 4
W3 Herrera 0 W1 Independiente 3
E1 Tauro 0
E3 Alianza 0 1 1
W2 San Francisco 1 (4) E1 Tauro 1 2 3
E3 Alianza (p) 1 (5)

Play-offs

More information Sporting San Miguelito, 2–0 ...
Sporting San Miguelito2–0Herrera
 Report
Close
Estadio Los Andes, San Miguelito
Referee: Oliver Vergara
More information San Francisco, 1–1 (a.e.t.) ...
San Francisco1–1 (a.e.t.)Alianza
Soto 54' Report Perdomo 26'
Penalties
  • J. Rodríguez soccer ball with check mark
  • Gómez soccer ball with red X
  • A. Rodríguez soccer ball with check mark
  • Cundumí soccer ball with check mark
  • Ramírez soccer ball with check mark
 4–5
Close
Referee: Fernando Morón

Semi-finals

More information Alianza, 0–1 ...
Alianza0–1Tauro
Blackburn 73'
Close
Referee: Jorge Leira
More information Tauro, 2–1 ...
Tauro2–1Alianza
 Report Rodríguez 33'
Close
Referee: Oliver Vergara

Tauro won 3–1 on aggregate and advanced to the final.

More information Sporting San Miguelito, 2–2 ...
Sporting San Miguelito2–2Independiente
Torres 65', 90+2' Report
  • Ávila 49' (pen.)
  • Serrano 69'
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Estadio Los Andes, San Miguelito
Referee: José Carrasco
More information Independiente, 2–1 ...
Independiente2–1Sporting San Miguelito
 Report Torres 81'
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Referee: Jorge Negron

Independiente won 4–3 on aggregate and advanced to the final.

Final

The final was scheduled to be played on 9 December 2023 at Estadio Universidad Latina in Penonomé.[35] The team with the best performance in the classification phase (Independiente) acted as the "home" team for administrative purposes.[2]

More information Independiente, 3–0 ...
Independiente3–0Tauro
  • Small 6', 21'
  • Stewart 89'
 Report
Close
Estadio Universidad Latina, Penonomé
Referee: Fernando Morón
More information Torneo Clausura 2023 winners ...
 Torneo Clausura 2023 winners 
 
6th title
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Top goalscorers

Players sorted first by goals scored, then by last name. The list includes goals scored in play-offs, semi-finals and final.

More information Rank, Player ...
Rank Player Club Goals
1 Panama Víctor Ávila Independiente 12
2 Panama Carlos Small Independiente 11
3 Panama Rolando Blackburn Tauro 9
4 Panama Ronni Villarreal Herrera 8
5 Colombia Breidy Golúz Tauro 6
Panama Juan González Herrera
Panama Valentín Pimentel Sporting San Miguelito
8 Panama Ricardo Ávila Universitario 5
Panama Ronaldo Dinolis Plaza Amador
Panama Ansony Frías Árabe Unido
Panama Ovidio López Plaza Amador
Panama Kevin Meneses Independiente
Panama Darwin Pinzón UMECIT
Panama Richard Rodríguez Alianza
Panama Alberto Saldaña Atlético Chiriquí
Panama Gabriel Torres Sporting San Miguelito
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Source: Soccerway

Aggregate table

The aggregate table of the 2023 season was used to determine the team relegated to the 2024 Liga Prom.

More information Pos, Team ...
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Relegation
1 Independiente (C) 32 20 7 5 72 33 +39 67
2 Sporting San Miguelito 32 15 10 7 43 24 +19 55
3 Tauro 32 15 9 8 43 27 +16 54
4 Herrera 32 13 11 8 52 33 +19 50
5 San Francisco 32 10 13 9 30 31 −1 43
6 Alianza 32 11 10 11 28 34 −6 43
7 Universitario 32 11 10 11 33 41 −8 43
8 Árabe Unido 32 10 12 10 30 28 +2 42
9 Plaza Amador 32 11 8 13 41 34 +7 41
10 Potros del Este 32 10 6 16 42 54 −12 36
11 UMECIT 32 8 8 16 32 39 −7 32
12 Atlético Chiriquí (R) 32 3 6 23 22 90 −68 15 Relegation to Liga Prom
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Source: LPF
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated

References

External links

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