Liga FUTVE
Professional association football league in Venezuela
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Liga FUTVE is the top-flight professional football league of Venezuela. It was created in 1921 and turned professional in 1957. It is organized by the Federación Venezolana de Fútbol. In 2017, the league rebranded to its current name.
| |
| Founded | 1921 |
|---|---|
| Country | Venezuela |
| Confederation | CONMEBOL |
| Number of clubs | 14 |
| Level on pyramid | 1 |
| Relegation to | Liga FUTVE 2 |
| Domestic cup(s) | Copa Venezuela Supercopa de Venezuela |
| International cup(s) | Copa Libertadores Copa Sudamericana |
| Current champions | Universidad Central (4th title) (2025 season) |
| Most championships | Caracas (12 titles) |
| Top scorer | Juan García (271 goals) |
| Broadcaster(s) | TVes |
| Website | Liga FUTVE (in Spanish) Venezuelan Football Federation (in Spanish) |
| Current: 2026 season | |
Format
Starting in the 2020 season, 20 teams play in a home-and-away round-robin tournament, with the top eight teams advancing to the semi-final stage.
At the semi-final stage, the eight teams are divided into two groups of four teams each, facing the other teams in their group twice. The two group winners advance to the Serie Final to decide the league champions.
International qualification
- The champions and runners-up qualify to the group phase of the Copa Libertadores.
- The team with the most points in the entire season qualifies to the preliminary round of the Copa Libertadores as Venezuela 3.
- The second and third team with the most points in the entire season qualifies to the Copa Sudamericana as Venezuela 1 and Venezuela 2.
- If a team won both tournaments that team qualify to the Copa Libertadores as Venezuela 1, then the first and second team with the most points in the entire season qualify to the Copa Libertadores as Venezuela 2 and Venezuela 3 and the fourth and fifth team with the most points in the entire season qualify to the Copa Sudamericana as Venezuela 1 and Venezuela 2.
- If the winner of the Copa Venezuela does not qualify to the Copa Libertadores through the aforementioned manners or through the point total in the entire season, they take the Venezuela 2 spot in the Copa Sudamericana.
Relegation
- The two lowest placed teams in the entire season are automatically relegated to the Segunda División.
2026 teams
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| Team | City | Stadium | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Academia Puerto Cabello | Puerto Cabello | Complejo Deportivo Socialista | 7,500 |
| Anzoátegui | Puerto La Cruz | José Antonio Anzoátegui | 37,485 |
| Carabobo | Valencia | Misael Delgado | 10,400 |
| Caracas | Caracas | Olímpico de la UCV | 23,940 |
| Deportivo La Guaira | Caracas | Olímpico de la UCV | 23,940 |
| Deportivo Táchira | San Cristóbal | Polideportivo de Pueblo Nuevo | 38,755 |
| Estudiantes de Mérida | Mérida | Metropolitano de Mérida | 42,200 |
| Metropolitanos | Caracas | Olímpico de la UCV | 23,940 |
| Monagas | Maturín | Monumental de Maturín | 51,796 |
| Portuguesa | Acarigua | General José Antonio Páez | 18,000 |
| Rayo Zuliano | Maracaibo | José "Pachencho" Romero | 40,800 |
| Trujillanos | Valera | José Alberto Pérez | 25,000 |
| Universidad Central | Caracas | Olímpico de la UCV | 23,940 |
| Zamora | Barinas | Agustín Tovar | 29,800 |
List of champions
List of champions since the first championship held in 1920. The Primera División turned professional on 21 February 1957.[citation needed]
Amateur era
- (In bracket, title count):
Professional era
- (In bracket, title count):
Titles by club
Clubs in bold compete in Primera División as of the 2026 season. Clubs in italic no longer exist.
- Zamora won the Torneo de Adecuación in 2015, but this title is not counted as it was not a full season.
Half-year / Short tournaments
Copa Bolivariana
| Season | Champion | Runner-up | Third place | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000–01 | Occidental | Deportivo Táchira | Universidad de Los Andes | Trujillanos |
| Oriental | Caracas | Deportivo Italchacao | Carabobo | |
Apertura and Clausura seasons
Footnotes
- A. ^No third team recorded so the championship was played in a two zones format, where both teams qualified first played a final.
See also
References
External links
- Official website
(in Spanish) - News in Spanish about the First Division of the Venezuelan Football/Soccer
- News and pictures (in Spanish)
- League statistics at RSSSF
- FuriaVinotinto – Unofficial Forum Archived 2008-02-14 at the Wayback Machine (in Spanish)
