Football in Ecuador

Last updated

Football (fútbol) in Ecuador
CountryEcuador
Governing body Ecuadorian Football Federation
National team(s) Ecuador
First played1867
National competitions
Club competitions
List
International competitions

Association football (simply called football) is the most popular sport in Ecuador , in line with the majority of South America. [1] [2]

Contents

Governing body

The governing body of football in Ecuador is the Ecuadorian Football Federation (Spanish : Federación Ecuatoriana de Fútbol), also known as FEF or Ecuafútbol. It runs all national football tournaments and manages the national football teams. Its seat is in Guayaquil. In addition, there are 18 provincial association throughout the country.

Club football

Club football is the most popular spectator sport in the country. The top-flight league in the country is the Serie A, followed by the Serie B. Both contain a small number of clubs compared to other leagues across the continent (12 each). Both tournaments are organized by FEF. But, for a considerable part of its history, club football was regionalized.

Regional leagues

The first amateur tournaments in Ecuador were organized by two regional leagues: one in Guayas for clubs in Guayaquil, and one in Pichincha for clubs in Quito and Ambato. Both held their inaugural tournaments in 1922. Both leagues stayed amateur until 1952, when the Guayas league held their first professional tournament. The Pichincha league, called Interandino followed suit in 1954. Both leagues stayed as the top-flight leagues in the country until 1967, when the status of top-flight was ceded to the national tournament.

National tournament

No national tournament existed until 1957 when the winners of both regional championships played against each other for the title. The first national title was won by Emelec. After a two-year hiatus, the national tournament returned in 1960 and has continued into the present. The Costa and Interandino Championships ceased to exist as a top-level tournament in 1967.

International participation

While typically a competitive country, clubs from Ecuador have had little international success. The first club to reach the finals of an international tournament was Barcelona, when they reached the finals of the 1990 and 1998 Copa Libertadores; they lost both. In 2001, Emelec became the second club to reach the finals of an international tournament at the 2001 Copa Merconorte, which they also lost. In 2008, LDU Quito became the first club to win an international title by becoming the 2008 Copa Libertadores champion. LDU Quito also went to win the Recopa Sudamericana and the Copa Sudamericana, both in 2009. To date, then in 2019 Independiente del Valle won the Copa Sudamericana, even before reaching their first national Championship.

National team

The Ecuador national football team is controlled by the Federación Ecuatoriana de Fútbol and represents Ecuador in international football competitions. It was for a long time one of the weaker teams in CONMEBOL, but it has recently had more success, making their first World Cup appearance in 2002, and qualifying again for the 2006 and 2014 FIFA World Cup. In 2006, they advanced to the Round of 16, losing to England by 1–0. [3] [4]

Although without any major tournament achievements until the current millennium, Ecuador was never short of footballing talent, producing players such as Alberto Spencer, Jose Villafuerte, Carlos Raffo and Antonio Valencia. Ecuador has qualified for the World Cup a total of 4 times in the years 2002, 2006, 2014, as well as in 2022. Ecuador is yet to win a Copa América. Their best finish in Copa América was fourth in 1993 (they also finished fourth in the 'extra' South American Championship in 1959).

+30,000-capacity football stadiums in Ecuador

#StadiumCapacityCityHome team
1 Estadio Monumental Isidro Romero Carbo 59,283 [5] Guayaquil Barcelona S.C.
2 Estadio Modelo Alberto Spencer Herrera 42,000 Guayaquil 9 de Octubre F.C., C.S. Patria, C.D. Everest, Rocafuerte F.C., Panamá S.C.
3 Estadio Rodrigo Paz Delgado 41,575 Quito Ecuador national football team, L.D.U. Quito
4 Estadio George Capwell 40,020 Guayaquil C.S. Emelec
5 Estadio Olímpico Atahualpa 35,742 Quito América de Quito, S.D. Quito, C.D. El Nacional, C.D. Universidad Católica del Ecuador

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barcelona S.C.</span> Ecuadorian sports club based in Guayaquil

Barcelona Sporting Club, internationally known as Barcelona de Guayaquil, is an Ecuadorian sports club based in Guayaquil, known best for its professional football team. They currently play in the Ecuadorian Serie A, the highest level of football in the country, and hold the distinction of being the only club in the Ecuadorian top flight to not have played in the Serie B.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">S.D. Quito</span> Football club

Sociedad Deportivo Quito is an Ecuadorian club football club based in Quito. For most of its existence, it competed in Serie A, the highest level of the Ecuadorian professional football league. And currently competes in the Second Category of Pichincha.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">L.D.U. Quito</span> Ecuadorian professional football club

Liga Deportiva Universitaria, often referred to as LDU Quito, is an Ecuadorian professional football club based in Quito. They play in the Serie A, the highest level of the Ecuadorian professional football league. They play their home games at the Estadio Rodrigo Paz Delgado, more commonly referred to as Casa Blanca. Rival clubs include Quito-based clubs El Nacional, Deportivo Quito, Aucas and Universidad Católica.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Agustín Delgado</span> Ecuadorian footballer (born 1974)

Agustín Javier Delgado Chalá is an Ecuadorian politician and former professional footballer who played as a forward. Nicknamed El Tín, he was the all-time top scorer for the Ecuador national team with 31 goals in 71 games before being overtaken by Enner Valencia. Delgado played professional club football in Ecuador, Mexico and England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ecuadorian Football Federation</span> Sports governing body

The Ecuadorian Football Federation is the governing body of football in Ecuador. Its headquarters are in Quito, and it organizes the country's various football competitions and oversees the Ecuador national team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ecuadorian Serie A</span> Top division football league in Ecuador

The Liga Pro Ecuador Serie A, simply known as the Liga Pro or the Serie A, or officially as Liga ProBet593 for sponsorship reasons, is a professional football league in Ecuador. At the top of the Ecuadorian football league system, it is the country's premier football competition. Contested by sixteen clubs, it operates a system of promotion and relegation with the Serie B, the lower level of the Primera Categoría. The season runs from February to December and is usually contested in multiple stages.

Daniel Jimmy Viteri Vinces is an Ecuadoran footballer.

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The 2009 Campeonato Ecuatoriano de Fútbol de la Serie A was the 51st season of the Serie A, Ecuador's premier football league. The season began on January 31 and ended on December 7. Deportivo Quito successfully defended their title for their fourth overall.

The 2010 Campeonato Ecuatoriano de Fútbol de la Serie A was the 52nd season of the Serie A, Ecuador's premier football league. It ran from February 7 to December 12.

The 2011 season is the 89th season of competitive football in Ecuador.

The Serie A Femenina de Ecuador is the highest amateur league of women's football in Ecuador. The competition is organised by the Ecuadorian Football Federation. Until 2013, the tournament was played by divisional selections and not clubs. After a restructuring in 2013 clubs contest the league title. The winner qualifies to the Copa Libertadores Femenina.

The 2018 Campeonato Ecuatoriano de Fútbol Serie A was the 60th season of the Serie A, Ecuador's top tier football league. Emelec were the defending champions. First stage winners LDU Quito defeated second stage winners and defending champions Emelec 2–1 on aggregate in the final to win their eleventh domestic title.

Jhojan Esmaides Julio Palacios is an Ecuadorian footballer who plays for L.D.U. Quito. Mainly an attacking midfielder, he can also play as a winger.

The 2019 Copa Ecuador was the first edition of the Copa Ecuador, Ecuador's domestic football cup. It began with the first round on 10 November 2018 and concluded with its double-legged final on 10 and 16 November 2019. LDU Quito were the winners, beating Delfín on away goals after tying 3–3 on aggregate score. They would have qualified for the 2020 Copa Sudamericana, but since they had already qualified for international competition through their league performance as well as the runners-up and both semifinalists, the berth was reallocated to the ninth-placed team of the league, El Nacional.

The 2021 season was the 96th season in the existence of Barcelona Sporting Club, and the 63rd season in the top flight of Ecuadorian football. Barcelona was involved in three primary competitions: the main national tournament Liga Pro, the national cup called Copa Ecuador, and the international tournament Copa Libertadores.

Byron David Castillo Segura is an Ecuadorian professional footballer who plays as a right-back for Ecuadorian Serie A club giants Barcelona SC and the Ecuador national team.

Janner Hitcler Corozo Alman is an Ecuadorian footballer who plays mainly as a right winger for Ecuadorian club Barcelona S.C. and the Ecuador national team.

Segundo Arlen Portocarrero Rodríguez is an Ecuadorian footballer who plays as a left wing-back for Peruvian Liga 1 club Universitario de Deportes, on loan from Ecuadorian side Barcelona SC.

References

  1. ↑ "Ecuador's World Cup squad brings hope to this poor, Afro-Ecuadorian province". GlobalPost. Retrieved 2014-06-23.
  2. ↑ Wyss, Jim. "ESMERALDAS, Ecuador: In the cradle of Ecuadorian soccer, the beach is the fiercest field – Americas". MiamiHerald.com. Retrieved 2014-06-23.
  3. ↑ Stark, Harrison (2014-05-27). "Ecuador, 2014: Ecuador once had one of the worst records in South America. What changed?". Slate.com. Retrieved 2014-06-23.
  4. ↑ Vickery, Tim (2014-03-03). "Football in Ecuador makes dreams come true | FIFA World Cup : The World Game". Theworldgame.sbs.com.au. Retrieved 2014-06-23.
  5. ↑ "Estadio Monumental Banco Pichincha (El Coloso del Salado) – StadiumDB.com". stadiumdb.com. Retrieved 2020-05-10.
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