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The Puerto Rico soccer league system is a series of professional and amateur soccer leagues based in Puerto Rico. Sometimes erroneously called the Puerto Rican soccer pyramid, teams and leagues in the United States are not linked by the system of promotion and relegation typical in soccer elsewhere. Instead, the Puerto Rican Football Federation (FPF) officially defines leagues in levels, called divisions, with the top two sanctioned directly by the FPF.
Pro Soccer Teams (includes teams outside PR) | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Teams | PRSL (D1) | ||
2008 | 8 | 8 | ||
Year | Teams | PRSL (D1) | LNF (D2) | |
2009 | 25 | 9 | 16 | |
2010 | 29 | 81 | 21 | |
2011 | 23 | 6 | 17 | |
Year | Teams | LNF (D1) | ||
2012 | - | -2 | ||
Year | Teams | PRSL (D1) | LNF (D1) | |
2013 | - | - | 9 | |
2014 | - | - | 12 | |
2015 | 17 | 113 | 6 | |
2016 | 11 | 11 | -4 | |
2017 | - | - | - | |
In Puerto Rico, professional men's outdoor soccer leagues are ranked by the Puerto Rican Football Federation into one division: Division I. Amateur soccer organizations are also recognized by the FPF, but individual amateur leagues are not.
There are currently no recognized professional leagues.
1The PRSL recessed on 2010, and established a new tournament called "Supercopa DirecTV 2010" which served as the qualifier for the 2011 CFU Club Championship.
2The PRSL folded in the 2012 season, leaving Liga Nacional to be the sole D1 league at the time.
3 The 2015 Puerto Rico Soccer League season did not take place, but teams then participated in the Excellence Cup
4 The 2016 Liga Nacional season did not take place, but teams then participated in the Copa Luis Villarejo
Tier | Leagues/divisions | ||||||
- | Sanctioned by FPF as Professional Leagues | ||||||
League | Division | Teams | Attendance | Founded |
---|---|---|---|---|
Puerto Rico Soccer League | Amateur | 11 | - | 2008 |
Liga Nacional de Fútbol de Puerto Rico | 6 | - | 2009 | |
Liga Puerto Rico | 10? | - | 2018 | |
The two amateur men's outdoor soccer leagues are the Puerto Rico Soccer League (PRSL) and the Liga Nacional de Fútbol de Puerto Rico (LNF).
On September 17, 2017, The Puerto Rico Soccer League (PRSL) and its affiliates held several important meetings last week to re-establish the league's professional tournament in Puerto Rico. Currently there are preliminary talks between the PRSL and the FPF on the allocation of the First Official Division and it is expected that in the coming weeks the PRSL will make an official presentation to the FPF detailing their plans and other particularities in the face of the beginning of their professional tournament in the 2018. The tentative start date of the professional tournament would be September 7, 2018. [1]
Tier | Leagues/divisions | ||||||
Sanctioned by FPF as Professional Leagues | |||||||
FBF Division I |
| Liga Nacional de Fútbol de Puerto Rico (LNF) | |||||
The Puerto Rican Football Federation is the governing body of association football in Puerto Rico. It was founded in 1940 and became affiliated to FIFA in 1960, one of the last to do so in the Western Hemisphere. It governs over all football on the island, including the Puerto Rico national football team, the amateur Liga Nacional de Fútbol de Puerto Rico, the scheduled Liga Profesional de Fútbol de Puerto Rico, as well as the Puerto Rico FC who play in the North American Soccer League.
The Puerto Rico Soccer League or PRSL is an association football league in Puerto Rico founded in 2008 and the first unified football league in the island's history. Association football had been growing in popularity in recent years, and this was an attempt to further develop the game on the island. The previous highest league in the country was the Campeonato Nacional de Fútbol de Puerto Rico. It shares Division I status with Liga Nacional de Fútbol de Puerto Rico.
Academia Quintana F.C. are an Association Football club from San Juan, Puerto Rico. They were founded in 1969, making them one of the oldest clubs still in existence in Puerto Rico. They are one of the founding members of the Puerto Rico Soccer League, the island's first nationwide league. The reserve team plays in the Liga Nacional. The club plays their home games at the Hiram Bithorn Stadium, sharing the facility with Atléticos de San Juan.
Bayamón Fútbol Club is a Puerto Rican football club. The team is based in Bayamón and founded in 1999. They play their home games at Bayamón Soccer Complex. The club is a member of David Villa's DV7 Soccer Academy.
The Liga Nacional de Fútbol de Puerto Rico (LNF) was the first division association football league of Puerto Rico sharing D-1 status with Puerto Rico Soccer League. The LNF was founded on July 25, 2009 and the 2015 season featured six teams.
Criollos de Caguas FC is a soccer team that plays in the Liga Nacional de Fútbol de Puerto Rico. The team was founded in 1981. Since then has won multiple titles and participated in international tournaments including a 1986 visit to Portsmouth, England. The team finished third in the LNF 2011 season, sixth in 2012 season and third on 2013 and has been the champions in the PRSL Super Cup 2014, League 2014 and the Super Cup 2015. The Team will make the official debut on the Liga Nacional de Fútbol de Puerto Rico in the 2015 season on Sunday, September 20, 2015. The team plays their home matches in the Asociación Central de Balompie de Puerto Rico in Caguas, Puerto Rico.
The PRSL PlayOffs Cup is the annual championship tournament of the Puerto Rico Soccer League. The winner gets an automatic bid to CFU Club Championship.
The Puerto Rico Soccer League Regular Season Cup, first played in 2008, is an annual league competition for Puerto Rico Soccer League. The top four teams advance to the PlayOff cup.
Puerto Rico United is a Puerto Rican association football team based in Aguada, Puerto Rico founded in 2007. The team has played professionally in the Puerto Rico Soccer League (PRSL) and briefly in the American USL Professional Division. The team last competed in a professional league in 2011.
Football is one of the leading sports of Puerto Rico, ranking only behind baseball, basketball and boxing in national popularity and is the number one participation sport on the island. There has been a significant growth in the sport in recent years, as traditionally football has played a very small role in Puerto Rico. The sport on the island is governed by the Puerto Rican Football Federation an affiliate of FIFA.
Álvaro E. Betancourt is a Puerto Rican retired international footballer who played as a midfielder. He appeared at the senior level for High Performance FC, Conquistadores de Guaynabo, Bayamón, and Metropolitan FA, split around a two-year stint at Valparaiso University.
The 2017 Caribbean Club Championship was the 19th edition of the Caribbean Club Championship, the annual international club football competition in the Caribbean region, held amongst clubs whose football associations are affiliated with the Caribbean Football Union (CFU), a sub-confederation of CONCACAF.
Metropolitan FA is an association football club that plays in the Puerto Rico Soccer League. The team is currently based in San Juan, Puerto Rico, where they currently play their home games at Parque Urb. Reparto Metropolitano.
The Copa Luis Villarejo is an association football in Puerto Rico. Created in 2016, it is open to all clubs that are affiliated with the Puerto Rican Football Federation.
The 2016 Copa Luis Villarejo was the first edition of the Copa Luis Villarejo, a cup tournament for clubs in Puerto Rico organized by the Puerto Rican Football Federation. The champions and runners-up of this tournament are eligible to enter the 2017 Caribbean Club Championship, which serves as a qualifying tournament for the 2017 CONCACAF League and 2018 CONCACAF Champions League.
The 2017 Metropolitan FA season is the club's third season of existence. The club will play in the Puerto Rico Soccer League, the first tier of the Puerto Rico soccer pyramid.
The 2017 Puerto Rico Soccer League season would be the 9th season as Puerto Rico's top-division football league.
The 2017 Copa Luis Villarejo will be the second edition of the Copa Luis Villarejo, a cup tournament for clubs in Puerto Rico organized by the Puerto Rican Football Federation. The champions and runners-up of this tournament are eligible to enter the 2018 CFU Club Championship, which serves as a qualifying tournament for the 2018 CONCACAF League and 2019 CONCACAF Champions League.
The Liga Puerto Rico (LPR) is a football competition organized by the Puerto Rican Football Federation that currently is the top division football league in the island. It was announced via Facebook by the Federation in August 2018.