Primera Federación
| File:Primera Federación.svg | |
| Organising body | RFEF |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2020 |
| First season | 2021–22 |
| Country | Spain |
| Divisions | 2 |
| Number of clubs | 2 groups of 20 teams each (40) |
| Level on pyramid | 3 |
| Promotion to | Segunda División |
| Relegation to | Segunda Federación |
| Domestic cup(s) | Copa del Rey Copa Federación |
| Current champions | Ceuta (1st title) (2024–25) |
| Most championships | Racing Santander Amorebieta Deportivo La Coruña Ceuta (1 title) |
| Broadcaster(s) | Footters, Fuchs Sport, ETB 1, TVG, TV3 |
| Website | rfef.es/primera-federacion |
| Current: 2025–26 Primera Federación | |
The Primera Federación, officially the Primera Federación Versus e-Learning for sponsorship reasons[1] (formerly known as Primera RFEF), is the third tier of the Spanish football league system beginning with the 2021–22 season. It is administered by the Royal Spanish Football Federation. It is below the top two professional leagues, the Primera División (also known as La Liga) and Segunda División (also known as La Liga Hypermotion), above the Segunda Federación and Tercera Federación. It is the highest level of semi-professional football in Spain.
History
[edit | edit source]In 2020, the Royal Spanish Football Federation announced the creation of three new divisions, two semi-professional and one amateur:[2] the Primera División RFEF as the new third tier of the Spanish system;[3] the Segunda División RFEF as the new fourth tier, broadly using the same format as the Segunda División B created in 1977; and the Tercera División RFEF as the fifth tier, along the same lines as the Tercera División from 1977 whereby groups are limited to teams from each of the nation's autonomous communities and is administered by a local body.
On 30 June 2022, after just one season of existence, Primera División RFEF was renamed to Primera Federación.[4]
League format
[edit | edit source]As of 2024–25 season, the Primera Federación is made up of 40 clubs divided into two groups of 20 teams distributed by geographical proximity, initially with a north-west/south-east split.[5]: 31 The competition is divided in two phases, the first of which corresponds to the regular phase and the second to the two-legged First Federation play-off.
The regular phase is made up of a total of 38 matchdays in which the participating clubs play each other over two legs. The clubs that qualify in first place in each of the two groups will be promoted directly to the Segunda División. The clubs that qualify in the second to fifth places in each of the two groups will participate in the First Federation play-off through the direct elimination system. The two winning clubs in each of the finals will be promoted, along with the top finishers in each group, to the Segunda División. On the other hand, the teams that occupy the sixteenth to twentieth places in each of the groups will be relegated to the Segunda Federación.[5]: 31–33
Champion
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The two group winners play the final of the tournament. The winner obtains direct qualification to the Copa del Rey second round, as well as receiving the Primera Federación champion trophy.[6][7][8]
Reserve teams eligibility
[edit | edit source]Reserve teams can participate in the Primera Federación if their first teams compete in a higher division, but cannot compete in the same division. If a team is relegated or promoted to the same division, the reserve team will be denied promotion or automatically relegated to ensure they remain one division separate.[5]: 36
Clubs
[edit | edit source]
File:Red pog.svg Red: Group 1; File:Green pog.svg Green: Group 2
The member clubs of the Primera Federación for the 2024–25 season are listed below.
| Group 1 | Group 2 |
|---|---|
Seasons
[edit | edit source]| Season | Group 1 winner | Group 2 winner | Other promoted teams |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021–22 | Racing Santander | Andorra | Albacete and Villarreal B |
| 2022–23 | Racing Ferrol | Amorebieta | Alcorcón and Eldense |
| 2023–24 | Deportivo La Coruña | Castellón | Málaga and Córdoba |
| 2024–25 | Cultural Leonesa | Ceuta | Real Sociedad B and Andorra |
Bold: overall champion
Champions and promotions
[edit | edit source]| Club | Group winners | Overall champions | Promotions | Winning years (group) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FC Andorra | 1
|
0
|
2
|
2021–22 (2) |
| Racing Santander | 1
|
1
|
1
|
2021–22 (1) |
| Amorebieta | 1
|
1
|
1
|
2022–23 (2) |
| Deportivo La Coruña | 1
|
1
|
1
|
2023–24 (1) |
| Ceuta | 1
|
1
|
1
|
2024–25 (2) |
| Racing Ferrol | 1
|
0
|
1
|
2022–23 (1) |
| Castellón | 1
|
0
|
1
|
2023–24 (2) |
| Cultural Leonesa | 1
|
0
|
1
|
2024–25 (1) |
| Albacete | 0
|
0
|
1
|
-
|
| Alcorcón | 0
|
0
|
1
|
-
|
| Eldense | 0
|
0
|
1
|
-
|
| Málaga | 0
|
0
|
1
|
-
|
| Villarreal B | 0
|
0
|
1
|
-
|
| Córdoba | 0
|
0
|
1
|
-
|
| Real Sociedad B | 0
|
0
|
1
|
-
|
Bold: overall titles
Top scorers
[edit | edit source]Goals in playoffs are not counted.
| Season | Top scorer | Club | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021–22 |  Ferran Jutglà
|
Barcelona B | 19 |
| 2022–23 | Rodri
|
AD Ceuta | 20 |
| 2023–24 | Pau Víctor
|
Barcelona Atlètic | 18 |
| 2024–25 | Gonzalo García
|
Real Madrid Castilla | 25 |
References
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External links
[edit | edit source]- Official website RFEF (in Spanish)
| National teams |
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| Men's league system |
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| Women's league system |
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| Youth league system |
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| Men's national cups | |||||
| Women's national cups | |||||
| Youth national cups | |||||
| By region | |||||