2020 Categoría Primera A season
The 2020 Categoría Primera A season (officially known as the 2020 Liga BetPlay Dimayor season for sponsorship reasons) is the 73rd season of the Categoría Primera A, Colombia's top-flight football league. The season began on 23 January[1] and is scheduled to conclude on 17 December 2020. América de Cali entered the season as defending champions having won the 2019 Finalización tournament.
Season | 2020 |
---|---|
Dates | 23 January – 17 December 2020 |
Matches played | 78 |
Goals scored | 181 (2.32 per match) |
Top goalscorer | Apertura: Michael Rangel and Diego Valdés (5 goals each) |
Biggest home win | Deportivo Pasto 4–0 Atl. Bucaramanga (7 February) Envigado 4–0 Atl. Bucaramanga (7 February) |
Biggest away win | Boyacá Chicó 0–3 Atlético Nacional (11 February) Jaguares 0–3 Cúcuta Deportivo (10 March) |
Highest scoring | La Equidad 3–4 Atlético Nacional (29 January) |
← 2019 2021 →
All statistics correct as of 10 March 2020. |
On 13 March 2020, after a meeting with its member clubs, DIMAYOR announced the temporary suspension of the tournament, along with the Primera B and Copa Colombia ones, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[2]
On 29 June, and after an Assembly of its member clubs, DIMAYOR presented a timetable for the implementation of the biosafety protocol to resume its competitions, with COVID-19 testing for players and staff members of every club scheduled to be held from 10 to 15 July, and individual training resuming the following day. The resumption of collective training sessions, scheduled for 20 August, will be subject to government approval. According to said timetable, the league was scheduled to resume on 27 August, pending the fulfillment of the previous stages as well as final approval by the Colombian government.[3][4] On 25 July, it was confirmed that the competition would resume on 30 August 2020 with alterations in its format, and pending government approval.[5]
Format
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the league season was planned to be played as follows:
- Two tournaments per year, with three stages each. The first stage would be contested on a single round-robin basis, with each team playing the other teams once plus an additional match against a regional rival for a total of 20 games.
- Due to the 2020 Copa América scheduled to be held in the country from mid-June to mid-July, and in order to conclude the Torneo Apertura on 24 May, the second stage for this tournament would be a knockout round contested by the top four teams at the end of the first stage, with the best-placed team at the end of the first stage facing the fourth-best placed team and the second-best placed team playing the third-best placed one in a double-legged series. The Torneo Finalización would feature the semifinal stage as it was played during the previous season.
- The finals in both tournaments would be contested by the winners of each semifinal tie or group, playing a double-legged series for the championship.
- The distribution of international qualification berths as well as the relegation system would not change.[6][1]
On 25 July 2020, DIMAYOR's General Assembly decided to continue playing the Torneo Apertura as the only tournament to be held in the season, with the semifinal stage originally planned for the Torneo Finalización. The allocation of international qualification berths was also altered, with the Copa Libertadores berth originally allocated to the Finalización winners going to the league runners-up, and the fourth Copa Sudamericana berth going to the winner of a play-off involving the aggregate table fourth best team not qualified for the Copa Libertadores and the 12 teams that fail to qualify for the semifinal stage.[5] Further format changes were confirmed on 13 August 2020, with DIMAYOR's General Assembly deciding to suspend relegation for this season and postpone it until the end of the first semester of 2021, in order to ensure teams could be able to play the same amount of matches as originally scheduled before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.[7]
Teams
20 teams take part, eighteen of them returning from last season plus Deportivo Pereira and Boyacá Chicó, who were promoted from the 2019 Primera B. Both promoted teams replaced Unión Magdalena and Atlético Huila who were relegated at the end of the previous season by having finished as the bottom two teams of the relegation table.
Stadia and locations





Atlético Nacional
Envigado
Independiente Medellín
Tunja teams:
Boyacá Chicó
Patriotas
Bogotá teams:
La Equidad
Millonarios
Santa Fe
Cali teams:
América de Cali
Deportivo Cali
- Used by América de Cali for their Torneo Apertura home match against Boyacá Chicó.
- Used by Atlético Bucaramanga for their Torneo Apertura home matches against Deportivo Cali and Deportes Tolima due to Estadio Alfonso López hosting the 2020 CONMEBOL Pre-Olympic Tournament.
- Used by La Equidad for their Torneo Apertura home match against Atlético Nacional for safety reasons.
Managerial changes
Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
La Equidad | ![]() |
End of caretaker spell | 29 October 2019 | Pre-season | ![]() |
7 January 2020[8] |
Millonarios | ![]() |
Resigned | 5 November 2019[9] | ![]() |
3 December 2019[10] | |
Atlético Bucaramanga | ![]() |
End of caretaker spell | 5 November 2019 | ![]() |
5 November 2019[11] | |
Rionegro Águilas | ![]() |
Sacked | 5 November 2019[12] | ![]() |
12 December 2019[13] | |
Cúcuta Deportivo | ![]() |
End of contract | 27 November 2019[14] | ![]() |
5 January 2020[15] | |
Deportes Tolima | ![]() |
Signed by Millonarios | 3 December 2019[16] | ![]() |
6 December 2019[17] | |
Deportivo Pasto | ![]() |
Sacked | 4 December 2019[18] | ![]() |
4 December 2019[18] | |
Deportivo Cali | ![]() |
Mutual consent | 7 December 2019[19] | ![]() |
13 December 2019[20] | |
Atlético Bucaramanga | ![]() |
Sacked | 17 February 2020[21] | 20th | ![]() |
17 February 2020[21] |
Cúcuta Deportivo | ![]() |
17 February 2020[22] | 16th | ![]() |
17 February 2020[23] | |
Atlético Bucaramanga | ![]() |
End of caretaker spell | 23 February 2020 | 17th | ![]() |
22 February 2020[24] |
Jaguares | ![]() |
Resigned | 12 March 2020[25] | 16th | ![]() |
17 July 2020[26] |
América de Cali | ![]() |
End of contract | 14 June 2020[note 1][28] | 8th | ![]() |
13 July 2020[29] |
- Contract suspended since 14 May 2020.[27]
First stage
Standings
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Atlético Nacional | 8 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 18 | 11 | +7 | 15 | Advance to the semifinals |
2 | Deportivo Pasto | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 10 | 4 | +6 | 14 | |
3 | Santa Fe | 8 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 10 | 5 | +5 | 13 | |
4 | Deportes Tolima | 7 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 8 | 3 | +5 | 13 | |
5 | Alianza Petrolera | 8 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 10 | 8 | +2 | 13 | |
6 | Junior | 8 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 8 | 6 | +2 | 13 | |
7 | Once Caldas | 8 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 7 | 4 | +3 | 12 | |
8 | América de Cali | 8 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 11 | 9 | +2 | 12 | |
9 | Deportivo Cali | 7 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 9 | 6 | +3 | 11 | |
10 | Deportivo Pereira | 8 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 10 | 11 | −1 | 11 | |
11 | Independiente Medellín | 8 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 10 | 11 | −1 | 11 | |
12 | Rionegro Águilas | 8 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 9 | 9 | 0 | 10 | |
13 | La Equidad | 8 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 15 | 15 | 0 | 9 | |
14 | Envigado | 8 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 9 | 9 | 0 | 9 | |
15 | Atlético Bucaramanga | 8 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 12 | −7 | 9 | |
16 | Jaguares | 8 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 11 | 16 | −5 | 7 | |
17 | Millonarios | 7 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 11 | −4 | 6 | |
18 | Cúcuta Deportivo | 8 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 11 | −5 | 6 | |
19 | Boyacá Chicó | 8 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 11 | −6 | 5 | |
20 | Patriotas | 8 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 9 | −6 | 4 |
Results
Top goalscorers
- As of 10 March 2020
Rank | Name | Club | Goals |
---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() |
América de Cali | 5 |
![]() |
Santa Fe | ||
3 | ![]() |
Atlético Nacional | 4 |
![]() |
Junior | ||
![]() |
Jaguares | ||
![]() |
Atlético Nacional | ||
![]() |
Deportivo Pereira | ||
![]() |
Rionegro Águilas | ||
![]() |
La Equidad | ||
![]() |
Atlético Nacional |
Source: Soccerway
Relegation
A separate table is kept to determine the teams that get relegated to the Categoría Primera B for the next season. This table is elaborated from a sum of all first stage games played for the current season and the previous two seasons. For purposes of elaborating the table, promoted teams are given the same point and goal tallies as the team in the 18th position at the start of the season.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, no teams will be relegated at the end of this season, with relegation being postponed until the end of the first semester of 2021 in order to ensure teams could be able to play the same amount of matches as originally scheduled.[7]
Pos |
Team | 2018 Pts |
2019 Pts |
2020 Pts |
Total Pld |
Total GF |
Total GA |
Total GD |
Total Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Atlético Nacional | 71 | 66 | 15 | 86 | 122 | 77 | 45 | 152 |
2 | Deportes Tolima | 72 | 64 | 13 | 85 | 115 | 71 | 44 | 149 |
3 | Independiente Medellín | 69 | 59 | 11 | 86 | 133 | 103 | 30 | 139 |
4 | Junior | 62 | 63 | 13 | 86 | 99 | 66 | 33 | 138 |
5 | Deportivo Cali | 58 | 67 | 11 | 85 | 110 | 80 | 30 | 136 |
6 | Once Caldas | 63 | 56 | 12 | 86 | 104 | 82 | 22 | 131 |
7 | América de Cali | 47 | 67 | 12 | 86 | 107 | 106 | 1 | 126 |
8 | Millonarios | 51 | 67 | 6 | 85 | 103 | 94 | 9 | 124 |
9 | Santa Fe | 56 | 46 | 13 | 86 | 96 | 73 | 23 | 115 |
10 | Atlético Bucaramanga | 58 | 46 | 9 | 86 | 92 | 105 | –13 | 113 |
11 | La Equidad | 61 | 42 | 9 | 86 | 96 | 91 | 5 | 112 |
12 | Alianza Petrolera | 42 | 55 | 13 | 86 | 90 | 100 | –10 | 110 |
13 | Rionegro Águilas | 57 | 40 | 10 | 86 | 90 | 107 | –17 | 107 |
14 | Cúcuta Deportivo | 42 | 59 | 6 | 86 | 105 | 125 | –20 | 107 |
15 | Deportivo Pasto | 35 | 54 | 14 | 85 | 79 | 83 | –4 | 103 |
16 | Patriotas | 49 | 50 | 4 | 86 | 76 | 104 | –28 | 103 |
17 | Envigado | 46 | 47 | 9 | 86 | 93 | 104 | –11 | 102 |
18 | Deportivo Pereira | 39 | 38 | 11 | 86 | 70 | 124 | –54 | 88 |
19 | Jaguares | 39 | 38 | 7 | 86 | 71 | 129 | –58 | 84 |
20 | Boyacá Chicó | 39 | 38 | 5 | 86 | 65 | 124 | –59 | 82 |
Source: Dimayor
Rules for classification: 1st points; 2nd goal difference; 3rd goals scored; 4th away goals scored.
References
- "Síntesis final de la asamblea extraordinaria de la DIMAYOR" (in Spanish). DIMAYOR. 31 October 2019. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
- "Suspendido el fútbol profesional colombiano por coronavirus" (in Spanish). El Tiempo. 13 March 2020.
- "DIMAYOR envió comunicación a los clubes del FPC para la implementación del Protocolo de Bioseguridad" (in Spanish). DIMAYOR. 29 June 2020. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
- "Ya hay una fecha para un posible inicio del fútbol colombiano" (in Spanish). Futbolred. 3 July 2020. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
- "¡Aceptado! Así será el retorno del fútbol colombiano". El Tiempo. 25 July 2020.
- "Síntesis del primer día de la Asamblea Extraordinaria de la DIMAYOR" (in Spanish). DIMAYOR. 30 October 2019. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
- "El FPC no tendrá descenso en el 2020" (in Spanish). Marca Colombia. 13 August 2020. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
- "Alexis García vuelve a ser 'asegurador': La Equidad oficializó su llegada para el 2020" (in Spanish). Gol Caracol. 7 January 2020.
- "Millonarios acepta la renuncia de Jorge Luis Pinto como DT" (in Spanish). AS Colombia. 5 November 2019. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
- "Oficial: Gamero firmó su contrato como nuevo técnico de Millonarios" (in Spanish). Futbolred. 4 December 2019.
- "'Willy' Rodríguez y 'Cenizo' Nunes, nuevo cuerpo técnico del Atlético" (in Spanish). Vanguardia. 6 November 2019. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
- "Van 15 cambios de DT: Flabio Torres no continuará en Rionegro Águilas" (in Spanish). Futbolred. 5 November 2019. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
- "El venezolano Francesco Stifano, nuevo técnico de Rionegro Águilas" (in Spanish). Caracol Radio. 12 December 2019.
- "Guillermo Sanguinetti habla sobre su salida del Cúcuta" (in Spanish). W Radio. 12 December 2019. Retrieved 5 January 2020.
- "Por fin hubo noticias de Cúcuta: el club ya tiene nuevo entrenador" (in Spanish). Futbolred. 5 January 2020.
- "Así fue la emotiva despedida de Alberto Gamero en Deportes Tolima" (in Spanish). Futbolred. 4 December 2019.
- "Día de anuncios en Tolima: nuevo DT y se llevan una joven figura" (in Spanish). Futbolred. 6 December 2019.
- "Octavio Zambrano deja el Pasto por falta de pago" (in Spanish). AS Colombia. 4 December 2019.
- "¡Confirmado! Lucas Pusineri deja la dirección técnica del Deportivo Cali" (in Spanish). El País. 7 December 2019.
- "¡Es oficial! Deportivo Cali definió a su nuevo entrenador para 2020" (in Spanish). Futbolred. 13 December 2019.
- "Primer técnico despedido de 2020: el 'Willy' Rodríguez deja Bucaramanga" (in Spanish). Antena 2. 17 February 2020.
- "Y cayó el segundo: Jairo Patiño se va del Cúcuta Deportivo" (in Spanish). El Tiempo. 17 February 2020.
- "Oficial: Jorge Artigas es el nuevo técnico del Cúcuta Deportivo" (in Spanish). AS Colombia. 17 February 2020.
- "Sanguinetti vuelve a Colombia y tendrá otra experiencia en la Liga" (in Spanish). Futbolred. 22 February 2020.
- "Comienzo soñado y final decepcionante: sale otro técnico en la Liga" (in Spanish). Futbolred. 12 March 2020.
- "JAGUARES ANUNCIÓ EL REEMPLAZO DE JUAN CRUZ REAL, HOY EN AMÉRICA DE CALI" (in Spanish). Antena 2. 17 July 2020. Retrieved 18 July 2020.
- "América de Cali le suspendió el contrato a Alexandre Guimaraes" (in Spanish). El País. 29 May 2020. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
- ""Guimaraes termina contrato el 14 de junio, estamos en proceso de desvinculación": Mauricio Romero" (in Spanish). El País. 1 June 2020. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
- "Se viste de rojo: América presenta oficialmente a Juan Cruz Real" (in Spanish). Futbolred. 13 July 2020. Retrieved 14 July 2020.