Liga Panameña de Fútbol

The Liga Panameña de Fútbol (LPF) (English: Panamanian Football League) is the top division football league in Panama. Until 2009, the league was named "Asociación Nacional Pro Fútbol" (ANAPROF).

Liga Panameña de Fútbol
Founded1988 (1988)
CountryPanama
ConfederationCONCACAF
Number of teams10
Level on pyramid1
Relegation toLiga Nacional de Ascenso
International cup(s)CONCACAF Champions League
Current championsCAI Independiente (2019)
Most championshipsÁrabe Unido, Tauro (15 titles)
TV partnersRPC TV, TV-Max
Websitelpf.com.pa
2019–20 Liga Panameña de Fútbol

Competition format

The league's season is divided into two tournaments called the Apertura and Clausura. Both tournaments have an identical format. Each tournament has two stages: the first stage is a double round-robin round where each team plays every other team twice, once at home and once away. The top-four teams advance to a final stage, a single-elimination culminating with a final match.

The first stage of both tournaments is combined into an aggregate table to determine relegation. The team with the fewest points is relegated to the Primera A for the following season.

The champions of both tournaments qualify to the CONCACAF Champions League.

History
ANAPROF logo
Former logo used by Liga Panameña de Fútbol

In 1987, a group of men, composed of Giancarlo Gronchi, Jan Domburg, Edgar Plazas, Jorge Zelasny, Ángel Valero and Juan Carlos Delgado, founded the Asociación Nacional Pro-Fútbol (ANAPROF for short) on February 26, 1988.

Their objective was to organize professional football in Panama, in order to help the Panamanian national team in the long term.

Founding teams

Timeline
  • The league was founded in as ANAPROF in 1988 after years of turmoil in Panamanian football. The first season, which featured six teams, began on February 26, 1988. Six teams participated. From that year until 2001, the league used a "long tournament" format in which every team played every other team in a home and away set. Since 2001, the league has used the Apertura/Clausura split season that is common to Latin America.
  • From 1994-96, Panamanian football was rent by a schism between ANAPROF and a rival league, LINFUNA. The split was resolved in 1996-97, when the leagues merged into a single twelve-team tournament.
  • The next few seasons of league football was a bit confusing as the governing body tried to sort out its formats. In 1997-98, the league was split into two groups for the regular season, followed by an eight-team playoff. In 1998-99, the league shrunk to ten teams, with six of them advancing to a post-season tournament. The top four advanced further to a playoff to determine the champion. A similar format was used in 1999-2000 and 2000-2001.
  • In 2001, the Apetura/Clausura format was adopted, and with modifications has been used ever since. The most significant involved the idea of the Grand Championship playoff. From 2001 to 2007, the winner of the Apertura faced the winner of the Clausura to determine a season champion. After 2007, this idea was abandoned.
  • In 2009 ANAPROF changes its name to Liga Panameña de Fútbol.

2017-18 teams
Club City Stadium Capacity
Alianza Panama City Cancha de Entrenamiento Luis Tapia 900
Atlético Veragüense Santiago de Veraguas Estadio Áristocles Castillo 500
Árabe Unido Colón Estadio Armando Dely Valdés 4,000
Chorrillo Panama City Estadio Maracaná 5,500
Club Atlético Independiente La Chorrera Estadio Agustín Sánchez 3,000
Plaza Amador Panama City Estadio Maracaná 5,500
San Francisco La Chorrera Estadio Agustín Sánchez 3,000
Santa Gema Arraiján Estadio Agustín Sánchez 3,000
Sporting San Miguelito San Miguelito Cancha de Entrenamiento Luis Tapia 900
Tauro Panama City Estadio Rommel Fernández 32,000

Championships by team
Team Winners Runners-up
Árabe Unido15 15
Tauro158
San Francisco910 2
Plaza Amador66
Chorrillo24
Euro Kickers12
Sporting San Miguelito11
Independiente22
Panamá Viejo1-
Chepo-2
Club Projusa-2
Alianza-1
Río Abajo-1
Atlético Veragüense-1
Sporting Colón-1
Cosmos-1
Costa del Este F.C.-1

1 Including 2 Winners in LINFUNA.
2 Including 2 Runners-up under the name Deportivo La Previsora.
Teams dissolved.

Past results LINFUNA

From 1994 to 1996 Panamanian football went through a schism, with the alternative federation, LINFUNA (officially recognised by FIFA then). LINFUNA and ANAPROF joined again in 1996.

Seasons Champions Runners-up
1994–95 Árabe Unido Cosmos
1995–96 Árabe Unido Club Projusa

Results by year

The following table shows past results for ANAPROF (1988-09) and the Liga Panameña de Fútbol (2009–present)

Seasons Champions Manager Runners-up
1988 Plaza Amador Carlos Collazos Deportivo La Previsora
1989 Tauro Miguel Mansilla Deportivo La Previsora
1990 Plaza Amador Milton Palacios Tauro
1991 Tauro Miguel Mansilla Euro Kickers
1992 Plaza Amador Carlos Collazos Sporting Colón
1993 Euro Kickers Orlando Muñoz Club Projusa
1994–95 San Francisco Leopoldo Lee Tauro
1995–96 San Francisco Leopoldo Lee Plaza Amador
1996–97 Tauro Miguel Mansilla Euro Kickers
1997–98 Tauro Miguel Mansilla Árabe Unido
1998–99 Árabe Unido Eliazar Herrera Tauro
1999–00 Tauro Alfredo Poyatos Plaza Amador
2000–01 Panamá Viejo Gary Stempel Tauro
2001 (Apertura) Árabe Unido Richard Parra San Francisco
2001 (Clausura) Árabe Unido Richard Parra Plaza Amador
2002 (Apertura) Árabe Unido Richard Parra San Francisco
2002 (Clausura) Plaza Amador Sergio Giovagnoli Tauro
2003 (Apertura) Tauro Gonzalo Soto Árabe Unido
2003 (Clausura) Tauro Gonzalo Soto Alianza
2004 (Apertura) Árabe Unido Julio César Núñez Plaza Amador
2004 (Clausura) Árabe Unido Julio César Núñez San Francisco
2005 (Apertura) Plaza Amador Fernando Arnulfo Bolívar Árabe Unido
2005 (Clausura) San Francisco Gary Stempel Atlético Veragüense
2006 (Apertura) San Francisco Gary Stempel Plaza Amador
2006 (Clausura) Tauro Rubén Guevara Árabe Unido
2007 (Apertura) Tauro Miguel Mansilla San Francisco
2007 (Clausura) San Francisco Gary Stempel Árabe Unido
2008 (Apertura) San Francisco Gary Stempel Tauro
2008 (Clausura) Árabe Unido Richard Parra Tauro
2009 (Apertura) I San Francisco Rubén Guevara Chorrillo
2009 (Apertura) II Árabe Unido Richard Parra Tauro
2010 (Clausura) Árabe Unido Richard Parra San Francisco
2010 (Apertura) Tauro Juan Carlos Cubilla San Francisco
2011 (Clausura) San Francisco Gary Stempel Chorrillo
2011 (Apertura) Chorrillo Miguel Angel Mansilla Plaza Amador
2012 (Clausura) Tauro Sergio Angulo Chepo
2012 (Apertura) Árabe Unido Jair Palacios Chepo
2013 (Clausura) Sporting San Miguelito Mario Anthony Torres San Francisco
2013 (Apertura) Tauro Rolando Palma San Francisco
2014 (Clausura) Chorrillo Julio Medina III Río Abajo
2014 (Apertura) San Francisco Gary Stempel Sporting San Miguelito
2015 (Clausura) Árabe Unido Sergio Guzman Independiente
2015 (Apertura) Árabe Unido Sergio Guzman Chorrillo
2016 (Clausura) Plaza Amador Jair Palacios Chorrillo
2016 (Apertura) Árabe Unido Sergio Guzman Plaza Amador
2017 (Clausura) Tauro FC Rolando Palma Árabe Unido
2017 (Apertura) Chorrillo Oscar Upegui Árabe Unido
2018 (Clausura) CAI Independiente Donaldo Gonzalez Tauro FC
2018 (Apertura) Tauro FC Saul Maldonado Costa del Este F.C.
2019 (Clausura) CAI Independiente Francisco Perlo San Francisco

Top-scorers by season

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See also

References
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