About La Liga
La Liga History, Format, Organization, Media Coverage
The Spanish Primera División, and commonly referred to as La Liga, is the top club competition in Spain. The tournament saw the light in 1929 and is currently operated by the Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional, a branch of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF). It has also been named as the best domestic league in the world for several years, according to UEFA’s coefficient system.
With its status as the top-tier football category in Spain, La Liga operates under a promotion-relegation system, with the top teams after each season earning spots in European competitions, and with the last three teams in each tournament being relegated to the Spanish Segunda División. Every year, twenty teams will go 38 rounds to determine the winner and those teams that leave the tournament. Thanks to this system, over 60 teams have played in La Liga, with only nine of them earning the right to call themselves champions.
One of the most relevant aspects in La Liga is the presence of two of the most popular teams in the world: Real Madrid and Barcelona. These Spanish giants frequently go toe-to-toe to win the league title every year, and their rivalry is followed via TV and streaming platforms across the globe every season, with El Clásico being a major sports event. This rivalry hit its peak during the 2010s, when Lionel Messi (Barcelona) and Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid) played for these highly popular clubs. The outcome of that rivalry even saw both players becoming their team’s all-time top scorers and the best in league history, with Messi earning the top spot in this category.
Broadcasting rights for the popular Spanish Primera Division (La Liga) are highly sought out in almost every region in the world, with companies such as Movistar (Spain), ESPN and beIN Sports (MENA region) being some of the networks that have recently won broadcasting and streaming rights to La Liga. In the USA, ESPN has secured both English and Spanish TV and live streaming rights for La Liga until the 2029 season.
