Liga de Primera (Chile)

What is the Liga de Primera?

The Liga de Primera — Chile’s Primera División, sold as Liga de Primera Mercado Libre from 2026 after the naming sponsor that replaced Itaú — is the top division of Chilean men’s football. It is organised by the Asociación Nacional de Fútbol Profesional, the professional clubs’ association, under the Federación de Fútbol de Chile, and has been played since 1933.^[1] [2]

How does it work?

Sixteen clubs play a double round-robin of 30 rounds and the club with most points is champion; there are no finals. The 2026 season began in the last week of January and ends on 6 December, pausing from 11 June to 19 July for the World Cup while a new Copa de la Liga — 16 teams in four groups, played from March to July — continued. The 2027 Libertadores places go to the top two, the Copa de la Liga champion and the winner of a playoff between the third-placed club and the Copa Chile winner; fourth to sixth and the playoff loser go to the Sudamericana. Clubs may register six foreign players and field five.^{[2] [3] [5]}

Since when does it exist?

Chile’s professional championship dates from 1933. Colo-Colo lead the all-time list with 34 titles, ahead of Universidad de Chile with 18 and Universidad Católica with 16 — Católica’s four in a row from 2018 to 2021 are the modern run. Coquimbo Unido’s 2025 championship was the club’s first, clinched on 2 November 2025 with four rounds to spare from a record of 20 wins, five draws and one defeat at the time.^[4] [6]

Champions of recent seasons.

Why does it matter?

Colo-Colo are Chile’s highest-placed club, 25th, on CONMEBOL’s 2026 ranking. The ANFP described the Mercado Libre naming deal as an important agreement, and TNT Sports holds the league’s rights year-round; the league is the top professional level in Chile and its clubs’ only route into CONMEBOL’s competitions.^{[1] [5] [7]}