List of Puerto Rican football champions

Football, as a sport played by the masses, started late in Puerto Rico's history. There were several amateur tournaments and leagues throughout the second half of the 20th century, but it wasn't until 2008 when the first professional football league was started. Here is an incomplete list of champions in Puerto Rico's football history.

Torneo Nacional Superior

The "Torneo Nacional Superior" (TNS) (Mayor National Tournament) was the first attempt at organizing the football clubs in the island. It lasted for fifty-six seasons.[1]

  • 1945–57 - Not known
  • 1957–58 - Caribes FC
  • 1958–90 - Not known
  • 1990–91 - Cruz Azul (Guayama)
  • 1991–93 - Not known
  • 1993–94 - Rafael Santiago
  • 1994–95 - Not known

For unknown reasons, several teams broke away and created a second league. Both of them existed from 1995 till 2005, when a united national championship was organized.

Asociación de Fútbol de Puerto Rico

The "Asociación de Fútbol de Puerto Rico" (Puerto Rico Football Association) existed for a single season (1996) with teams from San Juan, Yabucoa, Caguas, Maunabo, Guayama, Ponce, Cabo Rojo, Mayagüez, Aguadilla, and Arecibo.[1]

Liga Mayor de Fútbol Nacional

Created by teams that broke away from the TNS, the "Liga Mayor de Fútbol Nacional" (LMFN) (Mayor League National Football) lasted for nine seasons and ran parallel to the TNS.[1]

Champions by season
Season Play–off Champion Score Play–off Runner-up Regular Season Winner
1996–97Maunabo Leones2–0Puerto Rico IslandersPuerto Rico Islanders
1997–98Puerto Rico Islanders3–0Brujos (Guayama)Puerto Rico Islanders
1998–99Puerto Rico Islanders4–0Cardenales (Río Piedras)Cardenales (Río Piedras)
1999–00Vaqueros de Bayamón1–0Gigantes de Carolina FCPuerto Rico Islanders
2000–01Puerto Rico Islanders4–3Brujos (Guayama)Puerto Rico Islanders
2001–02Vaqueros de Bayamón3–0Puerto Rico IslandersVaqueros de Bayamón
2002–03Sporting (Carolina)2–1Vaqueros de BayamónSporting (Carolina)
2003–04Sporting (San Lorenzo)1–0Caguas HuracanSporting (San Lorenzo)
2004–05Real Quintana2–1CF FraigcomarCF Fraigcomar

Championships by team
Club Champion Runner-up
Puerto Rico Islanders32
Vaqueros de Bayamón21
Maunabo Leones1—
Real Quintana1—
Sporting (Carolina)1—
Sporting (San Lorenzo)1—
Brujos (Guayama)—2
Cardenales (Río Piedras)—1
CF Fraigcomar—1
Gigantes de Carolina FC—1
Caguas Huracan—1

Campeonato Nacional de Fútbol de Puerto Rico

In 2005, a united national championship was organized by the Puerto Rico Football Federation, the "Campeonato Nacional de Fútbol" (National Football Championship), but it was composed mainly from teams from the LMF.[1]

Season Champion Score Runner-up
2005CF Fraigcomar1–0Huracán FC Caguas
2006CF Fraigcomar4–1Academia Quintana FC
2007CF Fraigcomar2–1Atléticos de Levittown FC

Puerto Rico Soccer League

In 2008, the first professional league was created, the Puerto Rico Soccer League (PRSL), which was composed of eight teams playing the regular season, and the top four seeded moving on to the playoffs. A ninth team joined in 2009, three teams joined in 2010, and one team joined for the 2011 season,[1] after which the league folded. The new professional league, the Liga Profesional de Fútbol de Puerto Rico, is scheduled to start in 2013.

Season Champion Aggregate Runner-up 1st leg 2nd leg Regular Season Winner
20081Sevilla FC Bayamón (1)2–1CA River Plate Ponce----Sevilla FC Bayamón (1)
2009Bayamón FC (1)3–2Atlético de San Juan FC2–21–0CA River Plate Ponce (1)
20102CA River Plate Ponce3–0Puerto Rico Islanders FC1–02–0--
20113FC Leones de Ponce (1)1–1 (3–0 pen.)Sevilla FC Juncos----Sevilla FC Juncos (2)
1The 2008 championship match had only one leg.
2The 2010 season was cancelled. This match was the final of the Supercopa DirecTV 2010, which served as the qualifier for the 2011 CFU Club Championship.
3The 2011 championship match had only one leg. After 120 minutes, the game was decided in favor of FC Leones de Ponce, who were able to successful convert its first three penalty attempts and, also, were able to stop all three attempts from Sevilla FC Juncos.

Liga Nacional de Fútbol de Puerto Rico

In 2008, along with the first division, a PRSL 2nd division tournament was organized, anticipating a promotion/relegation system, which was scheduled to start in 2011, but that was postponed till 2013. In 2009, the Puerto Rico Football Federation renamed the 2nd division league "Liga Nacional de Fútbol" (National Football League) and made it a separate amateur league. The 2008 season had eighteen teams divided in three groups; the 2009 season had sixteen teams divided in two groups; while the 2010 season had twenty-one teams divided in four groups. For the 2011 season, the LNFPR split into a first division with eight teams and a second division with 14 teams, retaking the promotion/relegation ideas, which is to start in 2013.

Season Champion Score Runner-up
2008San Juan Sharks (1)4–1Maunabo Leones FC
2009Maunabo Leones FC (1)2–1Bayamón FC
2010Maunabo Leones FC (2)2–0Bayamón FC
2011Bayamón FC (1)RRSevilla FC Puerto Rico
2012Bayamón FC (2)RRSevilla FC Puerto Rico
2013Sevilla FC Puerto Rico (1)6–0Bayamón FC
2014Yabuco Sual FC (1)2–2 (8–7 pen.)Guayama FC
2015Criollos de Caguas FC (1)4–2Guayama FC
20161Puerto Rico FC4–1Criollos de Caguas FC
1The 2016 season was cancelled. This match was the final of the 2016 Copa Luis Villarejo, which served as the qualifier for the 2017 CFU Club Championship.

References
  1. "Puerto Rico - List of Champions". RSSSF. Retrieved 2011-06-10.

See also
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