The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Fútbol de Cuba is the top football division in Cuba. Currently, it is contested by 16 clubs and is divided into two tournaments – "Apertura" and "Clausura", with the last being the championship tournament. The champion of each tournament, decided via a playoff match ("Final"), are qualified to Supercopa Nacional de Fútbol de Cuba. The league currently has a fixed membership with each club being a representative of a Cuban province, which makes it one of the football leagues that does not have a promotion and relegation process.
Competition format
Torneo Apertura
In "Torneo Apertura", the 16 clubs are geographically divided into the "Grupo Occidental" and "Grupo Oriental", with 8 clubs each, and playing against its clubs' group on a double round-robin basis a total of 14 games. The top three clubs of each group will advance to the "Torneo Clausura", and with the winners of each group also playing a final match ("Torneo Apertura Final").
Torneo Clausura and Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Fútbol de Cuba
In "Torneo Clausura", the 6 qualified clubs playing against each others on a double round-robin basis a total of 10 games. The top two clubs will play a final match ("Torneo Clausura Final") that also will crown the "Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Fútbol de Cuba" champion.
Supercopa Nacional de Fútbol de Cuba qualification
The "Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Fútbol de Cuba" champion/"Torneo Clausura" winner and "Torneo Apertura" winner are qualified to "Supercopa Nacional de Fútbol de Cuba", a super cup match that will crown the "Supercopa Nacional de Fútbol de Cuba" champion.
There have been 100 titles won with three years not having a championship. The winner of the greatest number of titles is FC Villa Clara with 14 wins. Centro Gallego (La Habana) and Real Iberia (La Habana) (including Iberia) each have eight wins, Juventud Asturiana (La Habana) and FC Pinar del Río each have seven wins, FC Ciudad de La Habana (without La Habana/La Habana FC) and Deportivo San Francisco each have six wins, FC Ciego de Ávila, Granjeros and Deportivo Hispano América (La Habana) each have five wins, FC Cienfuegos, Industriales (La Habana), and FC La Habana (including La Habana FC) each have four wins, Santiago de Cuba and Mordazo has three wins, Azucareros, Deportivo Puentes Grandes, and Rovers AC (La Habana) each have two wins, and FC Artemisa, FC Camagüey, Casino Español, Cerro (La Habana), Deportivo Español (Santiago de Cuba), Diablos Rojos (Santiago de Cuba), Fortuna, CD Hatüey (La Habana), FC Holguín, and Olimpia each have only one win.[2]
^Schöggl, Hans; Jelínek, Radek (13 June 2013). "Cuba – List of Champions". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Archived from the original on 19 October 2013. Retrieved 16 December 2013.
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