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Primera Federación
Organising body	RFEF
Founded	2020; 5 years ago
First season	2021–22
Country	Spain
Divisions	2
Number of clubs	2 groups of 20 teams each (40)
Level on pyramid	3
Promotion to	Segunda División
Relegation to	Segunda Federación
Domestic cup(s)	Copa del Rey; Copa Federación
International cup(s)	UEFA Europa League; (via winning Copa del Rey)
Current champions	Deportivo La Coruña (1st title) ; (2023–24)
Most championships	Racing Santander ; Amorebieta; Deportivo La Coruña (1 title)
TV partners	Footters, Fuchs Sport, ETB 1, TVG, TV3
	Current: 2024–25 Primera Federación

The Primera Federación, formerly known as Primera RFEF, is the third tier of the Spanish football league system beginning with the 2021–22 season. It is administered by the Royal Spanish Football Federation. It is below the top two professional leagues, the Primera División (also known as La Liga) and Segunda División (also known as La Liga Hypermotion), above the Segunda Federación and Tercera Federación. It is the highest level of semi-professional football in Spain.

History

In 2020, the Royal Spanish Football Federation announced the creation of three new divisions, two semi-professional and one amateur:^[1] the Primera División RFEF as the new third tier of the Spanish system;^[2] the Segunda División RFEF as the new fourth tier, broadly using the same format as the Segunda División B created in 1977; and the Tercera División RFEF as the fifth tier, along the same lines as the Tercera División from 1977 whereby groups are limited to teams from each of the nation's autonomous communities and is administered by a local body.

On 30 June 2022, after just one season of existence, Primera División RFEF was renamed to Primera Federación.^[3]

League format

The Primera Federación is made up of 40 clubs divided into two groups of 20 teams distributed by geographical proximity, initially with a north-west/south-east split. In its first season, 4 teams will be relegated from the Segunda División (La Liga 2) and the remaining will come from the Segunda División B.^[4]

Like the other Spanish divisions, it takes place annually, beginning at the end of August or early September, and ending in May or June of the following year. The twenty teams in each group play each other twice, home and away, for a total of thirty-eight matches. At the end of the season, the seven teams that accumulate the most points in each group, excluding reserve teams, qualify for the next edition of the Copa del Rey. At the end of the season a total of four teams are promoted to the second tier with the winners in each group achieve automatic promotion to Segunda División. The second to fifth place teams will play promotion play-offs to the second division, where two of eight teams win the play-offs and are promoted to Segunda División. The bottom five in each division are relegated to the fourth tier.

Champion

The two group winners play the final of the tournament. The winner obtains direct qualification to the Copa del Rey second round, as well as receiving the Primera Federación champion trophy.^[5]^[6]^[7]

Reserve teams eligibility

Reserve teams can participate in the Primera Federación if their first teams compete in a higher division, but cannot compete in the same division. If a team is relegated or promoted to the same division, the reserve team will be denied promotion or automatically relegated to ensure they remain one division separate.

Clubs

Andorra

Arenteiro

Barcelona At.

Basque Country

Basque Country teams:

Location of teams in 2024–25 Primera Federación

Red: Group 1;

Green: Group 2

Location of teams in 2024–25 Primera Federación – Group 1 (Basque Country)

The member clubs of the Primera Federación for the 2024–25 season are listed below.

Group 1	Group 2
Amorebieta Andorra Arenteiro Barakaldo Barcelona Atlètic Bilbao Athletic Celta Fortuna Cultural Leonesa Gimnàstic Gimnástica Segoviana Lugo Osasuna B Ourense Ponferradina Real Sociedad B Real Unión Sestao River Tarazona Unionistas Zamora	Alcorcón Alcoyano Algeciras Antequera Atlético Madrid B Atlético Sanluqueño Betis Deportivo Ceuta Fuenlabrada Hércules Ibiza Intercity Marbella Mérida Murcia Real Madrid Castilla Recreativo Sevilla Atlético Villarreal B Yeclano

Seasons

Season	Group 1 winner	Group 2 winner	Other promoted teams
2021–22	Racing Santander	Andorra	Albacete and Villarreal B
2022–23	Racing Ferrol	Amorebieta	Alcorcón and Eldense
2023–24	Deportivo La Coruña	Castellón	Málaga and Córdoba

Bold: overall champion

Champions and promotions

Club	Group winners	Overall champions	Promotions	Winning years (group)
Racing Santander	1	1	1	2021–22 (1)
Amorebieta	1	1	1	2022–23 (2)
Deportivo La Coruña	1	1	1	2023–24 (1)
FC Andorra	1	0	1	2021–22 (2)
Racing Ferrol	1	0	1	2022–23 (1)
Castellón	1	0	1	2023–24 (2)
Albacete	0	0	1	-
Alcorcón	0	0	1	-
Eldense	0	0	1	-
Málaga	0	0	1	-
Villarreal B	0	0	1	-
Córdoba	0	0	1	-

Bold: overall titles

Top scorers

Goals in playoffs are not counted.

Season	Top scorer	Club	Goals
2021–22	Ferran Jutglà	Barcelona B	19
2022–23	Rodri	AD Ceuta	20
2023–24	Pau Víctor	Barcelona Atlètic	18

References

^ "Así sería la nueva Segunda B Pro del fútbol español" [This would be the new Segunda B Pro of Spanish football]. Apuestas de Murcia (in Spanish). 16 September 2020.
^ Abizanda, Jorge (15 September 2020). "La Federación desvela el misterio: La nueva Segunda B se denominará Primera División RFEF" [The Federation reveals the mystery: The new Second B will be called First Division RFEF]. ABC (Spain) (in Spanish).
^ "La Primera RFEF pasa a llamarse Primera Federación" [Primera RFEF is now called Primera Federación] (in Spanish). Mundo Deportivo. 30 June 2022. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
^ "Así es la nueva y liosa Segunda B explicada a la perfección: grupos ascensos, descensos..." [This is the new and messy Second B explained to perfection: groups ascents, descents ...]. Diario AS (in Spanish). 6 October 2020.
^ Real Federación Española de Fútbol. "Normas reguladoras y bases de la competición de Primera Federación. Temporada 2023/2024" [Rules of Primera Federación competition 2023/2024 season] (PDF) (in Spanish). pp. 39–40. Retrieved 18 May 2024. TERCERA. - CONSECUENCIAS CLASIFICATORIAS. I. Campeones. Resultará campeón de Primera Federación el equipo vencedor de la final de campeones que tendrá lugar entre los equipos clasificados en el primer puesto de cada grupo de la fase regular, a doble partido, disputándose el primero de ellos en el terreno de juego del equipo con menor coeficiente. El vencedor obtendrá en propiedad el trofeo de Campeón de Primera Federación, así como la clasificación directa a la segunda eliminatoria del Campeonato de España/Copa de S.M. el Rey en la próxima temporada. [THIRD. - CLASSIFICATION CONSEQUENCES. I. Champions. The champion of Primera Federación will be the team that wins the final of champions that will take place between the teams classified in first place in each group of the regular phase, in a double match, with the first of them being played on the field of play of the team with the lowest coefficient. The winner will own the Primera Federación Champion trophy, as well as direct qualification to the second round of the Campeonato de España-Copa de Su Majestad el Rey in the next season.]
^ Real Federación Española de Fútbol. "Normas reguladoras y bases de la competición de Primera Federación. Temporada 2022/2023" [Rules of Primera Federación competition 2022/2023 season] (PDF) (in Spanish). p. 32. Retrieved 18 May 2024. TERCERA. - CONSECUENCIAS CLASIFICATORIAS. I. Campeones. Resultará campeón de Primera Federación el equipo vencedor de la final de campeones que tendrá lugar entre los equipos clasificados en el primer puesto de cada grupo de la fase regular, a doble partido, disputándose el primero de ellos en el terreno de juego del equipo con menor coeficiente. El vencedor obtendrá en propiedad el trofeo de Campeón de Primera Federación, así como la clasificación directa a la segunda eliminatoria del Campeonato de España/Copa de S.M. el Rey en la próxima temporada. [THIRD. - CLASSIFICATION CONSEQUENCES. I. Champions. The champion of Primera Federación will be the team that wins the final of champions that will take place between the teams classified in first place in each group of the regular phase, in a double match, with the first of them being played on the field of play of the team with the lowest coefficient. The winner will own Primera Federación Champion trophy, as well as direct qualification to the second round of the Campeonato de España-Copa de Su Majestad el Rey in the next season.]
^ Real Federación Española de Fútbol. "Circular nº 96. Normas reguladoras y bases de la competición de Primera Federación. Temporada 2021/2022" [Rules of Primera Federación competition 2021/2022 season] (PDF) (in Spanish). p. 31. Retrieved 18 May 2024. TERCERA. - CONSECUENCIAS CLASIFICATORIAS. I. Campeones. Resultará campeón de Primera RFEF el equipo vencedor de la final de campeones que tendrá lugar entre los equipos clasificados en el primer puesto de cada grupo, a partido único y en terreno neutral. El vencedor obtendrá en propiedad el trofeo de Campeón de Primera RFEF, así como la clasificación directa a la segunda eliminatoria del Campeonato de España / Copa de S.M. el Rey en la próxima temporada. [THIRD. - CLASSIFICATION CONSEQUENCES. I. Champions. The champion of Primera RFEF will be the team that wins the champions' final that will take place between the teams classified in first place in each group, in a single match and on neutral ground. The winner will own the Primera RFEF Champion trophy, as well as direct qualification to the second round of the Campeonato de España-Copa de Su Majestad el Rey in the next season.]