La Liga has been the strongest league in Europe for the past five years according to UEFA's league coefficient, and it has been the top league in Europe for more combined years than any other European league (16 years). La Liga clubs have won the most UEFA Champions League tournaments and Real
Madrid are the competition's most successful club, with ten titles. Sevilla are the most successful club in the UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League, with 4 titles. La Liga is the first and only league to be represented by both finalists in a UEFA Champions League final on two occasions. La Liga-based players have won the highest number of FIFA World Player of the Year awards , Ballon d'Or awards and UEFA Best Player in Europe awards . La Liga players also represent the highest number of FIFPro World XI and UEFA Team of the Year places.
La Liga is one of the most popular professional sports leagues in the world, with an average attendance of 30,275 for league matches in the 2011–12 season. This is the sixth-highest of any domestic professional sports league in the world and the third-highest of any professional association football league in the world, behind Germany's Bundesliga and England's Premier League.
Competition format
The competition format follows the usual double round-robin format. During the course of a season, which lasts from September to June, each club plays every other club twice, once at home and once away, for a total of 38 games. Teams receive three points for a win, one point for a draw, and no points for a loss. Teams are ranked by total points, with the highest-ranked club at the end of the season crowned champion.Ranking of clubs on equal points
If points are equal between two or more clubs, the rules are:
If all clubs involved have played each other twice:
If the tie is between two clubs, then the tie is broken using the goal difference for the two matches those clubs have played against each other (without away goals rule)
If the tie is between more than two clubs, then the tie is broken, using the games the clubs have played against each other:
a) head-to-head points
b) head-to-head goal difference
c) head-to-head goals scored
If two legged games between all clubs involved have not been played, or the tie is not broken by the rules above, it is broken using:
a) total goal difference
b) total goals scored
If the tie is still not broken, the winner will be determined by Fair Play scales. These are:
yellow card, 1 point
doubled yellow card/ejection, 2 points
direct red card, 3 points
Suspension or disqualification to coach, executive or other club's personnel (outside referee decisions), 5 points
Misconduct of the supporters: mild 5 points, serious 6 points, very serious 7 points
Stadium closure, 10 points
If the Competition Committee removes a penalty, the points are also removed
If the tie is still not broken, it will be resolved with a tie-break match in a neutral stadium.
Promotion and relegation
A system of promotion and relegation exists between the Primera División and the Segunda División. The three lowest placed teams in La Liga are relegated to the Segunda División, and the top two teams from the Segunda División promoted to La Liga, with an additional club promoted after a series of play-offs involving the third, fourth, fifth and sixth placed clubs. In the 2014–15 season, Eibar, Deportivo La Coruña and Córdoba are promoted to the Primera Division. Below is a complete record of how many teams played in each season throughout the league's history;
1929–1934: 10 clubs
1934–1941: 12 clubs
1941–1950: 14 clubs
1950–1971: 16 clubs
1971–1987: 18 clubs
1987–1995: 20 clubs
1995–1997: 22 clubs
1997–present: 20 clubs
Qualification for European competitions
Barcelona against Schalke in the UEFA Champions League in 2008
The top teams in La Liga qualify for the UEFA Champions League, with the first, second, and third placed teams directly entering the group stage and the fourth placed team entering the playoffs for the group stage of UEFA Champions League. Teams placed fifth and sixth play in the UEFA Europa League, along with the cup winners. If both teams in the cup final finish in the top 6, an additional berth in the Europa League is given to the team that finishes in 7th.
La Liga clubs in Europe
In addition to their success in Primera División, Valencia, Real Madrid, Barcelona and Atlético Madrid are four of the most successful teams in European competition history. All four clubs are the only Spanish clubs to have won five or more international trophies. Whilst, Real Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia are also in the top ten most successful clubs in European football in terms of total European trophies. Deportivo la Coruña are the fifth more participating Spanish team in the Champions league after Real Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia and Atletico Madrid with 5 appearances in a row in the Champions league, with 2 quarter finals and a semi final in its 2003-2004 season. In 2005–06, Barcelona won the UEFA Champions League and Sevilla won the UEFA Cup. The Primera División became the first league to do the European "double" since 1997.The Primera División is currently first in the UEFA rankings of European leagues based on their performances in European competitions over a five-year period, ahead of England's Premier League in second and Germany's Bundesliga in third. The most popular European comeback in the Champions league occurred in the 2003-2004 season when Deportivo la Coruna lost 1-4 away in the first leg against AC Milan but winning home 4-0 and qualifying to the semi final eventually losing 0-1 in the aggregate against the 2003-2004 holders Porto.
