Primera Federación

For the Spanish second tier women's league, see Primera Federación (women).

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.

Primera Federación

Organising body	RFEF
Founded	2020 (2020)
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

History

In 2020, the Royal Spanish Football Federation announced the creation of three new divisions, two semi-professional and one amateur: the Primera División RFEF as the new third tier of the Spanish system; 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.

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.

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 division's championship trophy, on display before the first leg of the 2024 final

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.

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:
Amorebieta
Barakaldo
Bilbao Athletic
Real Sociedad B
Real Unión
Sestao River

Celta Fortuna

C. Leonesa

Gimnàstic

Segoviana

Lugo

Osasuna B

Ourense

Ponferradina

Tarazona

Unionistas

Zamora

Alcorcón

Alcoyano

Algeciras

Antequera

Atlético B

Sanluqueño

Betis Dep.

Ceuta

Fuenlabrada

Hércules

Ibiza

Intercity

Marbella

Mérida

Murcia

RM Castilla

Recreativo

Sevilla At.

Villarreal B

Yeclano

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Location of teams in 2024–25 Primera Federación
Red: Group 1; Green: Group 2

Amorebieta

Barakaldo

Bilbao Ath.

Real Sociedad B

Real Unión

Sestao River

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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

External links

• Official website RFEF (in Spanish)