Football in El Salvador#League System
{{Short description|none}}
{{Infobox sport overview
| boxwidth = 250
| title = Football in El Salvador
| image =
| imagesize = 240px
| image_alt =
| caption =
| union = Salvadoran Football Association
| country = El Salvador
| sport = association football
| noncountry =
| teamlabel1 =
| nationalteam = Men's national team
| teamlabel2 =
| repteam =
| nickname =
| first = 1862
| registered =
| clubs =
| national_list = Primera División de Fútbol de El Salvador
| club_list =
| intl_list = CONCACAF Champions Cup
CONCACAF Central American Cup
FIFA Club World Cup
CONCACAF Gold Cup (National Team)
CONCACAF Nations League (National Team)
FIFA World Cup (National Team)
CONCACAF Women's Championship (National Team)
CONCACAF W Gold Cup (National Team)
FIFA Women's World Cup (National Team)
| match =
| league =
}}
The sport of football in the country of El Salvador is run by the Salvadoran Football Association. The association administers the national football team, as well as the Primera División de Fútbol de El Salvador, the top level in its league system. Football is the most popular sport in the country.
National team
{{main|El Salvador national football team}}
{{see also|Football War}}
El Salvador qualified for the FIFA World Cup twice, in 1970 and 1982. On both occasions the team was eliminated in the first round after losing all three matches.
A qualifying match against Honduras for the 1970 tournament was so hotly contested that it was the spark that brought a state of war between El Salvador and Honduras. The conflict became known as the Football War.{{cite web |url=http://www.airpower.maxwell.af.mil/airchronicles/aureview/1970/mar-apr/mallin.html |title=Salvador–Honduras War, 1969 The "Soccer War" |publisher=Airpower.maxwell.af.mil |date=1969-06-08 |access-date=2014-08-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131224112605/http://www.airpower.maxwell.af.mil/airchronicles/aureview/1970/mar-apr/mallin.html |archive-date=2013-12-24 |url-status=dead }}{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-09-12-mn-261-story.html |title=Ruling Ends Rift That Started 1969 'Soccer War' : Central America: World Court delivers its judgment in the old territorial dispute between El Salvador and Honduras. Both sides vow to respect the decision. - Los Angeles Times |publisher=Articles.latimes.com |date=1997-10-31 |access-date=2014-08-04}}{{cite news|author=Jere Longman |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/06/26/sports/concerns-rise-as-us-faces-el-salvador-and-its-fans.html |title=Concerns Rise as U.S. Faces El Salvador and Its Fans - New York Times |location=El Salvador |work=The New York Times |date=1997-06-26 |access-date=2014-08-04}}{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/17/opinion/krauze-meditations-on-the-beautiful-game.html?hp&rref=opinion | work=The New York Times | first=Enrique | last=Krauze | title=Meditations on the Beautiful Game | date=2014-06-16}}
The 1982 tournament included a 10-1 mauling from Hungary that provided the most goals in a game in the history of the finals as well as equalling the record for winning margin.
Outside of the World Cup, El Salvador competes regularly at the CONCACAF Gold Cup and the CONCACAF Nations League. Its sole international triumph came in a regional competition, the 1943 CCCF Championship.{{cite web|url=https://www.rsssf.org/tablesc/cccf-concacaf.html |title=CCCF Championship on RSSSF Archive |publisher=Rsssf.com |date=2013-08-09 |access-date=2014-08-04 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120419155942/http://rsssf.com/tablesc/cccf-concacaf.html |archive-date=April 19, 2012 }}
League system
The main league competition in El Salvador is the Primera División de Fútbol de El Salvador. It is fed into by the Segunda División de Fútbol Salvadoreño which in turn is fed into by the Tercera Division de Fútbol Salvadoreño. The most successful team has been C.D. FAS with 18 league titles, followed by C.D. Águila with 14. The top Salvadorean clubs also participate in the CONCACAF Champions League, a competition won by Alianza F.C. in 1967 and C.D. Águila in 1976. Alianza and C.D. Platense Municipal Zacatecoluca have also won the defunct Copa Interclubes UNCAF once each.
| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;" |
| Level
!colspan="12"|League(s)/Division(s) |
|---|
| 1
|colspan="12"|Primera División de Fútbol de El Salvador |
| style="background:#c8c8c8"
| style="width:4%;"| | colspan="9" style="width:96%;"| ↓↑ 1 club |
| 2
|colspan="12"|Segunda División |
| style="background:#c8c8c8"
| style="width:4%;"| | colspan="9" style="width:96%;"| ↓↑ 2 clubs |
| 3
|colspan="12"|Tercera Division |
Football stadiums in El Salvador
| class="wikitable sortable"
!Stadium!!Location!!Capacity!!Tenants!!Image | |||
| Estadio Cuscatlán | San Salvador | 44,836 | El Salvador national football team, Alianza F.C., C.D. Atlético Marte |
| Estadio Óscar Quiteño | Santa Ana | 17,500 | C.D. FAS |
| Estadio Correcaminos | San Francisco Gotera | 12,000 | C.D. Chagüite, C.D. Fuerte San Francisco |
| Estadio Juan Francisco Barraza | San Miguel | 10,000 | C.D. Águila |
| Estadio Las Delicias | Santa Tecla | 10,000 | Santa Tecla F.C. |
