La Liga

The Primera División (First Division) of the Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional (LFP), commonly known in the English-speaking world as La Liga (, The League), and officially named for sponsorship reasons Liga BBVA (BBVA League) is the top professional association football division of the Spanish football league system. It is contested by 20 teams, with the three lowest placed teams relegated to the Segunda División and replaced by the top three teams in that division. A total of 59 teams have competed in La Liga, nine of which have been crowned champions. Since the 1950s, Real Madrid and Barcelona have dominated the championship. Real Madrid have won the title a record 32 times and Barcelona 21 times. During the 1930s and 1940s and in the last two decades, however, La Liga has seen other champions, including, Atlético Madrid, Athletic Bilbao, Valencia, Real Sociedad, Deportivo, Real Betis, and Sevilla. Real Madrid is the current defending champion.

La Liga is the second best league in the world, trailing the Barclays Premier League according to the yearly ranking of the IFFHS. It is also the second strongest league in Europe over the past five years, according to UEFA's league coefficient. La Liga is one of the most popular professional sports leagues in the world, with an average attendance of 28,286 for league matches in the 2009–10 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 Europe, behind the German Bundesliga and English Premier League.