Football in Guatemala
Football in Guatemala | |
---|---|
Country | Guatemala |
Governing body | Liga Nacional de Fútbol de Guatemala |
National team(s) | Men's national team Women's national team |
National competitions | |
Club competitions | |
International competitions | |
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) |
Local tournaments
The first clubs of the country were established in the capital Guatemala City, where a second football club was founded with Olympic FC at the beginning of the 20th century. These two teams started the first competition with the Copa Centroamericana between 28 August and 30 October 1904, and they were conceded exclusively between these two teams, who competed ten times against each other. With six wins and a draw against three defeats, the younger Olympic FC won this first match. The second competition took place between October 1905 and February 1906 and was contested by a total of three teams. Once again, Olympic FC went through, but the Guatemala FC "defended" second place in front of the newly added team of the Gay SC. After that, other tournaments were played out as of 1911 under the new name Copa Manuel Estrada Cabrera. The first tournament won the Gay SC, but in the years 1913 and 1914 the Guatemala FC finally entered the winner list
Soon football reached the second largest city in the country, Quetzaltenango, where Quetzaltenango FC was founded in May 1906.[3]
In 1919 the League Capitalina was launched and the first Campeonato Nacional was played, which was won by the Hércules FC.
With the establishment of the Campeonato de Liga for the season 1942/43, professional football was introduced in Guatemala. Since then the country's football has been dominated by the two major rivals from Guatemala City,
International competitions
Club football
Comunicaciones won the final in the first tournament in 1962, where they also failed against the Mexican neighbor
National team
The Guatemalan national soccer team celebrated their best result so far with fourth place at the 1996 CONCACAF Gold Cup.
The only notable title the national team won was the 1967 CONCACAF Championship against neighbors Mexico.
The qualification for a FIFA World Cup has not yet been achieved, but the Olympics have been played, in 1968, 1976, and 1988, achieving its best result in its first participation by arriving to the quarter-finals.
League system
Level | League(s)/Division(s) | |||||||||||
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1 | Liga Nacional 12 clubs | |||||||||||
↓↑ 2 clubs | ||||||||||||
2 | Primera División 20 clubs divided in 2 series of 10 | |||||||||||
↓↑ 3 clubs | ||||||||||||
3 | Segunda División 40 clubs divided in 5 series of 8 clubs | |||||||||||
4 | Tercera División 92 clubs divided in 16 series, one of 7 clubs, ten of 6 clubs, two of 5 clubs, one of 4 clubs and two of 3 clubs |
Stadiums in Guatemala
# | Stadium | Sport | Capacity | Tenants | Image |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Estadio Doroteo Guamuch Flores | Football | 26,000 | Guatemala national football team, Comunicaciones F.C. | |
2 | Estadio Israel Barrios | Football | 20,000 | Deportivo Coatepeque | |
3 | Estadio Verapaz | Football | 15,000 | Cobán Imperial
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4 | Estadio Cementos Progreso | Football | 14,022 | Aurora F.C. | |
5 | Estadio Mario Camposeco | Football | 11,220 | C.S.D. Xelajú MC | |
6 | Estadio Carlos Salazar Hijo | Football | 10,000 | C.D. Suchitepéquez | |
7 | Estadio Pensativo | Football | 10,000 | Antigua GFC |
See also
References
- ^ "Yanks Abroad: Bernardo Carries On in Guatemala". Jon Arnold. 23 September 2012. Retrieved 1 April 2014.
- ^ Hennessy-Fiske, Molly (30 June 2008). "Guatemalan women kick aside constraints in the U.S." latimes.com. Retrieved 1 April 2014.
- ^ Guterman, Tulio. "Génesis del fútbol en Guatemala (1902-1921)". Retrieved 14 April 2017.