# 2018–19 Liga Panameña de Fútbol

The 2018–19 Liga Panameña de Fútbol (also known as the Liga Cable Onda) was the 28th season of the Liga Panameña de Fútbol, the top-flight football league in Panama. The season began on 17 July 2017 and was scheduled to end in May 2018. Ten teams competed throughout the entire season.

## Teams

Chorrillo formed with Deportivo Centenario de Coclé and la Universidad Latina de Panamá to become Unión Deportivo Universitario therefore there was no need for a relegation. Taking their place for this season are the overall champions of last season's Liga Nacional de Ascenso, Costa del Este F.C.
| Club | Home city | Stadium |
| Alianza | Panama City | Cancha de Entrenamiento Luis Tapia |
| Árabe Unido | Colón | Armando Dely Valdes |
| Unión Deportivo Universitario | Santiago de Veraguas | Aristocles "Toco" Castillo |
| Costa del Este F.C. | Panama City | Estadio Maracaná |
| Independiente | La Chorrera | Estadio Maracaná |
| Plaza Amador | Panama City | Estadio Maracaná |
| San Francisco | La Chorrera | Estadio Agustín Sánchez |
| Santa Gema | Arraiján | Estadio Agustín Sánchez |
| Sporting San Miguelito | San Miguelito | Cancha de Entrenamiento Luis Tapia |
| Tauro | Panama City | Estadio Rommel Fernandez |

## Managerial changes
### Before the start of the season

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Replaced by | Date of appointment | Position in table |
| Plaza Amador | Juan Carlos García | Sacked | May 2018 | Jorge Santos | May 2018 | th (TBD) |
| Tauro FC | Sergio Angulo | Contract Finished | June 2018 | Juan Carlos García | June 2018 | th (TBD) |
| Arabe Unido | Sergio Guzman | Contract Finished | June 2018 | Carlos Ruiz | June 2018 | th (TBD) |

### During the Apertura season

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Replaced by | Date of appointment | Position in table |
| Tauro F.C. | Juan Carlos García | Sacked | September 2018 | Saúl Maldonado | September 2018 | 10th (Apertura 2017) |
| Sporting San Miguelito | Noel Gutierrez | Mutual Agreement | September 2018 | Gustavo Avila | September 2018 | 9th (Apertura 2017) |
| San Francisco FC | Andres Dominguez | Mutual Agreement | September 2018 | Sergio Angulo | September 2018 | 9th (Apertura 2017) |
| Arabe Unidos | Carlos Ruiz | Sacked | September 2018 | José 'Chicho' Pérez | September 2018 | th (Apertura 2017) |
| UD Universitario | Óscar Upegui | Sacked | September 2018 | Julio Medina | September 2018 | th (Apertura 2017) |

### Between Apertura and Clausura seasons

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Replaced by | Date of appointment | Position in table |
| Independiente FC | Donaldo Gonzales | Sacked | December 2018 | Francisco Perlo | December 2018 | 9th (Apertura 2018) |
| Plaza Amador | Jorge Santos | Sacked | December 2018 | Javier Alvarez | December 2018 | th (Apertura 2018) |
| Alianza | Jair Palacios | Sacked | December 2018 | Alberto Nino Valencia | December 2018 | th (Apertura 2018) |
| CD Universitario | Julio Medina | Sacked | December 2018 | Gustavo Onaindia | December 2018 | th (Apertura 2018) |
| San Francisco FC | Sergio Angulo | Contract not renewed | December 2018 | Gonzalo Soto | December 2018 | th (Apertura 2018) |
| Costa Del Este FC | Angel Sanchez | Contract finished | December 2018 | Carlos Pérez Porras | December 2018 | th (Apertura 2018) |
| Sporting San Miguelito | Gustavo Avila | Sacked | December 2018 | Jair Palacios | December 2018 | th (Pre Season) |

### During the Clausura season

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Replaced by | Date of appointment | Position in table |
| Costa Del Este FC | Carlos Pérez Porras | Sacked | February 2019 | Juan Carlos Fuentes | February 2019 | 10th (Clausura 2019) |
| Santa Gema | Jose Torres | Sacked | March 2019 | Carlos Rivera | March 2019 | 10th (Clausura 2019) |
| CD Universitario | Gustavo Onaindia | Sacked | March 2019 | Donaldo Gonzales | March 2019 | 10th (Clausura 2019) |
| Alianza | Alberto Nino Valencia | Sacked | March 2019 | Celio Garces | March 2019 | 10th (Clausura 2019) |

## Apertura
### Personnel and sponsoring (2018 Apertura)

| Team | Chairman | Head Coach | Kitmaker | Shirt sponsor |
| Alianza | TBD | Jair Palacios | Keuka | Balboa |
| Árabe Unido | TBD | Carlos Ruiz | Kelme | Pizza Hut, Panama Colon, Aguaseo |
| CD Universitario | TBD | Óscar Upegui | Lotto | McDonald's |
| Costa del Este F.C. | | Angel Sanchez | Adidas | McDonald's, Cremoso |
| Independiente | | Donaldo Gonzales | Everlast | Cemento Interoceanico, ECO Moda |
| Plaza Amador | TBD | Jorge Santos | Umbro | Páguela Facil, Frosquito, Mercana |
| Santa Gema | | Mario Anthony "Chalate" Torres | Kelme | ShowPro, PSA Panama |
| San Francisco | Julio Quijano | Andrés Domínguez | Puma | KFC, Banco General |
| Sporting San Miguelito | TBD | Noel Gutierrez | Keuka | Los Andes, URBE, pío Pío |
| Tauro | TBD | Juan Carlos García | Patrick | Touritos, Argos, Caja de Ahorros |

### Standings

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Costa del Este | 18 | 7 | 8 | 3 | 18 | 12 | +6 | 29 | Advance to Playoffs (Semifinals) |
| 2 | Árabe Unido | 18 | 8 | 4 | 6 | 18 | 17 | +1 | 28 | Advance to Playoffs (Semifinals) |
| 3 | Tauro | 18 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 33 | 20 | +13 | 27 | Advance to Playoffs (Quarterfinals) |
| 4 | Plaza Amador | 18 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 15 | 14 | +1 | 25 | Advance to Playoffs (Quarterfinals) |
| 5 | San Francisco | 18 | 7 | 4 | 7 | 19 | 19 | 0 | 25 | Advance to Playoffs (Quarterfinals) |
| 6 | Alianza | 18 | 5 | 8 | 5 | 16 | 17 | −1 | 23 | Advance to Playoffs (Quarterfinals) |
| 7 | Santa Gema | 18 | 5 | 7 | 6 | 20 | 24 | −4 | 22 | |
| 8 | Universitario | 18 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 18 | 23 | −5 | 21 | |
| 9 | Independiente | 18 | 4 | 8 | 6 | 20 | 22 | −2 | 20 | |
| 10 | Sporting San Miguelito | 18 | 3 | 8 | 7 | 17 | 26 | −9 | 17 | |

### Results

| Home \ Away | ALI | ARA | CDE | IND | PLA | SFR | SGE | SSM | TAU | UNI |
| Alianza | — | 0–2 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 |
| Árabe Unido | 1–0 | — | 0–0 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 |
| Costa del Este | 2–2 | 2–0 | — | 3–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 0–3 |
| Independiente | 0–0 | 2–0 | 0–0 | — | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 2–2 |
| Plaza Amador | 1–1 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 1–0 | — | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 |
| San Francisco | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 1–0 | — | 1–2 | 2–2 | 2–3 | 1–1 |
| Santa Gema | 2–0 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–1 | — | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 |
| Sporting San Miguelito | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 1–1 | — | 1–3 | 1–3 |
| Tauro | 2–2 | 4–1 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 5–0 | — | 1–2 |
| Universitario | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–4 | — |

### Playoffs
#### Semifinals

| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| Árabe Unido | 1 – 3 | Tauro | 0 – 2 | 1 – 1 |
| Costa del Este | 4 – 3 | San Francisco | 3 – 1 | 0 – 0 |

##### Second leg

Tauro won 3-1 on aggregate.
Costa del Este won 4-3 on aggregate.

#### Final
## Clausura
### Personnel and sponsoring (2019 Clausura)

| Team | Chairman | Head Coach | Kitmaker | Shirt sponsor |
| Alianza | TBD | Celio Garces | Keuka | Cemento Interoceanico |
| Árabe Unido | TBD | José 'Chicho' Pérez | Kelme | Pizza Hut |
| Unión Deportivo Universitario | TBD | Donaldo Gonzales | Keuka | EGS, NCO |
| Costa del Este F.C. | | Juan Carlos Fuentes | Adidas | McDonald's, Cremoso |
| Independiente | | Francisco Perlo | Everlast | Cemento Interoces, Eco Moda, Las Anclas, Preval |
| Plaza Amador | TBD | Javier Alvarez | Umbro | Balboa |
| Santa Gema | | Carlos Rivera | Kelme | ShowPro |
| San Francisco | Julio Quijano | Gonzalo Soto | Puma | KFC, Canon, Banco General, Balboa |
| Sporting San Miguelito | TBD | Jair Palacios | Keuka | Pio Pio, Los Andes Mall, GMG, Melo |
| Tauro | TBD | Saul Maldonado | Patrick | Publica Amarias, Dominos, Estrella Azul, Argos, Capital Bank |

### Standings

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | San Francisco | 18 | 11 | 5 | 2 | 33 | 15 | +18 | 38 | Advance to Playoffs (Semifinals) |
| 2 | Árabe Unido | 18 | 10 | 5 | 3 | 28 | 17 | +11 | 35 | Advance to Playoffs (Semifinals) |
| 3 | Independiente | 18 | 10 | 4 | 4 | 30 | 18 | +12 | 34 | Advance to Playoffs (Quarterfinals) |
| 4 | Tauro | 18 | 8 | 4 | 6 | 24 | 18 | +6 | 28 | Advance to Playoffs (Quarterfinals) |
| 5 | Sporting San Miguelito | 18 | 8 | 4 | 6 | 21 | 15 | +6 | 28 | Advance to Playoffs (Quarterfinals) |
| 6 | Universitario | 18 | 7 | 4 | 7 | 22 | 22 | 0 | 25 | Advance to Playoffs (Quarterfinals) |
| 7 | Plaza Amador | 18 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 16 | 12 | +4 | 24 | |
| 8 | Costa del Este | 18 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 20 | 18 | +2 | 23 | |
| 9 | Alianza | 18 | 4 | 3 | 11 | 14 | 30 | −16 | 15 | |
| 10 | Santa Gema | 18 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 7 | 50 | −43 | 0 | |

### Results

| Home \ Away | ALI | ARA | CDE | IND | PLA | SFR | SGE | SSM | TAU | UNI |
| Alianza | — | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 0–3 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–3 |
| Árabe Unido | 4–1 | — | 2–0 | 3–3 | 1–1 | 1–4 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–2 |
| Costa del Este | 3–0 | 0–1 | — | 1–2 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–2 |
| Independiente | 2–0 | 0–2 | 0–0 | — | 2–1 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 4–3 | 0–0 |
| Plaza Amador | 1–1 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | — | 0–1 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 |
| San Francisco | 2–2 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 2–1 | — | 3–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 0–0 |
| Santa Gema | 0–4 | 2–3 | 0–3 | 0–3 | 0–1 | 1–3 | — | 0–1 | 1–2 | 2–4 |
| Sporting San Miguelito | 1–1 | 0–0 | 5–2 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 3–0 | — | 1–1 | 1–0 |
| Tauro | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–3 | 3–0 | 2–1 | — | 4–0 |
| Universitario | 3–0 | 1–2 | 0–4 | 1–4 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | — |

### Playoffs
#### Final
## Aggregate table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | San Francisco (Q) | 36 | 18 | 9 | 9 | 52 | 34 | +18 | 63 | CONCACAF League preliminary round |
| 2 | Árabe Unido | 36 | 18 | 9 | 9 | 46 | 34 | +12 | 63 | |
| 3 | Tauro (Q) | 36 | 15 | 10 | 11 | 57 | 38 | +19 | 55 | CONCACAF League round of 16 |
| 4 | Independiente (Q) | 36 | 14 | 12 | 10 | 50 | 40 | +10 | 54 | CONCACAF League round of 16 |
| 5 | Costa del Este | 36 | 13 | 13 | 10 | 38 | 30 | +8 | 52 | |
| 6 | Plaza Amador | 36 | 12 | 13 | 11 | 31 | 26 | +5 | 49 | |
| 7 | Universitario | 36 | 12 | 10 | 14 | 40 | 45 | −5 | 46 | |
| 8 | Sporting San Miguelito | 36 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 38 | 41 | −3 | 45 | |
| 9 | Alianza | 36 | 9 | 11 | 16 | 30 | 47 | −17 | 38 | |
| 10 | Santa Gema (R) | 36 | 5 | 7 | 24 | 27 | 74 | −47 | 22 | Relegated to Liga de Ascenso |
* ↑ As runners-up with better aggregate record (PAN3)
* ↑ As Apertura champions (PAN1)
* ↑ As Clausura champions (PAN2)

## List of foreign players in the league

This is a list of foreign players for the 2018-2019. The following players:
* have played at least one game for the respective club.
* have not been capped for the Panama national football team on any level, independently from the birthplace
* Alianza
* Robyn Pertuz
* Adrian Ararat
* Edwin Grueso
* Mike Campaz
* Yeferson Paz
* Mauricio Castaño
* Giandemir Jaen Ríos
* Arabe Unido
* Faber Gil
* Raul Peñaranda
* Mauricio Castaño
* Miguel Lloyd
* Johnatan Mosquera
* Chosta del Este FC
* Daniel Blanco
* Ariel Bonilla x
* Andres Escobar x
* David Loaiza x
* Julian Munoz x
* Independiente
* David Uribe x
* Gerardo Negrete x
* Arichel Hernandez x
* Gustavo Bolivar
* Abel Marcovecchio x
* Plaza Amador
* Nicolás Parodi
* José Tamburell
* Santa Gema
* Juan Cano x
* Jhoan Romero x
* Milton Segura x
* San Francisco FC
* Emerson Hurtado
* Cristian Pérez
* Humberto Mendoza
* Sporting San Miguelito
* Wilmer Largacha
* Jorge Sandoval x
* Daniel Cano
* Tauro FC
* Alexander Amut
* Gustavo Chara
* Juan Andrés Balanta
* Santiago Feuillassier
* UD Universitario
* Gianfranco Cao
* Cristian Fabbiani
* Oliver Fula
* Richard Okunorobo
(player released mid season) (player released during Apertura and Clausura)