# Liga Puerto Rico

The Liga Puerto Rico (LPR) is an amateur football competition organized by the Puerto Rican Football Federation. It is the top division football league on the island. The champion qualifies to participate in the Caribbean Club Shield each season.

## History

Following the absence of a football league in Puerto Rico for the 2017-18 season, the new Liga Puerto Rico was announced via Facebook by the Puerto Rico Football Federation in August 2018. Prior to the announcement, the federation organized a Preparatory Tournament that ran from March until June 2018. Ten teams participated in the tournament which was eventually won by Bayamón FC. The league's official launch event attended by FIFA and CONCACAF delegates was held on August 23, 2018 with the league set to begin play the following month.
The inaugural season saw Metropolitan FA beat Bayamón Fútbol Club in the championship match. The match went to penalty kicks which Metropolitan won 4–1 after a 0–0 draw in regulation time. The second season of the league began but was abandoned because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The league did not name a champion.
Prior to the 2021–22 season the league unveiled a new championship trophy designed by local artist Milton G. Rodriguez. A replica of the trophy, which is almost three feet tall and over one and a half feet wide, will be given to the champions each season while the original will remain with the Puerto Rican Football Federation.

## Competition

Like much of Latin America, Liga Puerto Rico is split into an Apertura and Clausura. Due to the instability of the league, often teams will participate in one half of the season but not the other. Each phase of the season teams play each other twice. After a playoff phase the winner qualifies for the CFU Club Championship.

## Clubs
### Current clubs

A total of eight clubs currently compete in Liga Puerto Rico.
| Team | City | Stadium | Capacity | Founded | Joined | Head Coach |
| Academia Quintana | San Juan | Hiram Bithorn Stadium | 18,000 | 1969 | 2019 | Geymon Fuentes |
| Bayamón Fútbol Club | Bayamón | Bayamón Soccer Complex | 1,000 | 1999 | 2018 | Delfin Ferreres |
| Caguas Sporting FC | Caguas | Parque Villa del Rey | 1,200 | 2016 | 2018 | Jorge Ariel Caraballo |
| Don Bosco FC | San Juan | Parque de Fútbol San Juan Bosco | 1,000 | 1952 | 2023 | Lionel Simonetti |
| Metropolitan FA | San Juan | Parque Reparto Metropolitano | 1,000 | 2012 | 2018 | Jorge Silveti |
| Puerto Rico Sol FC | Mayagüez | Mayagüez Athletics Stadium | 12,175 | 2016 | 2018 | Craig Roberts |
| Guaynabo Gol SC | Guaynabo | Estadio Charlie Fuentes | 1,000 | 2023 | 2023 | Jose Lubary |
| Guayama FC | Guayama | Cancha de Balompié de Guayama | 1,500 | 1959 | 2023 | Milton Ortiz |

### Former clubs

| Team | City | Stadium | Capacity | Founded | Joined | Left |
| Ramey SC | Aguadilla | Pista Atlética Ana Beltrán | 1,500 | 1949 | 2018 | 2020 |
| Club de Balompie Junqueño | Juncos | Parque de Fútbol Colegio Corazón de María | 1,000 | 2004 | 2019 | 2020 |
| Leal Arecibo FC | Arecibo | UPR Arecibo | 1,000 | 2006 | 2019 | 2020 |
| Mirabelli SA | Carolina | Parque de Fútbol Colegio Corazón de María | 1,000 | 2010 | 2018 | 2020 |
| FC Mayagüez | Mayagüez | Pista Atletica Aguadilla | 1,000 | 2003 | 2018 | 2022 |

## Champions

Below is a list of Liga Puerto Rico Champions.
| Season | Champions |
| 2018–2019 | Metropolitan FA |
| 2019–2020 | Canceled due to COVID-19 pandemic in Puerto Rico |
| 2020–2021 | Canceled due to COVID-19 pandemic in Puerto Rico |
| 2021 | Bayamon FC |
| 2022 | Metropolitan FA |
| 2022 Apertura | Metropolitan |
| 2023 Clausura | Metropolitan |
| 2023 Apertura | Academia Quintana |
| 2024 Clausura | Academia Quintana |

## Top goalscorers

| Season | Player | Team | Goal |
| 2018-19 | Josep Becerra | Bayamón | 32 |

## International competition

The following is a list of results for Liga Puerto Rico clubs in international competitions. LPR club scores are listed first.
| Year | Club | Tournament | Round | Opponent | Home | Away | Agg. |
| 2020 | Metropolitan | Caribbean Club Shield | Group stage |
| 2020 | Metropolitan | Caribbean Club Shield | Group stage | Santiago de Cuba | Cancelled | Cancelled | Cancelled |
| 2020 | Metropolitan | Caribbean Club Shield | Group stage | Scholars International | Cancelled | Cancelled | Cancelled |
| 2020 | Metropolitan | Caribbean Club Shield | Group stage | Inter Moengotapoe | Cancelled | Cancelled | Cancelled |
| 2021 | Metropolitan | Caribbean Club Championship | Group stage | Delfines del Este | 3–0 |
| 2021 | Metropolitan | Caribbean Club Championship | Group stage | Real Rincon | 4–0 |
| 2021 | Metropolitan | Caribbean Club Championship | Semi-finals | Inter Moengotapoe | 1–3 |
| 2021 | Metropolitan | CONCACAF League | Preliminary round | Santa Lucía | 0–3 | 1–2 | 1–5 |
| 2022 | Bayamón | Caribbean Club Shield | Group stage | Junior Stars | 3–3 |
| 2022 | Bayamón | Caribbean Club Shield | Group stage | South East | 6–0 |
| 2022 | Bayamón | Caribbean Club Shield | Semi-final | Jong Holland | 2–1 |
| 2022 | Bayamón | Caribbean Club Shield | Final | Inter Moengotapoe | 2–1 |
| 2022 | Bayamón | Caribbean Club Championship | CONCACAF League playoff | Waterhouse | 0–4 |
| 2023 | Metropolitan | Caribbean Club Shield | Group stage | St. Paul's United | 2–0 |
| 2023 | Metropolitan | Caribbean Club Shield | Group stage | Junior Stars | 3–0 |
| 2023 | Metropolitan | Caribbean Club Shield | Group stage | Jong Holland | 2–0 |
| 2023 | Metropolitan | Caribbean Club Shield | Semi-final | Robinhood | 0–5 |
| 2023 | Metropolitan | Caribbean Club Shield | Third place match | Club Sando | 1–6 |
| 2024 | Metropolitan | Caribbean Club Shield | Round of 16 | SWA Sharks FC | 2–0 |
| 2024 | Metropolitan | Caribbean Club Shield | Quarter-finals | Atlético Pantoja | 0–1 |

## Footnotes

* ^ GPS Puerto Rico began playing in the league in 2018 but merged with the newly formed Puerto Rico Surf SC in July 2020.
* ^ As the most recent Puerto Rico champions, Metropolitan FA were automatically entered into the expanded 2021 Caribbean Club Championship after the 2021 Caribbean Club Shield was cancelled because of a COVID-19 breakout in Curaçao.