# Ecuadorian Serie A

The Liga Pro Ecuador Serie A, simply known as the Liga Pro or the Serie A (or the Ecuadorian Serie A to distinguish it from the Italian Serie A and the Brazilian Série A), or as Liga Pro Bet593 for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Ecuador and the highest level of the Ecuadorian football league system. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates a system of promotion and relegation with the Serie B, the lower level of the Primera Categoría. The season runs from February to December and is usually contested in multiple stages.
While initially not a league, the Serie A has its roots in the national championship between the top teams of Ecuador's two regional leagues. For the first nine editions, teams from Guayaquil and Quito qualified to the competition through their professional regional leagues. It abandoned the qualification format to form a proper league in 1967. Since the first edition in 1957, the tournament has been held annually (except 1958 and 1959); the 2005 season had two champions. It was ranked by IFFHS as the 11th strongest football league in the world for 2022, and the 4th strongest league in South America.
Eleven clubs have been crowned Ecuadorian champions, but four teams have a combined total of 55 championships. The most successful club is Barcelona with sixteen titles. LDU Quito are the defending champions.

## Format

The format for the Serie A national championship changes consistently. The most common format is a two-stage tournament, in which teams qualify to a mini-league (Spanish: Liguilla) to determine the champion. The current format was introduced for the 2010 season and consists of three stages. The First and Second Stages each follow the double round-robin format. The winners of each stage play against each other in the Third Stage for the championship. A third-place match also takes place in the Third Stage between the next two-best teams in the aggregate table. If the same team wins both the First and Second Stage, they are automatically the champion. In this case, the second and third best teams in the aggregate table play against each other for runner-up.
Relegation takes place after the Second Stage and is determined using an aggregate table of the first two stages. As well as playing to win the championship and avoid relegation teams also compete for places in the following season's Copa Libertadores and Copa Sudamericana.

## History

All football in Ecuador was played at amateur level until 1950 when the Guayas Football Association (Spanish: Asociación de Fútbol del Guayas [AFG]) turned professional and held its first professional tournament for affiliated clubs (for clubs in Guayaquil). The Professional Football Championship of Guayaquil (Spanish: Campeonato Professional de Fútbol de Guayaquil) was first held in 1951 and was won by Río Guayas. In 1954, the football association in Pichincha (current the Asociación de Fútbol No Amatur de Pichincha [AFNA]) decided to turn professional and hold a professional tournament of their own for their affiliated clubs (for clubs in Quito and Ambato). The first Inter-Andean Professional Championship (Spanish: Campeonato Professional Interandino) was held in 1954 and was won by LDU Quito.
The two tournaments were the top-level football leagues in Ecuador, but the champion of each could not claim to be the national champion. That changed in 1957 when a national football tournament was organized for the winners the two leagues. The first Ecuadorian Football Championship was contested between the champion and runner-up of the 1957 Campeonato Professional de Fútbol de Guayaquil of (Emelec and Barcelona, respectively) and the champion and runner-up of the 1957 Campeonato Professional Interandino (Deportivo Quito and Aucas, respectively). Emelec won the tournament and became the first national champions of football in Ecuador.
No championship was held in 1958 and 1959. The tournament returned in 1960 using the same format as in 1957. This time the field grew from four teams to eight teams. This format continued until 1967 when a number of changes occurred: 1) the regional tournaments were discontinued after the 1967 season; 2) teams contesting the national championship from 1968 onwards were now part of the Primera Categoría; and 3) a second level of Ecuadorian football (Segunda Categoría) was put into play and a system of relegation and promotion began in 1967.
In 1971, the Primera Categoría was divided into two Series: Serie A & Serie B. Serie A was to be the top level of club football, while Serie B was the second, and Segunda the third. Between, 1983–1988, Serie B was merged into the Segunda, but the Serie A continued. Serie B was brought back in 1989, and has stayed as the second level since.
In 2005, the Campeonato Ecuatoriano was divided into two tournaments to crown two champions in one year. The two tournaments were called Apertura and Clausura. The tournament returned to its year-long format in 2006.

## Clubs

A total of 55 clubs have competed in the Serie A since the first season in 1957. Although Barcelona is the only club to have never been relegated, no club has ever played in every season. This anomaly is due to the fact that for the 1964 competition, teams from Guayaquil (including Barcelona and Emelec) declined to participate in the national championship.
The following sixteen clubs will compete in the Serie A during the 2024 season.
| Team | City | Stadium | Capacity |
| Aucas | Quito | Gonzalo Pozo Ripalda | 21,689 |
| Barcelona | Guayaquil | Monumental Banco Pichincha | 57,267 |
| Cumbayá | Quito | Olímpico Atahualpa | 35,258 |
| Delfín | Manta | Jocay | 17,834 |
| Deportivo Cuenca | Cuenca | Alejandro Serrano Aguilar Banco del Austro | 18,549 |
| El Nacional | Quito | Olímpico Atahualpa | 35,258 |
| Emelec | Guayaquil | Banco del Austro Capwell | 40,020 |
| Imbabura | Ibarra | Olímpico | 17,300 |
| Independiente del Valle | Sangolquí | Banco Guayaquil | 12,000 |
| LDU Quito | Quito | Rodrigo Paz Delgado | 41,575 |
| Libertad | Loja | Reina del Cisne | 14,935 |
| Macará | Ambato | Bellavista Universidad Indoamérica | 16,467 |
| Mushuc Runa | Ambato | COAC Mushuc Runa | 8,200 |
| Orense | Machala | 9 de Mayo | 16,456 |
| Técnico Universitario | Ambato | Bellavista Universidad Indoamérica | 16,467 |
| Universidad Católica | Quito | Olímpico Atahualpa | 35,258 |

## Champions by year

Barcelona has won 16 championships, followed by Emelec with 14 titles, El Nacional with 13, LDU Quito with 13 titles, Deportivo Quito with 5 titles, and Deportivo Cuenca, Olmedo, Delfin, Everest, Independiente del Valle, and Aucas with one title each. All the clubs that have won multiple titles have won back-to-back titles at least once. El Nacional and Emelec are the only two clubs to have won three titles in a row, El Nacional has done twice from 1976–1978 and 1982–1984, and C.S. Emelec from 2013-2015.
| Ed. | Season | Season | Champion (Title count) | Runner-up | Third place | Leading goalscorer(s) |
| 1 | 1957 | 1957 | Emelec (1) | Barcelona | Deportivo Quito | Simón Cañarte (Barcelona; 4 goals) |
| – | 1958-1959 | 1958-1959 | No championship held | No championship held | No championship held | No championship held |
| 2 | 1960 | 1960 | Barcelona (1) | Emelec | Patria | Enrique Cantos (Barcelona; 8 goals) |
| 3 | 1961 | 1961 | Emelec (2) | Patria | Everest | Galo Pinto (Everest; 12 goals) |
| 4 | 1962 | 1962 | Everest (1) | Barcelona | Emelec | Iris López (Barcelona; 9 goals) |
| 5 | 1963 | 1963 | Barcelona (2) | Emelec | Deportivo Quito | Carlos Alberto Raffo (Emelec; 4 goals) |
| 6 | 1964 | 1964 | Deportivo Quito (1) | El Nacional | LDU Quito | Jorge Valencia (América (M); 8 goals) |
| 7 | 1965 | 1965 | Emelec (3) | 9 de Octubre | Barcelona | Helio Cruz (Barcelona; 8 goals) |
| 8 | 1966 | 1966 | Barcelona (3) | Emelec | Politécnico | Pio Coutinho (LDU Quito; 13 goals) |
| 9 | 1967 | 1967 | El Nacional (1) | Emelec | Barcelona | Tom Rodríguez (El Nacional; 16 goals) |
| 10 | 1968 | 1968 | Deportivo Quito (2) | Barcelona | Emelec | Víctor Battaini (Deportivo Quito; 19 goals) |
| 11 | 1969 | 1969 | LDU Quito (1) | América de Quito | Aucas | Francisco Bertocchi (LDU Quito; 26 goals) |
| 12 | 1970 | 1970 | Barcelona (4) | Emelec | América de Quito | Rómulo Dudar Mina (Macará; 19 goals) |
| 13 | 1971 | 1971 | Barcelona (5) | América de Quito | Emelec | Alfonso Obregón (LDU Portoviejo; 18 goals) |
| 14 | 1972 | 1972 | Emelec (4) | El Nacional | Barcelona | Nelsinho (Barcelona; 24 goals) |
| 15 | 1973 | 1973 | El Nacional (2) | Universidad Católica | Barcelona | Ángel Marín (América (Q); 18 goals) |
| 16 | 1974 | 1974 | LDU Quito (2) | El Nacional | Deportivo Cuenca | Ángel Liciardi (Deportivo Cuenca; 19 goals) |
| 17 | 1975 | 1975 | LDU Quito (3) | Deportivo Cuenca | Aucas | Ángel Liciardi (Deportivo Cuenca; 36 goals) |
| 18 | 1976 | 1976 | El Nacional (3) | Deportivo Cuenca | Emelec | Ángel Liciardi (Deportivo Cuenca; 19 goals) |
| 19 | 1977 | 1977 | El Nacional (4) | LDU Quito | Universidad Católica | Fabián Paz y Miño (El Nacional; 27 goals) |
| 20 | 1978 | 1978 | El Nacional (5) | Técnico Universitario | Emelec | Juan José Pérez (LDU Portoviejo; 24 goals) |
| 21 | 1979 | 1979 | Emelec (5) | Universidad Católica | Manta Sport | Carlos Miori (Emelec; 26 goals) |
| 22 | 1980 | 1980 | Barcelona (6) | Técnico Universitario | Universidad Católica | Miguel Gutíerrez (América (Q); 26 goals) |
| 23 | 1981 | 1981 | Barcelona (7) | LDU Quito | El Nacional | Paulo César (LDU Quito; 25 goals) |
| 24 | 1982 | 1982 | El Nacional (6) | Barcelona | LDU Portoviejo | José Villafuerte (El Nacional; 25 goals) |
| 25 | 1983 | 1983 | El Nacional (7) | 9 de Octubre | Barcelona | Paulo César (Barcelona; 28 goals) |
| 26 | 1984 | 1984 | El Nacional (8) | 9 de Octubre | LDU Quito | Sergio Saucedo (Deportivo Quito; 25 goals) |
| 27 | 1985 | 1985 | Barcelona (8) | Deportivo Quito | Filanbanco | Juan Carlos de Lima (Universidad Católica; 24 goals) Guga (Esmeraldas Petrolero; 24 goals) |
| 28 | 1986 | 1986 | El Nacional (9) | Barcelona | Técnico Universitario | Juan Carlos de Lima (Deportivo Quito; 23 goals) |
| 29 | 1987 | 1987 | Barcelona (9) | Filanbanco | Audaz Octubrino | Ermen Benitez (El Nacional; 24 goals) Hamilton Cuvi (Filanbanco; 24 goals) Waldemar Victorino (LDU Portoviejo; 24 goals) |
| 30 | 1988 | 1988 | Emelec (6) | Deportivo Quito | LDU Quito | Janio Pinto (LDU Quito; 18 goals) |
| 31 | 1989 | 1989 | Barcelona (10) | Emelec | Deportivo Quito | Ermen Benítez (El Nacional; 18 goals) |
| 32 | 1990 | 1990 | LDU Quito (4) | Barcelona | Emelec | Ermen Benítez (El Nacional; 33 goals) |
| 33 | 1991 | 1991 | Barcelona (11) | Valdez | El Nacional | Pedro Varela (Delfín; 24 goals) |
| 34 | 1992 | 1992 | El Nacional (10) | Barcelona | Emelec | Carlos Muñoz (Barcelona; 19 goals) |
| 35 | 1993 | 1993 | Emelec (7) | Barcelona | El Nacional | Diego Herrera (LDU Quito; 21 goals) |
| 36 | 1994 | 1994 | Emelec (8) | El Nacional | Barcelona | Manuel Uquillas (ESPOLI; 25 goals) |
| 37 | 1995 | 1995 | Barcelona (12) | ESPOLI | El Nacional | Manuel Uquillas (Barcelona; 24 goals) |
| 38 | 1996 | 1996 | El Nacional (11) | Emelec | Barcelona | Ariel Graziani (Emelec; 28 goals) |
| 39 | 1997 | 1997 | Barcelona (13) | Deportivo Quito | Emelec | Ariel Graziani (Emelec; 24 goals) |
| 40 | 1998 | 1998 | LDU Quito (5) | Emelec | Aucas | Iván Kaviedes (Emelec; 43 goals) |
| 41 | 1999 | 1999 | LDU Quito (6) | El Nacional | Emelec | Christian Botero (Macará; 25 goals) |
| 42 | 2000 | 2000 | Olmedo (1) | El Nacional | Emelec | Alejandro Kenig (Emelec; 25 goals) |
| 43 | 2001 | 2001 | Emelec (9) | El Nacional | Olmedo | Carlos Juárez (Emelec; 17 goals) |
| 44 | 2002 | 2002 | Emelec (10) | Barcelona | El Nacional | Christian Carnero (Deportivo Quito; 26 goals) |
| 45 | 2003 | 2003 | LDU Quito (7) | Barcelona | El Nacional | Ariel Graziani (Barcelona; 23 goals) |
| 46 | 2004 | 2004 | Deportivo Cuenca (1) | Olmedo | LDU Quito | Ebelio Ordóñez (El Nacional; 24 goals) |
| 47 | 2005 | Apertura | LDU Quito (8) | Barcelona | El Nacional | Wilson Segura (LDU Loja; 21 goals) |
| 48 | 2005 | Clausura | El Nacional (12) | Deportivo Cuenca | LDU Quito | Omar Guerra (Aucas; 21 goals) |
| 49 | 2006 | 2006 | El Nacional (13) | Emelec | LDU Quito | Luis Miguel Escalada (Emelec; 29 goals) |
| 50 | 2007 | 2007 | LDU Quito (9) | Deportivo Cuenca | Olmedo | Juan Carlos Ferreyra (Deportivo Cuenca; 17 goals) |
| 51 | 2008 | 2008 | Deportivo Quito (3) | LDU Quito | Deportivo Cuenca | Pablo Palacios (Barcelona; 20 goals) |
| 52 | 2009 | 2009 | Deportivo Quito (4) | Deportivo Cuenca | Emelec | Claudio Bieler (LDU Quito; 22 goals) |
| 53 | 2010 | 2010 | LDU Quito (10) | Emelec | Deportivo Quito | Jaime Ayoví (Emelec; 23 goals) |
| 54 | 2011 | 2011 | Deportivo Quito (5) | Emelec | El Nacional | Narciso Mina (Independiente José Terán; 28 goals) |
| 55 | 2012 | 2012 | Barcelona (14) | Emelec | LDU Quito | Narciso Mina (Barcelona; 30 goals) |
| 56 | 2013 | 2013 | Emelec (11) | Independiente del Valle | Deportivo Quito | Federico Nieto (Deportivo Quito; 29 goals) |
| 57 | 2014 | 2014 | Emelec (12) | Barcelona | Independiente del Valle | Armando Wila (Universidad Católica; 20 goals) |
| 58 | 2015 | 2015 | Emelec (13) | LDU Quito | Independiente del Valle | Miller Bolaños (Emelec; 25 goals) |
| 59 | 2016 | 2016 | Barcelona (15) | Emelec | El Nacional | Maximiliano Barreiro (Delfín; 26 goals) |
| 60 | 2017 | 2017 | Emelec (14) | Delfín | Independiente del Valle | Hernán Barcos (LDU Quito; 21 goals) |
| 61 | 2018 | 2018 | LDU Quito (11) | Emelec | Barcelona | Jhon Cifuente (Universidad Católica; 37 goals) |
| 62 | 2019 | 2019 | Delfín (1) | LDU Quito | Macará | Luis Amarilla (Universidad Católica; 19 goals) |
| 63 | 2020 | 2020 | Barcelona (16) | LDU Quito | Independiente del Valle | Cristian Martínez Borja (LDU Quito; 24 goals) |
| 64 | 2021 | 2021 | Independiente del Valle (1) | Emelec | Universidad Católica | Jonathan Bauman (Mushuc Runa/Independiente del Valle; 26 goals) |
| 65 | 2022 | 2022 | Aucas (1) | Barcelona | Universidad Católica | Francisco Fydriszewski (Aucas; 15 goals) |
| 66 | 2023 | 2023 | LDU Quito (12) | Independiente del Valle | Barcelona | Miguel Parrales (Guayaquil City; 16 goals) |
| 67 | 2024 | 2024 | LDU Quito (13) | Independiente del Valle | Barcelona | Álex Arce (LDU Quito; 28 goals) |

## Titles by club

* Teams in bold compete in the Serie A as of the 2024 season.
* Italics indicates clubs that no longer exist or disaffiliated from the FEF.
| Rank | Club | Winners | Runners-up | Winning years | Runners-up years |
| 1 | Barcelona | 16 | 13 | 1960, 1963, 1966, 1970, 1971, 1980, 1981, 1985, 1987, 1989, 1991, 1995, 1997, 2012, 2016, 2020 | 1957, 1962, 1968, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1992, 1993, 2002, 2003, 2005 Apertura, 2014, 2022 |
| 2 | Emelec | 14 | 15 | 1957, 1961, 1965, 1972, 1979, 1988, 1993, 1994, 2001, 2002, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017 | 1960, 1963, 1966, 1967, 1970, 1989, 1996, 1998, 2006, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2016, 2018, 2021 |
| 3 | El Nacional | 13 | 7 | 1967, 1973, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1986, 1992, 1996, 2005 Clausura, 2006 | 1964, 1972, 1974, 1994, 1999, 2000, 2001 |
| 3 | LDU Quito | 13 | 6 | 1969, 1974, 1975, 1990, 1998, 1999, 2003, 2005 Apertura, 2007, 2010, 2018, 2023, 2024 | 1977, 1981, 2008, 2015, 2019, 2020 |
| 5 | Deportivo Quito | 5 | 3 | 1964, 1968, 2008, 2009, 2011 | 1985, 1988, 1997 |
| 6 | Deportivo Cuenca | 1 | 5 | 2004 | 1975, 1976, 2005 Clausura, 2007, 2009 |
| 6 | Independiente del Valle | 1 | 3 | 2021 | 2013, 2023, 2024 |
| 6 | Olmedo | 1 | 1 | 2000 | 2004 |
| 6 | Delfín | 1 | 1 | 2019 | 2017 |
| 6 | Everest | 1 | — | 1962 | — |
| 6 | Aucas | 1 | — | 2022 | — |

### Titles by Province

| Province | Nº of titles | Clubs |
| Pichincha | 33 | El Nacional (13), LDU Quito (13), Deportivo Quito (5), Independiente del Valle (1), Aucas (1) |
| Guayas | 31 | Barcelona (16), Emelec (14), Everest (1) |
| Azuay | 1 | Deportivo Cuenca (1) |
| Manabi | 1 | Delfín (1) |
| Chimborazo | 1 | Olmedo (1) |

## All-time top goalscorers

Ecuadorian Ermen Benítez is the league's all-time top-scorer, having scored 191 goals over 15 season. He is also holds the record for scoring the most goals for one team. The top active goalscorer is Ebelio Ordóñez.
| Rank | Player | Club(s) | Years | Goals | Total goals |
| 1 | Ermen Benítez | El Nacional | 1980–90 | 154 | 191 |
| 1 | Ermen Benítez | Barcelona | 1991–92 | 19 | 191 |
| 1 | Ermen Benítez | LDU Quito | 1993 | 1 | 191 |
| 1 | Ermen Benítez | Green Cross | 1994 | 12 | 191 |
| 1 | Ermen Benítez | LDU Portoviejo | 1995 | 5 | 191 |
| 2 | Jorge Ron | El Nacional | 1972–79 | 94 | 181 |
| 2 | Jorge Ron | Universidad Católica | 1980–84 | 73 | 181 |
| 2 | Jorge Ron | Macará | 1986 | 6 | 181 |
| 2 | Jorge Ron | Aucas | 1987 | 8 | 181 |
| 3 | Ebelio Ordóñez | Técnico Universitario | 1996 | 13 | 159 |
| 3 | Ebelio Ordóñez | El Nacional | 1997–2004; 2006–07 | 137 | 159 |
| 3 | Ebelio Ordóñez | Emelec | 2005 | 0 | 159 |
| 3 | Ebelio Ordóñez | Deportivo Quito | 2008; 2010 | 9 | 159 |
| 4 | Ángel Liciardi | Emelec | 1970–71 | 8 | 154 |
| 4 | Ángel Liciardi | Deportivo Cuenca | 1972; 1974–77 | 132 | 154 |
| 4 | Ángel Liciardi | Barcelona | 1978 | 14 | 154 |
| 5 | Fabián Paz y Miño | El Nacional | 1972–88 | 153 | 153 |