# 2006 Categoría Primera B season

The 2006 Categoría Primera B season, officially known as the 2006 Copa Premier for sponsorship reasons, was the 17th season of Colombia's second tier football league Categoría Primera B since its founding. The competition began on 11 February and ended on 29 November 2006. La Equidad were the champions, winning both of the season's short tournaments to claim their first Primera B title as well as promotion to Categoría Primera A.

## Format

The season was divided into two tournaments: Torneo I and Torneo II. In both tournaments, the 18 participating teams were drawn into two groups of nine teams each, with teams playing all teams in their group as well as one team from the other group twice. In Torneo I, the groups were formed by geographical criteria, grouping nearby teams, while in the second tournament of the season, geographical rivals were assigned to different groups. The top two teams of each group advanced to a final group stage which was also played in a double round-robin fashion. The winners of both of the season's tournaments would face each other in the season's grand final, with the champion being promoted at the end of the season and the runner-up playing the promotion/relegation playoff, which was implemented starting from this season.

## Teams

18 teams took part in the competition in this season. The 2005 Primera B champions Cúcuta Deportivo, who were promoted to Categoría Primera A, were replaced by Unión Magdalena, relegated from the top flight in the previous season. Prior to the start of the season, Florida Soccer was sold and moved to Montería, becoming Córdoba F.C., Bello F.C. was renamed Atlético Bello, and Dépor F.C. relocated from Cartago, Valle del Cauca to Jamundí, in the same department.
| Club | City | Stadium | Capacity |
| Academia | Bogotá | Compensar | 4,500 |
| Alianza Petrolera | Barrancabermeja | Daniel Villa Zapata | 8,000 |
| Atlético Bello | Bello | Tulio Ospina | 12,000 |
| Bajo Cauca | Caucasia | Orlando Aníbal Monroy | 4,000 |
| Barranquilla | Barranquilla | Romelio Martínez | 10,000 |
| Bogotá | Bogotá | Alfonso López Pumarejo | 12,000 |
| Centauros | Villavicencio | Manuel Calle Lombana | 15,000 |
| Córdoba | Cereté | Alberto Saibis Saker | 12,000 |
| Cortuluá | Tuluá | Doce de Octubre | 16,000 |
| Dépor | Jamundí | Cacique Jamundí | 3,500 |
| Deportivo Rionegro | Rionegro | Alberto Grisales | 14,000 |
| Expreso Rojo | Sincelejo | Arturo Cumplido Sierra | 5,000 |
| Expreso Rojo | Cartagena | Pedro de Heredia | 10,000 |
| Girardot | Girardot | Luis Antonio Duque Peña | 15,000 |
| La Equidad | Soacha | Luis Carlos Galán Sarmiento | 8,000 |
| Patriotas | Tunja | La Independencia | 8,500 |
| Pumas de Casanare | Yopal | Santiago de las Atalayas | 10,000 |
| Unión Magdalena | Santa Marta | Eduardo Santos | 22,000 |
| Valledupar | Valledupar | Armando Maestre Pavajeau | 10,000 |

### Notes

* ↑ Temporary home stadium for the Torneo I due to remodeling works at Estadio Pedro de Heredia.

## Torneo I
### First stage
#### Group A

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Unión Magdalena | 18 | 12 | 4 | 2 | 27 | 9 | +18 | 40 | Advance to Cuadrangular Final |
| 2 | Valledupar | 18 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 17 | 18 | −1 | 30 | Advance to Cuadrangular Final |
| 3 | Bajo Cauca | 18 | 8 | 3 | 7 | 17 | 19 | −2 | 27 | |
| 4 | Córdoba | 18 | 5 | 8 | 5 | 19 | 22 | −3 | 23 | |
| 5 | Alianza Petrolera | 18 | 6 | 4 | 8 | 19 | 17 | +2 | 22 | |
| 6 | Expreso Rojo | 18 | 5 | 7 | 6 | 18 | 19 | −1 | 22 | |
| 7 | Deportivo Rionegro | 18 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 14 | 21 | −7 | 19 | |
| 8 | Atlético Bello | 18 | 3 | 7 | 8 | 13 | 23 | −10 | 16 | |
| 9 | Barranquilla | 18 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 17 | 21 | −4 | 15 | |

#### Group B

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | La Equidad | 18 | 11 | 3 | 4 | 24 | 15 | +9 | 36 | Advance to Cuadrangular Final |
| 2 | Academia | 18 | 10 | 4 | 4 | 29 | 13 | +16 | 34 | Advance to Cuadrangular Final |
| 3 | Dépor | 18 | 9 | 3 | 6 | 23 | 19 | +4 | 30 | |
| 4 | Patriotas | 18 | 7 | 8 | 3 | 28 | 17 | +11 | 29 | |
| 5 | Cortuluá | 18 | 7 | 8 | 3 | 26 | 23 | +3 | 29 | |
| 6 | Centauros | 18 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 12 | 15 | −3 | 21 | |
| 7 | Girardot | 18 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 21 | 28 | −7 | 17 | |
| 8 | Bogotá | 18 | 3 | 5 | 10 | 12 | 26 | −14 | 14 | |
| 9 | Pumas de Casanare | 18 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 22 | 33 | −11 | 13 | |

### Cuadrangular Final

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | EQU | VAL | ACA | MAG |
| 1 | La Equidad | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 3 | +3 | 12 | Advance to the Finals | — | 2–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 |
| 2 | Valledupar | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 9 | 9 | 0 | 8 | | 1–1 | — | 3–1 | 2–0 |
| 3 | Academia | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 5 | +1 | 7 | | 0–1 | 3–0 | — | 2–0 |
| 4 | Unión Magdalena | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 8 | −4 | 5 | | 1–1 | 2–2 | 1–0 | — |

## Torneo II
### First stage
#### Group A

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Centauros | 18 | 9 | 7 | 2 | 28 | 17 | +11 | 34 | Advance to Cuadrangular Final |
| 2 | Deportivo Rionegro | 18 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 24 | 17 | +7 | 29 | Advance to Cuadrangular Final |
| 3 | Valledupar | 18 | 8 | 4 | 6 | 23 | 18 | +5 | 28 | |
| 4 | Academia | 18 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 22 | 21 | +1 | 25 | |
| 5 | Bajo Cauca | 18 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 28 | 25 | +3 | 23 | |
| 6 | Unión Magdalena | 18 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 23 | 29 | −6 | 23 | |
| 7 | Dépor | 18 | 6 | 3 | 9 | 17 | 25 | −8 | 21 | |
| 8 | Bogotá | 18 | 5 | 5 | 8 | 22 | 26 | −4 | 20 | |
| 9 | Girardot | 18 | 3 | 9 | 6 | 25 | 25 | 0 | 18 | |

#### Group B

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Cortuluá | 18 | 12 | 4 | 2 | 31 | 14 | +17 | 40 | Advance to Cuadrangular Final |
| 2 | La Equidad | 18 | 10 | 5 | 3 | 30 | 19 | +11 | 35 | Advance to Cuadrangular Final |
| 3 | Barranquilla | 18 | 10 | 3 | 5 | 39 | 26 | +13 | 33 | |
| 4 | Pumas de Casanare | 18 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 28 | 22 | +6 | 29 | |
| 5 | Patriotas | 18 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 21 | 21 | 0 | 21 | |
| 6 | Alianza Petrolera | 18 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 16 | 26 | −10 | 19 | |
| 7 | Córdoba | 18 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 16 | 33 | −17 | 19 | |
| 8 | Atlético Bello | 18 | 3 | 4 | 11 | 19 | 35 | −16 | 13 | |
| 9 | Expreso Rojo | 18 | 2 | 5 | 11 | 16 | 29 | −13 | 11 | |

### Cuadrangular Final

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | EQU | COR | CEN | RIO |
| 1 | La Equidad | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 12 | 6 | +6 | 11 | Advance to the Finals | — | 3–0 | 3–0 | 4–3 |
| 2 | Cortuluá | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 10 | | 1–0 | — | 1–2 | 2–0 |
| 3 | Centauros | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 9 | −4 | 8 | | 1–1 | 1–1 | — | 1–0 |
| 4 | Deportivo Rionegro | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 9 | −2 | 4 | | 1–1 | 0–1 | 3–0 | — |

## Finals

The final series was canceled after La Equidad won the season's two short tournaments, promoting directly to Categoría Primera A.
* Copa Premier 2006 champions
* La Equidad 1st title

## Runners-up playoff

Given the cancellation of the final series, a playoff series between Valledupar and Cortuluá, runners-up of the Torneo I and Torneo II, respectively, was played to decide the team that would advance to the promotion/relegation playoff.
Valledupar won 3–2 on aggregate and advanced to the promotion/relegation playoff.

## Promotion/relegation playoff

As the second worst team in the 2006 Categoría Primera A season's relegation table, Atlético Huila had to play a two-legged tie against Valledupar, the runners-up playoff winner. Atlético Huila played the second leg at home as the Primera A team. The winner would be promoted or remain in Primera A for the 2007 season, while the loser would be relegated or remain in Primera B.
Atlético Huila won 3–0 on aggregate and both teams remained in their respective leagues.

## Top scorers

| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Eric Cantillo | Pumas de Casanare | 22 |
| 2 | Fredys Arrieta | Barranquilla | 21 |
| 3 | Roberto Polo | Cortuluá | 19 |
| 4 | Mario Sergio Angulo | Unión Magdalena | 16 |
Source: Historia del Fútbol Profesional Colombiano 70 Años