# 2023 Paraguayan Primera División season

The 2023 Primera División season (officially the Copa de Primera Tigo – Ueno 2023 for sponsorship reasons) was the 89th season of the Paraguayan Primera División, the top-flight professional football league in Paraguay. The season consisted of two tournaments, Apertura and Clausura, and it began on 27 January and ended on 1 December 2023. The fixtures for the season were announced on 14 November 2022.
In the Torneo Apertura, Libertad were the champions, clinching their twenty-third title with three matches in hand following a 1–0 win over Olimpia and a 2–1 defeat for Cerro Porteño against General Caballero (JLM) on 20 May. Libertad also won the Torneo Clausura, securing their twenty-fourth league championship with two games in hand and a 1–0 victory over Sportivo Luqueño on 12 November. Olimpia started the season as defending champions, having won the 2022 Clausura tournament.

## Teams

Twelve teams competed in this season: the top ten teams in the relegation table of the 2022 season, and the top two teams in the 2022 Paraguayan División Intermedia (Sportivo Trinidense and Sportivo Luqueño). The promoted teams replaced Sol de América and 12 de Octubre, who were relegated to the second tier at the end of the previous season.
| Pos. | Relegated from 2022 Primera División |
| 11th | Sol de América |
| 12th | 12 de Octubre |
| Pos. | Promoted from 2022 División Intermedia |
| 1st | Sportivo Trinidense |
| 2nd | Sportivo Luqueño |

### Stadia and locations

| Team | City | Stadium | Capacity |
| Cerro Porteño | Asunción | General Pablo Rojas | 45,000 |
| General Caballero (JLM) | Juan León Mallorquín | Ka'arendy | 10,000 |
| Guaireña | Villarrica | Parque del Guairá | 12,000 |
| Guaraní | Asunción | Rogelio Livieres | 6,000 |
| Libertad | Asunción | Tigo La Huerta | 10,000 |
| Nacional | Asunción | Arsenio Erico | 4,000 |
| Olimpia | Asunción | Tigo Manuel Ferreira | 25,000 |
| Resistencia | Asunción | Luis Alfonso Giagni | 11,000 |
| Sportivo Ameliano | Asunción | Martín Torres | 3,000 |
| Sportivo Luqueño | Luque | Feliciano Cáceres | 23,000 |
| Sportivo Trinidense | Asunción | Martín Torres | 3,000 |
| Tacuary | Asunción | Luis Alfonso Giagni | 11,000 |

#### Notes

* ↑ Teams occasionally play their home matches at Estadio Defensores del Chaco in Asunción. Derbies between Cerro Porteño and Olimpia are also usually played at this stadium.
* ↑ Used as home stadium for the season since Resistencia's stadium Estadio Tomás Beggan Correa did not meet APF requirements.
* ↑ Used as home stadium for the season since Sportivo Ameliano's stadium Estadio José Tomás Silva did not meet APF requirements.
* ↑ Used as home stadium for the season since Tacuary's stadium Estadio Toribio Vargas did not meet APF requirements.

### Personnel and kits

| Team | Manager | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
| Cerro Porteño | Víctor Bernay (caretaker) | Puma | Tigo, Visión Banco |
| General Caballero (JLM) | Fabián Ponce (caretaker) | Kappa | Sanatorio San Sebastián |
| Guaireña | Humberto Ovelar | Kyrios | Coopeduc, CLS Remates |
| Guaraní | Pablo de Muner | Kyrios | Tigo |
| Libertad | Ariel Galeano | Puma | Tigo |
| Nacional | Juan Pablo Pumpido | Kappa | Banco Continental, Coca-Cola |
| Olimpia | Francisco Arce | Nike | Tigo, Visión Banco |
| Resistencia | Carlos Recalde | Lotto | Pulp, CPS |
| Sportivo Ameliano | Humberto García | Garcis | Ayres, FerreShop, Slots del Sol |
| Sportivo Luqueño | Julio César Cáceres | Kyrios | Comercial Vírgen del Rosario, Banco Río |
| Sportivo Trinidense | José Arrúa | Saltarín Rojo | Noroda, Lácteos Trébol, Chorti Beef |
| Tacuary | Vinícius Eutrópio | Saltarín Rojo | Argor, Fleming |

### Managerial changes

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
| Torneo Apertura |||||||
| Sportivo Luqueño | Miguel Ángel Zahzú | Resigned | 23 October 2022 | Pre-season | Gustavo Florentín | 27 October 2022 |
| Resistencia | Mario Jara | Sacked | 17 November 2022 | Pre-season | Miguel Ángel Zahzú | 24 November 2022 |
| Sportivo Ameliano | Juan Pablo Pumpido | Resigned | 20 November 2022 | Pre-season | Humberto García | 22 November 2022 |
| Guaraní | Fernando Jubero | Mutual agreement | 24 November 2022 | Pre-season | Hernán Rodrigo López | 24 November 2022 |
| Guaireña | Troadio Duarte | End of contract | 28 November 2022 | Pre-season | Roberto Torres | 30 November 2022 |
| Tacuary | Robert Pereira | Sacked | 3 February 2023 | 12th | Carlos Humberto Paredes | 6 February 2023 |
| Cerro Porteño | Francisco Arce | Sacked | 6 February 2023 | 3rd | Diego Gavilán | 6 February 2023 |
| Cerro Porteño | Diego Gavilán | End of caretaker spell | 11 February 2023 | 3rd | Facundo Sava | 12 February 2023 |
| General Caballero (JLM) | Humberto Ovelar | Sacked | 26 February 2023 | 7th | Troadio Duarte | 27 February 2023 |
| Olimpia | Julio César Cáceres | Sacked | 6 March 2023 | 5th | Carlos Aitor García | 6 March 2023 |
| Resistencia | Miguel Ángel Zahzú | Resigned | 6 March 2023 | 11th | Sergio Órteman | 6 March 2023 |
| Olimpia | Carlos Aitor García | End of caretaker spell | 12 March 2023 | 2nd | Diego Aguirre | 11 March 2023 |
| Tacuary | Carlos Humberto Paredes | Sacked | 27 March 2023 | 12th | Badayco Maciel | 28 March 2023 |
| Guaireña | Roberto Torres | Mutual agreement | 2 April 2023 | 10th | Luciano Theiler | 4 April 2023 |
| Tacuary | Badayco Maciel | End of caretaker spell | 12 April 2023 | 12th | Iván Almeida | 13 April 2023 |
| Resistencia | Sergio Órteman | Sacked | 9 May 2023 | 10th | Carlos Recalde | 9 May 2023 |
| Sportivo Luqueño | Gustavo Florentín | Resigned | 30 May 2023 | 8th | Julio César Cáceres | 31 May 2023 |
| Guaraní | Hernán Rodrigo López | Sacked | 10 June 2023 | 4th | Juan Pablo Pumpido | 9 June 2023 |
| Torneo Clausura |||||||
| Cerro Porteño | Facundo Sava | Sacked | 9 July 2023 | 11th | Víctor Bernay | 9 July 2023 |
| Cerro Porteño | Víctor Bernay | End of caretaker spell | 19 July 2023 | 7th | Diego Gavilán | 19 July 2023 |
| Olimpia | Diego Aguirre | Sacked | 20 July 2023 | 11th | Francisco Arce | 21 July 2023 |
| Guaireña | Luciano Theiler | Sacked | 8 August 2023 | 9th | Humberto Ovelar | 8 August 2023 |
| Guaraní | Juan Pablo Pumpido | Sacked | 13 August 2023 | 9th | Buenaventura Ferreira | 13 August 2023 |
| Nacional | Pedro Sarabia | Sacked | 23 August 2023 | 8th | Juan Pablo Pumpido | 26 August 2023 |
| Guaraní | Buenaventura Ferreira | End of caretaker spell | 27 August 2023 | 6th | Pablo de Muner | 23 August 2023 |
| Tacuary | Iván Almeida | Sacked | 17 September 2023 | 7th | Aldo Bobadilla | 18 September 2023 |
| Cerro Porteño | Diego Gavilán | Sacked | 18 September 2023 | 2nd | Víctor Bernay | 18 September 2023 |
| Libertad | Daniel Garnero | Signed by Paraguay | 20 September 2023 | 1st | Ariel Galeano | 22 September 2023 |
| Tacuary | Aldo Bobadilla | Resigned | 18 October 2023 | 12th | Vinícius Eutrópio | 20 October 2023 |
| General Caballero (JLM) | Troadio Duarte | Sacked | 12 November 2023 | 9th | Fabián Ponce | 13 November 2023 |
* 1 2 3 4 5 Caretaker manager.
* 1 2 Caretaker manager until the end of the season.

## Torneo Apertura

The Torneo Apertura, named "Homenaje al Dr. Marcelo Pecci", was the 127th official championship of the Primera División and the first championship of the 2022 season. It started on 27 January and ended on 11 June.

### Standings

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Libertad (C) | 22 | 16 | 3 | 3 | 39 | 15 | +24 | 51 | Qualification for Copa Libertadores group stage |
| 2 | Cerro Porteño | 22 | 11 | 8 | 3 | 40 | 29 | +11 | 41 | |
| 3 | Sportivo Trinidense | 22 | 11 | 5 | 6 | 34 | 21 | +13 | 38 | |
| 4 | Guaraní | 22 | 8 | 9 | 5 | 29 | 24 | +5 | 33 | |
| 5 | Nacional | 22 | 9 | 6 | 7 | 23 | 21 | +2 | 33 | |
| 6 | Olimpia | 22 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 32 | 26 | +6 | 31 | |
| 7 | Sportivo Ameliano | 22 | 7 | 9 | 6 | 27 | 28 | −1 | 30 | |
| 8 | Sportivo Luqueño | 22 | 6 | 9 | 7 | 27 | 28 | −1 | 27 | |
| 9 | General Caballero (JLM) | 22 | 6 | 6 | 10 | 21 | 28 | −7 | 24 | |
| 10 | Guaireña | 22 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 15 | 31 | −16 | 17 | |
| 11 | Resistencia | 22 | 4 | 5 | 13 | 14 | 35 | −21 | 17 | |
| 12 | Tacuary | 22 | 4 | 3 | 15 | 16 | 31 | −15 | 15 | |

### Results

| Home \ Away | CCP | GCM | GFC | GUA | LIB | NAC | OLI | RES | SPA | SLU | TRI | TAC |
| Cerro Porteño | — | 1–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 4–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–3 | 3–2 | 1–0 |
| General Caballero (JLM) | 2–3 | — | 3–0 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 3–2 | 1–4 | 1–0 |
| Guaireña | 0–2 | 0–0 | — | 2–2 | 0–2 | 1–3 | 1–0 | 1–3 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 |
| Guaraní | 0–3 | 3–1 | 1–1 | — | 0–0 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 0–2 | 1–0 |
| Libertad | 5–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | — | 2–1 | 1–0 | 4–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 |
| Nacional | 2–1 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 1–2 | — | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 |
| Olimpia | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 | — | 4–1 | 1–3 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 4–0 |
| Resistencia | 1–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–4 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 0–3 | — | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 |
| Sportivo Ameliano | 1–2 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–5 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 0–3 | — | 2–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 |
| Sportivo Luqueño | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | — | 2–2 | 2–0 |
| Sportivo Trinidense | 0–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–2 | — | 2–0 |
| Tacuary | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–3 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 1–3 | 3–1 | 0–1 | — |

### Top scorers

| Rank | Name | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Óscar Cardozo | Libertad | 10 |
| 2 | Marcelo Pérez | Sportivo Luqueño | 8 |
| 3 | Pedro Delvalle | Sportivo Trinidense | 7 |
| 4 | Claudio Aquino | Cerro Porteño | 6 |
| 4 | Néstor Camacho | Guaraní | 6 |
| 4 | Lorenzo Melgarejo | Libertad | 6 |
| 4 | Cristhian Ocampos | Nacional | 6 |
| 4 | Elías Sarquis | Sportivo Ameliano | 6 |
| 4 | Iván Valdez | Tacuary | 6 |
| 4 | Héctor Villalba | Libertad | 6 |
Source: Soccerway

## Torneo Clausura

The Torneo Clausura, named "Centenario del Club Tacuary", was the 128th official championship of the Primera División and the second and last championship of the 2022 season. It began on 7 July and ended on 1 December.

### Standings

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Libertad (C) | 22 | 14 | 6 | 2 | 45 | 14 | +31 | 48 | Qualification for Copa Libertadores group stage |
| 2 | Cerro Porteño | 22 | 10 | 10 | 2 | 41 | 21 | +20 | 40 | |
| 3 | Nacional | 22 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 33 | 23 | +10 | 32 | |
| 4 | Guaraní | 22 | 9 | 5 | 8 | 20 | 29 | −9 | 32 | |
| 5 | Olimpia | 22 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 28 | 26 | +2 | 31 | |
| 6 | Tacuary | 22 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 24 | 29 | −5 | 29 | |
| 7 | Sportivo Trinidense | 22 | 7 | 6 | 9 | 34 | 35 | −1 | 27 | |
| 8 | Sportivo Ameliano | 22 | 8 | 3 | 11 | 32 | 34 | −2 | 27 | |
| 9 | General Caballero (JLM) | 22 | 6 | 7 | 9 | 18 | 24 | −6 | 25 | |
| 10 | Sportivo Luqueño | 22 | 6 | 6 | 10 | 24 | 28 | −4 | 24 | |
| 11 | Guaireña | 22 | 6 | 6 | 10 | 29 | 41 | −12 | 24 | |
| 12 | Resistencia | 22 | 5 | 4 | 13 | 20 | 44 | −24 | 19 | |

### Results

| Home \ Away | CCP | GCM | GFC | GUA | LIB | NAC | OLI | RES | SPA | SLU | TRI | TAC |
| Cerro Porteño | — | 2–0 | 1–3 | 4–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 4–1 | 3–2 | 2–0 | 4–1 | 1–1 |
| General Caballero (JLM) | 1–1 | — | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 1–4 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 0–0 |
| Guaireña | 1–4 | 2–1 | — | 2–1 | 1–5 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 4–1 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 1–2 |
| Guaraní | 1–0 | 2–0 | 0–0 | — | 0–3 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 3–2 | 0–3 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 2–0 |
| Libertad | 1–1 | 0–0 | 4–3 | 0–0 | — | 2–0 | 4–0 | 4–1 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 1–2 |
| Nacional | 1–1 | 2–3 | 2–0 | 4–0 | 2–3 | — | 1–0 | 5–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 |
| Olimpia | 0–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 5–3 | 1–3 | 1–2 | — | 0–0 | 4–0 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 1–2 |
| Resistencia | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 3–2 | — | 0–3 | 0–0 | 1–4 | 1–3 |
| Sportivo Ameliano | 0–1 | 1–2 | 4–0 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–2 | — | 0–2 | 0–3 | 2–1 |
| Sportivo Luqueño | 2–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 1–2 | — | 2–1 | 3–1 |
| Sportivo Trinidense | 2–5 | 0–3 | 7–2 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 3–2 | 1–2 | — | 1–1 |
| Tacuary | 1–1 | 3–0 | 1–3 | 0–1 | 0–4 | 0–3 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | — |

### Top scorers

| Rank | Name | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Óscar Cardozo | Libertad | 11 |
| 2 | Gustavo Aguilar | Nacional | 9 |
| 3 | Elvio Vera | Sportivo Ameliano | 8 |
| 4 | Oscar Giménez | Sportivo Trinidense | 7 |
| 4 | Héctor Villalba | Libertad | 7 |
| 6 | Cecilio Domínguez | Cerro Porteño | 6 |
| 6 | Alfio Oviedo | Cerro Porteño | 6 |
| 6 | Kevin Parzajuk | Guaireña | 6 |
| 6 | José Verdún | Guaireña | 6 |
Source: Soccerway

## Aggregate table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Libertad (C) | 44 | 30 | 9 | 5 | 84 | 29 | +55 | 99 | Qualification for Copa Libertadores group stage |
| 2 | Cerro Porteño | 44 | 21 | 18 | 5 | 81 | 50 | +31 | 81 | Qualification for Copa Libertadores group stage |
| 3 | Sportivo Trinidense | 44 | 18 | 11 | 15 | 68 | 56 | +12 | 65 | Qualification for Copa Libertadores second stage |
| 4 | Nacional | 44 | 17 | 14 | 13 | 56 | 44 | +12 | 65 | Qualification for Copa Libertadores first stage |
| 5 | Guaraní | 44 | 17 | 14 | 13 | 49 | 53 | −4 | 65 | Qualification for Copa Sudamericana first stage |
| 6 | Olimpia | 44 | 16 | 14 | 14 | 60 | 52 | +8 | 62 | Qualification for Copa Sudamericana first stage |
| 7 | Sportivo Ameliano | 44 | 15 | 12 | 17 | 59 | 62 | −3 | 57 | Qualification for Copa Sudamericana first stage |
| 8 | Sportivo Luqueño | 44 | 12 | 15 | 17 | 51 | 56 | −5 | 51 | Qualification for Copa Sudamericana first stage |
| 9 | General Caballero (JLM) | 44 | 12 | 13 | 19 | 39 | 52 | −13 | 49 | |
| 10 | Tacuary | 44 | 11 | 11 | 22 | 40 | 60 | −20 | 44 | |
| 11 | Guaireña | 44 | 9 | 14 | 21 | 44 | 72 | −28 | 41 | |
| 12 | Resistencia | 44 | 9 | 9 | 26 | 34 | 79 | −45 | 36 | |
* ↑ Nacional qualified for the Copa Libertadores first stage as the 2023 Copa Paraguay third-placed team.

## Relegation

Relegation is determined at the end of the season by computing an average of the number of points earned per game over the past three seasons. The two teams with the lowest average were relegated to the División Intermedia for the following season.
| Pos | Team | 2021 Pts | 2022 Pts | 2023 Pts | Total Pts | Total Pld | Avg | Relegation |
| 1 | Libertad | 65 | 91 | 99 | 255 | 124 | 2.056 | |
| 2 | Cerro Porteño | 66 | 98 | 81 | 245 | 124 | 1.976 | |
| 3 | Olimpia | 51 | 92 | 62 | 205 | 124 | 1.653 | |
| 4 | Nacional | 50 | 71 | 65 | 186 | 124 | 1.5 | |
| 5 | Sportivo Trinidense | — | — | 65 | 65 | 44 | 1.477 | |
| 6 | Guaraní | 61 | 55 | 65 | 181 | 124 | 1.46 | |
| 7 | Sportivo Ameliano | — | 48 | 57 | 105 | 88 | 1.193 | |
| 8 | Sportivo Luqueño | — | — | 51 | 51 | 44 | 1.159 | |
| 9 | General Caballero (JLM) | — | 51 | 49 | 100 | 88 | 1.136 | |
| 10 | Tacuary | — | 53 | 44 | 97 | 88 | 1.102 | |
| 11 | Guaireña (R) | 44 | 50 | 41 | 135 | 124 | 1.089 | Relegation to División Intermedia |
| 12 | Resistencia (R) | — | 49 | 36 | 85 | 88 | 0.966 | Relegation to División Intermedia |
Source: APF

## Season awards

On 4 December 2023, a ceremony was held at the headquarters of the Paraguayan Football Association in Luque to announce the winners of the season awards (Premios de Primera), who were chosen based on voting by the managers of the Primera División teams, local sports journalists, the APF's Referee Commission, the public, as well as the tournament's official broadcaster Tigo Sports and official statistics.
| Award | Winner | Club |
| Best Player | Óscar Cardozo | Libertad |
| Revelation Player | Romeo Benítez | Guaraní |
| People's Player | Damián Bobadilla | Cerro Porteño |
| Best Goal | Jorge Ortega (against Nacional, Torneo Clausura Round 2) | Tacuary |
| Best Goalkeeper | Martín Silva | Libertad |
| Best Manager | Daniel Garnero | Libertad |
| Best Referee | Juan Gabriel Benítez | Juan Gabriel Benítez |
| Best Assistant Referee | Eduardo Cardozo | Eduardo Cardozo |
| Best VAR Referee | Carlos Paul Benítez | Carlos Paul Benítez |
| Top Scorer | Óscar Cardozo (21 goals) | Libertad |
| Fair Play Team | Libertad | Libertad |
| Most Minutes played by U-18s | Libertad (1560 minutes) | Libertad (1560 minutes) |