# 2021 Bolivian Primera División

The 2021 Bolivian Primera División season, known as the 2021 Copa Tigo season for sponsorship reasons, was the 44th season of the División Profesional del Fútbol Boliviano, Bolivia's top-flight football league and the fourth season under División de Fútbol Profesional management. The season began on 9 March and ended on 12 December 2021.
Independiente Petrolero won their first title in the tournament following a 3–2 win over Guabirá and a 1–0 loss for The Strongest against Real Santa Cruz on the last day of the season. Always Ready were the defending champions, having won the 2020 Apertura tournament.

## Format

The format for the 2021 season was approved by the 16 División Profesional clubs on 17 February 2021. Given the need to allow clubs qualified for the Copa Libertadores and Copa Sudamericana as well as the national team to fulfill their international commitments, and concerns by the development of the COVID-19 pandemic, it was decided to play a single tournament in the year instead of the usual Apertura and Clausura system. The 16 teams played each other twice in a double round-robin tournament for a total of 30 rounds. The Bolivian Football Federation originally proposed 13 March 2021 as the date to start the competition, but per request from the four clubs that took part in the Copa Sudamericana the date was moved forward to 10 March 2021. The top four clubs at the end of the season qualified for the 2022 Copa Libertadores, with the champions and runners-up entering the group stage, while the next four best-placed teams qualified for the 2022 Copa Sudamericana.

## Teams

16 teams competed in the league for the 2021 season, increasing from 14 since no clubs were relegated at the end of the previous season. Real Tomayapo and Independiente Petrolero, the 2020 Copa Simón Bolívar champions and runners-up, were both promoted for this season. The former competed for the first time in the top tier, while the latter returned after a 17-year absence.

### Stadia and locations

| Team | Manager | City | Stadium | Capacity |
| Always Ready | Pablo Godoy | El Alto | Municipal de Villa Ingenio | 25,000 |
| Atlético Palmaflor | Humberto Viviani | Quillacollo | Municipal de Quillacollo | 6,000 |
| Aurora | Sergio Zeballos (caretaker) | Cochabamba | Félix Capriles | 32,000 |
| Blooming | Rodrigo Venegas | Santa Cruz | Ramón Tahuichi Aguilera | 38,000 |
| Bolívar | Antônio Carlos Zago | La Paz | Hernando Siles | 42,000 |
| Guabirá | Víctor Hugo Antelo | Montero | Gilberto Parada | 13,000 |
| Independiente Petrolero | Marcelo Robledo | Sucre | Olímpico Patria | 30,700 |
| Jorge Wilstermann | Sergio Migliaccio | Cochabamba | Félix Capriles | 32,000 |
| Nacional Potosí | Roberto Mancilla (caretaker) | Potosí | Víctor Agustín Ugarte | 32,105 |
| Oriente Petrolero | Erwin Sánchez | Santa Cruz | Ramón Tahuichi Aguilera | 38,000 |
| Real Potosí | Sebastián Núñez | Potosí | Víctor Agustín Ugarte | 32,105 |
| Real Santa Cruz | David Perdiguero | Santa Cruz | Real Santa Cruz | 14,000 |
| Real Tomayapo | Álvaro Peña | Tarija | IV Centenario | 15,000 |
| Royal Pari | Miguel Ángel Portugal | Santa Cruz | Ramón Tahuichi Aguilera | 38,000 |
| San José | Luis Choque (caretaker) | Oruro | Jesús Bermúdez | 33,795 |
| The Strongest | Christian Díaz | La Paz | Hernando Siles | 42,000 |

### Managerial changes

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
| Always Ready | Omar Asad | No contract signed | 31 December 2020 | Pre-season | Sebastián Núñez | 18 January 2021 |
| Atlético Palmaflor | Xabier Azkargorta | End of contract | 31 December 2020 | Pre-season | Julio César Baldivieso | 7 January 2021 |
| Real Potosí | Cristian Aldirico | End of contract | 31 December 2020 | Pre-season | Alex Pallarés | 5 January 2021 |
| Real Santa Cruz | José Peña | End of contract | 31 December 2020 | Pre-season | Néstor Clausen | 6 January 2021 |
| Aurora | Sergio Zeballos | End of caretaker spell | 31 December 2020 | Pre-season | Humberto Viviani | 1 January 2021 |
| Royal Pari | Miguel Ángel Abrigo | End of caretaker spell | 31 December 2020 | Pre-season | Christian Díaz | 10 January 2021 |
| San José | Arnaldo Mancilla | Replaced | 31 December 2020 | Pre-season | Domingo Sánchez | 18 January 2021 |
| Jorge Wilstermann | Christian Díaz | Sacked | 1 January 2021 | Pre-season | Mauricio Soria | 4 January 2021 |
| Blooming | Gabriel Schürrer | Sacked | 4 January 2021 | Pre-season | Eduardo Villegas | 5 January 2021 |
| Nacional Potosí | Sebastián Núñez | Signed by Always Ready | 8 January 2021 | Pre-season | Álvaro Peña | 11 January 2021 |
| Real Potosí | Alex Pallarés | Health issues | 8 February 2021 | Pre-season | Carlos Fonseca | 9 February 2021 |
| San José | Domingo Sánchez | Sacked | 1 March 2021 | Pre-season | Thiago Leitão | 2 March 2021 |
| San José | Thiago Leitão | Resigned | 29 March 2021 | 16th | Manuel Luizaga (caretaker) | 30 March 2021 |
| Atlético Palmaflor | Julio César Baldivieso | Sacked | 29 March 2021 | 4th | Thiago Leitão | 30 March 2021 |
| San José | Manuel Luizaga | End of caretaker spell | 6 April 2021 | 16th | Marcos Ferrufino | 6 April 2021 |
| Nacional Potosí | Álvaro Peña | Sacked | 8 April 2021 | 6th | Flavio Robatto | 13 April 2021 |
| Always Ready | Sebastián Núñez | Sacked | 10 April 2021 | 3rd | Omar Asad | 13 April 2021 |
| The Strongest | Alberto Illanes | Sacked | 22 April 2021 | 2nd | Luis Orozco (caretaker) | 22 April 2021 |
| Jorge Wilstermann | Mauricio Soria | Resigned | 25 April 2021 | 14th | Marco Sandy (caretaker) | 26 April 2021 |
| The Strongest | Luis Orozco | End of caretaker spell | 26 April 2021 | 1st | Gustavo Florentín | 26 April 2021 |
| Jorge Wilstermann | Marco Sandy | End of caretaker spell | 29 April 2021 | 14th | Diego Cagna | 28 April 2021 |
| Real Potosí | Carlos Fonseca | Sacked | 12 May 2021 | 15th | Armando Ibáñez | 13 May 2021 |
| San José | Marcos Ferrufino | Sacked | 16 May 2021 | 16th | Domingo Sánchez | 17 May 2021 |
| Bolívar | Natxo González | Sacked | 23 May 2021 | 2nd | Vladimir Soria (caretaker) | 23 May 2021 |
| Bolívar | Vladimir Soria | End of caretaker spell | 14 July 2021 | 2nd | Antônio Carlos Zago | 14 July 2021 |
| Real Santa Cruz | Néstor Clausen | Resigned | 21 July 2021 | 14th | David Perdiguero | 22 July 2021 |
| Always Ready | Omar Asad | Sacked | 27 July 2021 | 8th | Pablo Godoy | 29 July 2021 |
| Royal Pari | Christian Díaz | Sacked | 27 July 2021 | 5th | Luis Marín Camacho (caretaker) | 28 July 2021 |
| Real Potosí | Armando Ibáñez | Sacked | 30 July 2021 | 15th | Marco Sandy | 2 August 2021 |
| Royal Pari | Luis Marín Camacho | End of caretaker spell | 3 August 2021 | 5th | Miguel Ángel Portugal | 3 August 2021 |
| Nacional Potosí | Flavio Robatto | Sacked | 4 August 2021 | 6th | Alberto Illanes | 6 August 2021 |
| Real Tomayapo | Horacio Pacheco | Resigned | 8 August 2021 | 12th | Álvaro Peña | 10 August 2021 |
| The Strongest | Gustavo Florentín | Resigned | 15 August 2021 | 1st | Pablo Cabanillas (caretaker) | 15 August 2021 |
| Blooming | Eduardo Villegas | Mutual consent | 19 August 2021 | 14th | Hernán Meske | 19 August 2021 |
| San José | Domingo Sánchez | Resigned | 21 August 2021 | 16th | Óscar Daza | 26 August 2021 |
| The Strongest | Pablo Cabanillas | End of caretaker spell | 21 August 2021 | 1st | Christian Díaz | 19 August 2021 |
| Guabirá | Víctor Hugo Andrada | Sacked | 23 August 2021 | 10th | Víctor Hugo Antelo | 25 August 2021 |
| San José | Óscar Daza | Sacked | 14 September 2021 | 16th | Luis Choque (caretaker) | 16 September 2021 |
| Atlético Palmaflor | Thiago Leitão | Sacked | 15 September 2021 | 7th | Víctor Hugo Andrada | 15 September 2021 |
| Real Potosí | Marco Sandy | Sacked | 18 September 2021 | 15th | Ronald Villafuerte (caretaker) | 18 September 2021 |
| Jorge Wilstermann | Diego Cagna | Resigned | 23 September 2021 | 9th | Sergio Migliaccio | 24 September 2021 |
| Real Potosí | Ronald Villafuerte | End of caretaker spell | 29 September 2021 | 15th | Sebastián Núñez | 29 September 2021 |
| Aurora | Humberto Viviani | Resigned | 17 October 2021 | 12th | Sergio Zeballos | 18 October 2021 |
| Atlético Palmaflor | Víctor Hugo Andrada | Resigned | 1 November 2021 | 9th | Humberto Viviani | 3 November 2021 |
| Nacional Potosí | Alberto Illanes | Resigned | 23 November 2021 | 11th | Roberto Mancilla | 23 November 2021 |
| Blooming | Hernán Meske | Resigned | 27 November 2021 | 15th | Rodrigo Venegas | 28 November 2021 |

#### Notes

* ↑ Originally as caretaker manager, appointed as manager until the end of the tournament on 7 September 2021.
* ↑ Originally as caretaker manager, appointed as manager on a permanent basis on 29 September 2021.
* 1 2 Caretaker manager until the end of the tournament.

## Standings

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Independiente Petrolero (C) | 30 | 20 | 5 | 5 | 59 | 33 | +26 | 65 | Qualification for Copa Libertadores group stage |
| 2 | Always Ready | 30 | 19 | 7 | 4 | 66 | 31 | +35 | 64 | Qualification for Copa Libertadores group stage |
| 3 | The Strongest | 30 | 19 | 6 | 5 | 57 | 24 | +33 | 63 | Qualification for Copa Libertadores second stage |
| 4 | Bolívar | 30 | 16 | 8 | 6 | 63 | 29 | +34 | 56 | Qualification for Copa Libertadores first stage |
| 5 | Royal Pari | 30 | 16 | 3 | 11 | 66 | 45 | +21 | 51 | Qualification for Copa Sudamericana first stage |
| 6 | Oriente Petrolero | 30 | 15 | 6 | 9 | 46 | 29 | +17 | 51 | Qualification for Copa Sudamericana first stage |
| 7 | Jorge Wilstermann | 30 | 15 | 4 | 11 | 64 | 48 | +16 | 49 | Qualification for Copa Sudamericana first stage |
| 8 | Guabirá | 30 | 13 | 5 | 12 | 47 | 47 | 0 | 44 | Qualification for Copa Sudamericana first stage |
| 9 | Atlético Palmaflor | 30 | 11 | 7 | 12 | 42 | 45 | −3 | 40 | |
| 10 | Nacional Potosí | 30 | 10 | 9 | 11 | 45 | 46 | −1 | 39 | |
| 11 | Real Santa Cruz | 30 | 11 | 5 | 14 | 39 | 47 | −8 | 38 | |
| 12 | Aurora | 30 | 9 | 6 | 15 | 40 | 51 | −11 | 33 | |
| 13 | Real Tomayapo | 30 | 9 | 5 | 16 | 28 | 45 | −17 | 32 | |
| 14 | Blooming | 30 | 7 | 5 | 18 | 34 | 56 | −22 | 26 | |
| 15 | Real Potosí (R) | 30 | 7 | 4 | 19 | 30 | 63 | −33 | 25 | Qualification for Relegation play-off |
| 16 | San José (R) | 30 | 0 | 1 | 29 | 9 | 96 | −87 | −11 | Administrative relegation to Bolivian Football Regional Leagues |
* ↑ San José were deducted twelve points as punishment for failing to pay outstanding debts with former players and managers.
* ↑ San José were administratively relegated on 8 December 2021 per ruling by the Bolivian Football Federation's Superior Court of Appeals due to their failure to pay outstanding debts.

## Results

| Home \ Away | CAR | APF | AUR | BLO | BOL | GUA | IPE | WIL | NAC | OPE | RPO | RSC | RTO | RPA | SJO | STR |
| Always Ready | — | 3–2 | 2–0 | 5–1 | 1–1 | 6–1 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 4–0 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 5–0 | 2–1 |
| Atlético Palmaflor | 0–1 | — | 3–2 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 |
| Aurora | 3–4 | 2–1 | — | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 5–0 | 4–1 | 1–2 | 0–8 | 3–0 | 0–1 |
| Blooming | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | — | 2–2 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 4–0 | 2–0 |
| Bolívar | 0–2 | 3–1 | 5–1 | 2–0 | — | 6–0 | 1–0 | 4–0 | 4–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 4–1 | 0–1 |
| Guabirá | 0–0 | 2–0 | 4–0 | 4–2 | 3–1 | — | 2–3 | 3–2 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 3–2 | 4–0 | 0–0 |
| Independiente Petrolero | 1–2 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | — | 5–4 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 4–0 | 2–2 |
| Jorge Wilstermann | 5–2 | 5–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–3 | — | 1–2 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 5–1 | 3–0 | 4–1 | 4–0 | 0–3 |
| Nacional Potosí | 0–2 | 3–2 | 0–0 | 4–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 0–1 | — | 1–0 | 4–2 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 7–1 | 3–4 |
| Oriente Petrolero | 0–0 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 1–3 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 4–2 | 0–0 | — | 2–0 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 2–4 | 4–0 | 2–0 |
| Real Potosí | 3–2 | 1–5 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 0–2 | 1–3 | 0–5 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 2–1 | — | 3–0 | 1–0 | 1–3 | 3–0 | 1–3 |
| Real Santa Cruz | 2–3 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–3 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 4–1 | — | 2–0 | 2–1 | 5–0 | 1–0 |
| Real Tomayapo | 1–0 | 3–3 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | — | 1–4 | 1–0 | 0–0 |
| Royal Pari | 2–1 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 4–3 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 3–2 | 2–0 | 0–3 | 5–0 | 3–2 | 4–2 | — | 6–1 | 0–1 |
| San José | 0–4 | 1–3 | 1–4 | 1–2 | 0–5 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 0–3 | 0–4 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 0–3 | — | 0–1 |
| The Strongest | 1–1 | 4–1 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 7–0 | 5–2 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 2–0 | — |
* ↑ Match cancelled and awarded 3–0 to Jorge Wilstermann due to San José's administrative relegation.
* ↑ Match ended after 9 minutes of play due to the withdrawal of Royal Pari player Kevin Rosas by injury, leaving the team below the minimum number of players required per tournament regulations (seven). The score at the time of suspension was 3–0.

## Top scorers

| Rank | Name | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Martín Prost | Independiente Petrolero | 18 |
| 2 | Carmelo Algarañaz | Always Ready | 17 |
| 3 | Kevin Mina | Guabirá | 16 |
| 4 | Leonardo Ramos | Bolívar | 15 |
| 4 | Jefferson Tavares | Royal Pari | 15 |
| 6 | Edarlyn Reyes | Real Santa Cruz | 14 |
| 7 | Jair Reinoso | The Strongest | 13 |
| 8 | Juan Godoy | Independiente Petrolero | 12 |
| 8 | Sebastián Gularte | Nacional Potosí | 12 |
| 8 | Willie | The Strongest | 12 |
Source: Soccerway

## Relegation/promotion play-off

The relegation play-off was played by:
* Real Potosí (2021 División Profesional 15th place)
* Universitario de Sucre (2021 Copa Simón Bolívar runners-up)
The winners played in the top flight for the 2022 season.
Universitario de Sucre won 6–0 on points and were promoted to Primera División.