# 1948 Campeonato Profesional

The 1948 Campeonato Profesional was the first season of Colombia's top-flight football league. The tournament was started on August 15, with the match Atlético Municipal against Universidad. 10 teams compete against one another and played each weekend until December 19th.

## Background

The creation of the Colombian Football Federation dates back to 1924, but it was not until 1948 that succeeded in organizing a professional tournament. In the tournament 10 teams signed up (each had to pay a fee of 1,000 pesos): one of Barranquilla, two of Bogotá, two of Cali, two of Manizales, two of Medellín and two of Pereira. 252 players were registered as follows: 182 Colombians, 13 Argentines, 8 Peruvians, 5 Uruguayans, 2 Chileans, 2 Ecuadorians, 1 Dominican and 1 Spanish.

## League system

Every team played two games against each other team, one at home and one away. Teams received two points for a win and one point for a draw. If two or more teams were tied on points, places were determined by goal difference. The team with the most points is the champion of the league.

## Teams

* 1. Barranquilla
* 2. Bogotá
* 3. Cali
* 4. Manizales
* 5. Medellín
* 6. Pereira
| Team | City | Stadium |
| América | Cali | Estadio Olímpico Pascual Guerrero |
| Atlético Municipal | Medellín$^a$ | Estadio San Fernando |
| Deportes Caldas | Manizales | Estadio Palogrande |
| Deportivo Cali | Cali | Estadio Olímpico Pascual Guerrero |
| Independiente Medellín | Medellín | Estadio San Fernando |
| Junior | Barranquilla | Estadio Romelio Martínez |
| Millonarios | Bogotá | Estadio El Campín |
| Once Deportivo | Manizales | Estadio Palogrande |
| Santa Fe | Bogotá | Estadio Alfonso López Pumarejo |
| Universidad | Bogotá$^b$ | Estadio Libaré |
* $^a$ Municipal played its home games at Itagüí
* $^b$ Universidad played its home games at Pereira

## Final standings

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Santa Fe (C) | 18 | 12 | 3 | 3 | 57 | 29 | +28 | 27 |
| 2 | Junior | 18 | 11 | 1 | 6 | 48 | 35 | +13 | 23 |
| 3 | Deportes Caldas | 18 | 8 | 4 | 6 | 45 | 40 | +5 | 20 |
| 4 | Millonarios | 18 | 9 | 1 | 8 | 58 | 45 | +13 | 19 |
| 5 | América | 18 | 8 | 2 | 8 | 40 | 31 | +9 | 18 |
| 6 | Atlético Municipal | 18 | 7 | 4 | 7 | 29 | 36 | −7 | 18 |
| 7 | Independiente Medellín | 18 | 7 | 3 | 8 | 37 | 49 | −12 | 17 |
| 8 | Deportivo Cali | 18 | 6 | 4 | 8 | 35 | 41 | −6 | 16 |
| 9 | Once Deportivo | 18 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 32 | 50 | −18 | 14 |
| 10 | Universidad | 18 | 3 | 2 | 13 | 28 | 53 | −25 | 8 |

### Results

| Home \ Away | AME | CAL | DCA | JUN | DIM | MIL | MUN | OND | SFE | UNI |
| América | | 1–0 | 5–1 | 3–0 | 4–0 | 4–0 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 2–1 |
| Deportivo Cali | 4–3 | | 2–2 | 2–4 | 1–1 | 2–4 | 4–1 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 2–5 |
| Deportes Caldas | 1–3 | 3–2 | | 3–1 | 4–1 | 3–0 | 3–1 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 5–2 |
| Junior | 4–2 | 2–0 | 1–0 | | 8–3 | 5–2 | 1–0 | 6–0 | 2–4 | 4–0 |
| Independiente Medellín | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 3–2 | | 3–7 | 2–1 | 5–2 | 2–0 | 5–0 |
| Millonarios | 2–0 | 3–2 | 7–4 | 6–1 | 5–2 | | 3–4 | 6–0 | 1–2 | 4–1 |
| Atlético Municipal | 3–2 | 4–3 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 0–3 | 2–2 | | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 |
| Once Deportivo | 2–1 | 3–1 | 3–5 | 0–2 | 3–3 | 2–1 | 2–2 | | 2–5 | 3–1 |
| Santa Fe | 5–1 | 3–3 | 2–2 | 4–1 | 6–0 | 5–3 | 5–2 | 2–1 | | 6–3 |
| Universidad | 3–2 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 2–3 | 1–2 | 3–2 | 0–0 | 2–3 | 1–4 | |

### Top goalscorers

| Rank | Name | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Alfredo Castillo | Millonarios | 31 |
| 2 | Jesús María Lires | Santa Fe | 20 |
| 3 | Germán Anton | Santa Fe | 18 |
| 4 | Pedro Cabillón | Millonarios | 14 |
| 4 | Jaime Cardona | Deportes Caldas | 14 |
| 6 | Rigoberto García | Junior | 11 |
| 6 | Carlos Arango | Deportes Caldas | 11 |
| 8 | Ricardo López | Universidad | 10 |
| 9 | Ricardo Ruiz | Deportivo Cali | 9 |
| 10 | Octavio Carrillo | Junior | 8 |
Source: RSSSF.com Colombia 1948
* 1948 Campeonato Profesional champion
* Santa Fe 1st title