The third tier of the

Bolivian football league system The Bolivian football league system is a series of interconnected leagues for association football clubs in Bolivia. Overview At the top is the ''División de Fútbol Profesional Boliviano'' (first division) with 14 clubs. Below the 1st level is t ...

consists of nine regional leagues (one for each department); the number of participants varies depending on the department. It usually has between 8 and 12 teams. The winner and the runner-up of each league compete in the Copa Simón Bolívar, with the winner of such tournament gaining promotion to the 1st Division, and the runner-up playing a play-off match with the last two placed teams in the First Division. Until 1976, all 8 regional championships ( Pando didn't have an organized tournament at the time) were the top division of the national football pyramid, with the winner of the Copa Simón Bolívar being crowned as national champion. The oldest regional championship is the one played in La Paz. It started in 1914 and it was considered for many years as the top Bolivian league, especially when it turned into a semi-professional tournament in 1950 and started to include teams from

Oruro Oruro (Hispanicized spelling) or Uru Uru is a city in Bolivia with a population of 264,683 (2012 calculation), about halfway between La Paz and Sucre in the Altiplano, approximately above sea level. It is Bolivia's fifth-largest city by pop ...

and

Cochabamba Cochabamba ( ay, Quchapampa; qu, Quchapampa) is a city and municipality in central Bolivia in a valley in the Andes mountain range. It is the capital of the Cochabamba Department and the fourth largest city in Bolivia, with a population of 63 ...

Copa Simón Bolívar

The tournament started in 1960. Initially, only champions from La Paz, Cochabamba, Oruro and Santa Cruz participated. In later years, teams from other associations joined the cup, and the tournament eventually also had runners-up participating. Until 1976, with the lack of a nationwide league, the cup determined the national champion and representative teams for the

Copa Libertadores The CONMEBOL Libertadores, also known as the Copa Libertadores de América ( pt, Copa Libertadores da América), is an annual international club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 1960. It is the highest level of competition in S ...

. With the creation of the

Liga de Fútbol Profesional Boliviano Liga or LIGA may refer to: People * Līga (name), a Latvian female given name * Luciano Ligabue, more commonly known as Ligabue or ''Liga'', Italian rock singer-songwriter Sports * Liga ACB, men's professional basketball league in Spain * Liga ...

, the Bolivian FA stopped organizing the tournament. In 1989, the tournament was resurrected, with the same format of both champions and runners-up from each association, but this time each regional league was the second tier on the football pyramid so the champion was supposed to be awarded a place in the professional league. Previously, the last placed team in the 1st division was replaced by the regional champion of its department. However, that practice was kept until 1993 when finally the champion was awarded a spot in the top league. The competition format changes frequently. In 2008, the teams were divided into three groups of six teams, to save costs. Geographically close teams were teamed up and played on a home-away round-robin basis, with group 1 consisting of teams from La Paz, Oruro and Cochabamba; group 2 of teams from Potosí, Chuquisaca and Tarija, and group 3 of teams from Santa Cruz, Beni and Pando. The top two placed teams advanced to the next round, now playing play-offs on home-away basis, the three winners and the best loser advanced to the semifinals and then the final.

Liga Nacional B

It was announced by LFPB that, due to the change of football in First Division, Copa Simon Bolivar would be replaced by Liga Nacional B which consists of thirteen clubs, the champions from each department except for Tarija which would have two clubs (Champions and runner-up), the last two relegated teams from First division and the winners of Torneo Nacional Provincial. La Paz Football Association and Oruro Football Association Championship were against this change, however the National Football Association and

Bolivian Football Federation The Bolivian Football Federation ( es, Federación Boliviana de Fútbol, ; FBF) is the governing body of football in Bolivia. It was founded in 1925, making it the eighth oldest South American federation. It affiliated to CONMEBOL and FIFA in 192 ...

approved this change in Bolivian Football.

List of Regional Championships

Beni Football Association Championship

Chuquisaca Football Association Championship

Cochabamba Football Association Championship

La Paz Football Association Championships

*1914 :

The Strongest Club The Strongest is a Bolivian professional football club based in La Paz, that currently plays in the Bolivian Primera División. Founded in 1908, their team colours are yellow and black. Although they have a home ground, Estadio Rafae ...

*1915 : Colegio Militar *1916 :

*1917 :

*1918-21 : ''No competition'' *1922 :

*1923 :

*1924 :

*1925 :

*1926 : ''No competition'' *1927 : Nimbles Sport *1928 : Colegio Militar *1929 : Universitario (La Paz) *1930 :

*1931 : Nimbles Sport *1932 : Bolívar *1933 : ''No competition'' *1934 : ''No competition'' *1935 :

*1936 : Ayacucho *1937 : Bolívar *1938 :

*1939 : Bolívar *1940 : Bolívar *1941 : Bolívar *1942 : Bolívar *1943 :

*1944 : Ferroviario *1945 :

*1946 :

*1947 : CD Lítoral *1948 : CD Lítoral *1949 : CD Lítoral *1950 : Bolívar *1951 : Always Ready *1952 :

*1953 : Bolívar *1954 : CD Litoral *1955 : San José *1956 : Bolívar *1957 : Always Ready *1958 : Wilstermann *1959 : Wilstermann *1960 : Wilstermann *1961 :

Deportivo Municipal Club Centro Deportivo Municipal, commonly known as Deportivo Municipal, is a Peruvian football club based in Lima, Peru. They are among Peru's most recognizable clubs and enjoy considerable popularity. The bulk of their success was won a few ye ...

*1962 : Chaco Petrolero *1963 :

*1964 :

*1965 : Municipal *1966 : Bolívar *1967 : Bolívar *1968 : Always Ready *1969 : Bolívar *1970 :

*1971 :

*1972 :

Litoral The littoral zone or nearshore is the part of a sea, lake, or river that is close to the shore. In coastal ecology, the littoral zone includes the intertidal zone extending from the high water mark (which is rarely inundated), to coastal area ...

*1973 : Municipal *1974 :

*1975 : 31 De Octubre *1976 : Bolívar *1977 : 31 De Octubre *1978 : 31 De Octubre *1979 : ''No competition'' *1980 : Unión Maestranza *1981 : Chaco Petrolero *1982 : Mariscal Braun *1983 : Litoral *1984 : ''No competition'' *1985 : ''No competition'' *1986 : Always Ready *1987 : Chaco Petrolero *1988 : Mariscal Braun 1989 To Present

Oruro Football Association Championship

Pando Football Association Championship

Potosí Football Association Championship

Santa Cruz Football Association Championship

Tarija Football Association Championship

References

External links

* http://www.rsssf.com/ * http://www.actiweb.es/5cienty/8.html {{Football in Bolivia 3 Bol