The Primera Federación, officially the Primera Federación Versus e-Learning for sponsorship reasons (formerly known as Primera RFEF), is the third tier of the Spanish football league system beginning with the 2021–22 season. It is administered by the Royal Spanish Football Federation. It is below the top two professional leagues, the Primera División (also known as La Liga) and Segunda División (also known as La Liga Hypermotion), above the Segunda Federación and Tercera Federación. It is the highest level of semi-professional football in Spain.
History In 2020, the Royal Spanish Football Federation announced the creation of three new divisions, two semi-professional and one amateur: the Primera División RFEF as the new third tier of the Spanish system; the Segunda División RFEF as the new fourth tier, broadly using the same format as the Segunda División B created in 1977; and the Tercera División RFEF as the fifth tier, along the same lines as the Tercera División from 1977 whereby groups are limited to teams from each of the nation's autonomous communities and is administered by a local body.
On 30 June 2022, after just one season of existence, Primera División RFEF was renamed to Primera Federación.
League format As of 2024–25 season, the Primera Federación is made up of 40 clubs divided into two groups of 20 teams distributed by geographical proximity, initially with a north-west/south-east split. The competition is divided in two phases, the first of which corresponds to the regular phase and the second to the two-legged First Federation play-off.
The regular phase is made up of a total of 38 matchdays in which the participating clubs play each other over two legs. The clubs that qualify in first place in each of the two groups will be promoted directly to the Segunda División. The clubs that qualify in the second to fifth places in each of the two groups will participate in the First Federation play-off through the direct elimination system. The two winning clubs in each of the finals will be promoted, along with the top finishers in each group, to the Segunda División. On the other hand, the teams that occupy the sixteenth to twentieth places in each of the groups will be relegated to the Segunda Federación.
Champion
The two group winners play the final of the tournament. The winner obtains direct qualification to the Copa del Rey second round, as well as receiving the Primera Federación champion trophy.
Reserve teams eligibility Reserve teams can participate in the Primera Federación if their first teams compete in a higher division, but cannot compete in the same division. If a team is relegated or promoted to the same division, the reserve team will be denied promotion or automatically relegated to ensure they remain one division separate.
Clubs
The member clubs of the Primera Federación for the 2026–27 season are listed below. Group 1 Group 2 Arenas Avilés Industrial Barakaldo Bilbao Athletic Cacereño Coria Cultural Leonesa Deportivo Fabril Extremadura UD Logroñés Lugo Mérida Mirandés UD Ourense Ponferradina Pontevedra Racing Ferrol Real Unión Unionistas Zamora Águilas Alcorcón Algeciras Antequera Atlético Madrileño Cartagena Europa Gimnàstic Hércules Huesca Ibiza Jaén Juventud Torremolinos Murcia Rayo Majadahonda Real Madrid Castilla Sant Andreu Teruel Villarreal B Zaragoza
Seasons
SeasonGroup 1 winnerGroup 2 winnerOther promoted teams2021–22 Racing Santander Andorra Albacete and Villarreal B2022–23 Racing FerrolAmorebieta Alcorcón and Eldense2023–24 Deportivo La CoruñaCastellón Málaga and Córdoba2024–25 Cultural LeonesaCeuta Real Sociedad B and Andorra2025–26 TenerifeEldense Celta Fortuna and Sabadell
Bold: overall champion
Champions and promotions
Club Group winners Overall champions Promotions Winning years (group) FC Andorra 2021–22 (2) Eldense 2025–26 (2) Racing Santander 2021–22 (1) Amorebieta 2022–23 (2) Deportivo La Coruña 2023–24 (1) Ceuta 2024–25 (2) Racing Ferrol 2022–23 (1) Castellón 2023–24 (2) Cultural Leonesa 2024–25 (1) Tenerife 2025–26 (1)Albacete Alcorcón Málaga Villarreal B Córdoba Real Sociedad B Sabadell Celta Fortuna Bold: overall titles
Top scorers Goals in playoffs are not counted. SeasonTop scorerClub2021–22 Ferran JutglàBarcelona B192022–23 RodriAD Ceuta202023–24 Pau VíctorBarcelona Atlètic182024–25 Gonzalo GarcíaReal Madrid Castilla252025–26 Arnau OrtizAtlético Madrileño22
References
External links Official website RFEF