Football in Puerto Rico

This article needs to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (March 2018)

|

Football is one of the leading sports of Puerto Rico, ranking only behind baseball, basketball and boxing[1] in national popularity and is the number one participation sport on the island[citation needed]. There has been a significant growth in the sport in recent years, as traditionally football has played a very small role in Puerto Rico.[2] The sport on the island is governed by the Puerto Rican Football Federation, an affiliate of FIFA.

## History

[edit]

### Early years (1900-1919)

[edit]

It is said that the sport was played during Spanish colonial times, mostly by soldiers in the field in front of El Morro. By 1904, games were being played there between sailors of foreign ships which docked in San Juan Harbor, but it was not until 1911 that the first organized club was formed, Comercio Sporting Club, which organized games between members of the club. The club then formed two teams, Minerva and Mercurio. These teams took part in the first organized tournament in Puerto Rico, Copa Porananmiz. In 1913, two more clubs where formed, San Juan FC and Ponce Sporting Club. Until then, football was mostly played by the Hispanic population of the island while the Americans would play sports like baseball and basketball, but in 1914 a group of Americans formed Celtics FC and the first rivalry of Puerto Rican football was born. Celtics were Americans and San Juan FC were Puerto Ricans and Spaniards, which brought up the tensions between the Hispanics and Americans in the island during this period. In 1914, Celtics traveled to Ponce to face Ponce Sporting Club, in the first ever reported game between teams from different towns in Puerto Rico.[3]

## National team

[edit]

Main article: Puerto Rico national football team

Since its foundation, the Puerto Rico national football team has been one of the least successful teams in the world. It did not even enter the qualification stage for the 2006 World Cup. Its highest FIFA ranking was 97 in March 1994, and its lowest was 202 in November 2004.[4] Until 2008, Puerto Rico had not fielded a national team since 2004 when they lost 5–2 to Grenada. The last time they had won a match was in 1993 when they won 4–0 against the Cayman Islands.[5]

After a four-year absence, the Puerto Rican national team re-emerged on 16 January 2008, with a 2–0 victory in a friendly match against Bermuda.[6] This was played in preparation for a World Cup qualifier against the Dominican Republic, scheduled for 26 March 2008, which Puerto Rico won 1–0.[7]

## Club football

[edit]

Main article: Liga Nacional de Fútbol de Puerto Rico

Further information: Puerto Rico Islanders

Further information: Puerto Rico FC

Club football had been a very limited affair involving a handful of amateur teams in several separate leagues. As the domestic game has grown in popularity, this started to change. The Puerto Rico Islanders began to play in the USL First Division, the second tier of football in the United States at the time, and, in 2008, the first ever unified competition, the Puerto Rico Soccer League, was established.[8] Many clubs on the island are now affiliated with larger teams in some of the world's major football leagues.

In 2011, club football teams on the island made another monumental leap. The Puerto Rico Islanders joined the North American Soccer League, which is the new second tier of football in the United States. In addition, Puerto Rico United, Club Atlético River Plate Puerto Rico and Sevilla FC Puerto Rico moved to USL Pro, the new third tier of football in the United States. The Puerto Rico Soccer League held a 2011 season. However, the PRSL folded after the 2011 season, making the Liga Nacional de Fútbol de Puerto Rico the top-tier league, even though it is an amateur league. The LNFPR split into a First Division and Second Division in order to fill the void left by PRSL. Seeking to restructure professional football in Puerto Rico, the PRFF was planning for the Liga Profesional de Fútbol de Puerto Rico, which was supposed to start in 2013.[9]

## Puerto Rican association football leagues and associations

[edit]

* Puerto Rican football league system
* Liga Nacional de Fútbol de Puerto Rico
* Campeonato Nacional de Fútbol de Puerto Rico (defunct)
* Liga Mayor de Fútbol Nacional (defunct)
* Puerto Rico Soccer League (defunct)
* Puerto Rican Football Federation

## Puerto Rican teams

[edit]

* Puerto Rico men's national football team
* Puerto Rico women's national football team

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Cesar Diaz (18 April 2011). "Soccer in Puerto Rico: Existing and Evolving". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
2. ^ "Puerto Rico U20's Part of Changing Landscape". The New York Times. Retrieved 8 December 2013.
\- "Glimmer of hope amid the gloom for Puerto Rican football". World Soccer. 3 September 2013. Archived from the original on 14 December 2013. Retrieved 8 December 2013.
3. ^ Reinaldo Álvarez, Luis Reinaldo Álvarez; Toni Lorenti (2007). Fútbol puertorriqueño: crónica de alegrías, sueños y desencantos Tomo I (1911-1949). Museo Casa Roig. pp. 45–56.
4. ^ "PUERTO RICO MEN'S RANKING". fifa.com. Retrieved 2021-11-22.
5. ^ Strack-Zimmermann, Benjamin. "Puerto Rico vs. Cayman Islands (4:0)". www.national-football-teams.com. Retrieved 2021-11-22.
6. ^ "Puerto Rico is on a roll". www.socceramerica.com. Retrieved 2021-11-22.
7. ^ "Puerto Rico vs. Dominican Republic - Football Match Summary - March 26, 2008 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2021-11-22.
8. ^ Omar Marrero (15 May 2008). "Nace una liga profesional". Primera Hora (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 6 October 2008. Retrieved 4 June 2008.
9. ^ "Con 8 equipos en primera división y 14 en segunda arranca la Liga Nacional de Fútbol". Telemundopr.com. 25 April 2012. Archived from the original on 12 December 2013. Retrieved 8 December 2013.

## External links

[edit]

* Media related to Association football in Puerto Rico at Wikimedia Commons

* v
* t
* e

Football in Puerto Rico

Overview|

* Puerto Rican Football Federation
* League system
* Venues
* Clubs
* Champions

National teams|

| Men|

* National team (Results)
* U-20
* U-17
* U-15
* Beach soccer

|

Women|

* National team
* U-20
* U-17

League system|

| Men|

* Liga Puerto Rico
* Liga Nacional (defunct)
* Puerto Rico Soccer League (defunct)
* Liga Mayor (defunct)
* Campeonato Nacional (defunct)

|

Women|

* Superior Femenino de la Liga Puerto Rico

Domestic cups|

| Men|

* Copa Luis Villarejo
* FPF Preparatory Tournament (defunct)
* Copa de Puerto Rico (defunct)
* Cup of Excellence (defunct)
* Supercopa de Fútbol Gigante (defunct)
* Copa Bayamón (defunct)
* Copa Mickey Jiménez (defunct)

|

* Men's clubs
* Men's players
* Expatriate players

* v
* t
* e

Association football in North America

Sovereign states|

* Antigua and Barbuda
* Bahamas
* Barbados
* Belize
* Canada
* Costa Rica
* Cuba
* Dominica
* Dominican Republic
* El Salvador
* Grenada
* Guatemala
* Haiti
* Honduras
* Jamaica
* Mexico
* Nicaragua
* Panama
* Saint Kitts and Nevis
* Saint Lucia
* Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
* Trinidad and Tobago
* United States

Dependencies and
other territories

* Anguilla
* Aruba
* Bermuda
* Bonaire
* British Virgin Islands
* Cayman Islands
* Curaçao
* Greenland
* Guadeloupe
* Martinique
* Montserrat
* Puerto Rico
* Saint Barthélemy
* Saint Martin
* Saint Pierre and Miquelon
* Saba
* Sint Eustatius
* Sint Maarten
* Turks and Caicos Islands
* United States Virgin Islands

* v
* t
* e

League systems in sport

* League system
* Sports league
* Professional sports league organization
* Division (sport)
* Promotion and relegation
* Closed league
* Semi-closed league

American football|

* Germany

Association
football|

| AFC|

* Afghanistan
* Australia
* Bahrain
* Bangladesh
* China
* East Timor
* Guam
* Hong Kong
* India
* Indonesia
* Iran
* Iraq
* Japan
* Jordan
* South Korea
* Kuwait
* Lebanon
* Macau
* Malaysia
* Mongolia
* Myanmar
* Nepal
* Northern Mariana Islands
* Pakistan
* Qatar
* Saudi Arabia
* Singapore
* Taiwan
* Tajikistan
* Thailand
* Turkmenistan
* United Arab Emirates
* Vietnam

|

CAF|

* Algeria
* Burkina Faso
* Burundi
* Cameroon
* Cape Verde
* Central African Republic
* Comoros
* Djibouti
* Egypt
* Equatorial Guinea
* Ghana
* Guinea-Bissau
* Ivory Coast
* Kenya
* Madagascar
* Mauritius
* Morocco
* Mozambique
* Nigeria
* Réunion
* São Tomé and Príncipe
* Seychelles
* Somalia
* South Africa
* Tunisia

CONCACAF|

* Anguilla
* Antigua and Barbuda
* Aruba
* Bahamas
* Barbados
* Belize
* Bermuda
* Bonaire
* British Virgin Islands
* Canada
* Cayman Islands
* Costa Rica
* Cuba
* Curaçao
* Dominican Republic
* El Salvador
* French Guiana
* Guadeloupe
* Guatemala
* Haiti
* Honduras
* Jamaica
* Martinique
* Mexico
* Montserrat
* Nicaragua
* Panama
* Puerto Rico
* Saint Kitts and Nevis
* Saint Martin
* Sint Maarten
* Trinidad and Tobago
* Turks and Caicos Islands
* United States
* United States Virgin Islands

CONMEBOL|

* Argentina
* Bolivia
* Brazil
* Chile
* Colombia
* Ecuador
* Paraguay
* Peru
* Uruguay
* Venezuela

OFC|

* French Polynesia
* New Caledonia
* New Zealand
* Papua New Guinea
* Tuvalu

UEFA|

* Albania
* Andorra
* Armenia
* Austria
* Azerbaijan
* Belarus
* Belgium
* Bosnia and Herzegovina
* Bulgaria
* Croatia
* Cyprus
* Czech Republic
* Denmark
* England (women's)
* Estonia
* Faroe Islands
* Finland
* France
* Georgia
* Germany (women's)
* Gibraltar
* Greece
* Hungary
* Iceland
* Ireland
* Israel
* Italy
* Kazakhstan
* Kosovo
* Latvia
* Liechtenstein
* Lithuania
* Luxembourg
* Malta
* Moldova
* Montenegro
* Netherlands
* North Macedonia
* Northern Ireland
* Norway
* Poland
* Portugal
* Romania
* Russia
* San Marino
* Scotland
* Serbia
* Slovakia
* Slovenia
* Spain
* Sweden
* Switzerland
* Turkey (women's)
* Ukraine
* Wales

Basketball|

| Continental|

* Europe
* South America

|

National|

* France
* Germany
* Greece
* Hungary
* Iceland
* Italy
* Japan
* Poland
* Russia
* Serbia
* Spain
* Turkey

Handball|

* Denmark
* Hungary

Ice hockey|

* United States

Rugby league|

* Great Britain
* France

Rugby union|

* England
* France
* Ireland
* New Zealand
* Scotland
* Wales

Shinty|

* Scotland

Sumo|

* Japan

Tennis|

* Davis Cup
* Billie Jean King Cup

Water polo|

* Hungary

Portals:

* Puerto Rico
* Soccer

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template