Football in Ecuador

Last updated
Football (fútbol) in Ecuador
CountryEcuador
Governing body Ecuadorian Football Federation
National team(s) Ecuador
First played1867
National competitions
Club competitions
List
International competitions

Association football (simply called football) is the most popular sport in Ecuador , in line with the majority of South America. [1] [2]

Contents

Governing body

The governing body of football in Ecuador is the Ecuadorian Football Federation (Spanish : Federación Ecuatoriana de Fútbol), also known as FEF or Ecuafútbol. It runs all national football tournaments and manages the national football teams. Its seat is in Guayaquil. In addition, there are 18 provincial association throughout the country.

Club football

Club football is the most popular spectator sport in the country. The top-flight league in the country is the Serie A, followed by the Serie B. Both contain a small number of clubs compared to other leagues across the continent (12 each). Both tournaments are organized by FEF. But, for a considerable part of its history, club football was regionalized.

Regional leagues

The first amateur tournaments in Ecuador were organized by two regional leagues: one in Guayas for clubs in Guayaquil, and one in Pichincha for clubs in Quito and Ambato. Both held their inaugural tournaments in 1922. Both leagues stayed amateur until 1952, when the Guayas league held their first professional tournament. The Pichincha league, called Interandino followed suit in 1954. Both leagues stayed as the top-flight leagues in the country until 1967, when the status of top-flight was ceded to the national tournament.

National tournament

No national tournament existed until 1957 when the winners of both regional championships played against each other for the title. The first national title was won by Emelec. After a two-year hiatus, the national tournament returned in 1960 and has continued into the present. The Costa and Interandino Championships ceased to exist as a top-level tournament in 1967.

International participation

While typically a competitive country, clubs from Ecuador have had little international success. The first club to reach the finals of an international tournament was Barcelona, when they reached the finals of the 1990 and 1998 Copa Libertadores; they lost both. In 2001, Emelec became the second club to reach the finals of an international tournament at the 2001 Copa Merconorte, which they also lost. In 2008, LDU Quito became the first club to win an international title by becoming the 2008 Copa Libertadores champion. LDU Quito also went to win the Recopa Sudamericana and the Copa Sudamericana, both in 2009. To date, then in 2019 Independiente del Valle won the Copa Sudamericana, even before reaching their first national Championship.

National team

The Ecuador national football team is controlled by the Federación Ecuatoriana de Fútbol and represents Ecuador in international football competitions. It was for a long time one of the weaker teams in CONMEBOL, but it has recently had more success, making their first World Cup appearance in 2002, and qualifying again for the 2006 and 2014 FIFA World Cup. In 2006, they advanced to the Round of 16, losing to England by 1–0. [3] [4]

Although without any major tournament achievements until the current millennium, Ecuador was never short of footballing talent, producing players such as Alberto Spencer, Jose Villafuerte, Carlos Raffo and Antonio Valencia. Ecuador has qualified for the World Cup a total of 4 times in the years 2002, 2006, 2014, as well as in 2022. Ecuador is yet to win a Copa América. Their best finish in Copa América was fourth in 1993 (they also finished fourth in the 'extra' South American Championship in 1959).

+30,000-capacity football stadiums in Ecuador

#StadiumCapacityCityHome team
1 Estadio Monumental Isidro Romero Carbo 59,283 [5] Guayaquil Barcelona S.C.
2 Estadio Modelo Alberto Spencer Herrera 42,000 Guayaquil 9 de Octubre F.C., C.S. Patria, C.D. Everest, Rocafuerte F.C., Panamá S.C.
3 Estadio Rodrigo Paz Delgado 41,575 Quito Ecuador national football team, L.D.U. Quito
4 Estadio George Capwell 40,020 Guayaquil C.S. Emelec
5 Estadio Olímpico Atahualpa 35,742 Quito América de Quito, S.D. Quito, C.D. El Nacional, C.D. Universidad Católica del Ecuador

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barcelona S.C.</span> Ecuadorian sports club based in Guayaquil

Barcelona Sporting Club is an Ecuadorian sports club based in Guayaquil, known best for its professional football team. Internationally known as Barcelona de Guayaquil, in Ecuador it is simply referred as Barcelona, El Idolo (BSC) or Los Canarios. They currently play in the Ecuadorian Serie A, the highest level of football in the country, and hold the distinction of being the only club in the Ecuadorian top flight to not have played in the Serie B.

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The Ecuadorian Football Federation is the governing body of football in Ecuador. Its headquarters are in Quito, and it organizes the country's various football competitions and oversees the Ecuador national team.

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The 2009 Campeonato Ecuatoriano de Fútbol de la Serie A was the 51st season of the Serie A, Ecuador's premier football league. The season began on January 31 and ended on December 7. Deportivo Quito successfully defended their title for their fourth overall.

The 2010 Campeonato Ecuatoriano de Fútbol de la Serie A was the 52nd season of the Serie A, Ecuador's premier football league. It ran from February 7 to December 12.

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The Serie A Femenina de Ecuador is the highest amateur league of women's football in Ecuador. The competition is organised by the Ecuadorian Football Federation. Until 2013, the tournament was played by divisional selections and not clubs. After a restructuring in 2013 clubs contest the league title. The winner qualifies to the Copa Libertadores Femenina.

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Byron David Castillo Segura is an Ecuadorian professional footballer who plays as a right-back for Liga MX club Pachuca and the Ecuador national team.

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References

  1. ↑ "Ecuador's World Cup squad brings hope to this poor, Afro-Ecuadorian province". GlobalPost. Retrieved 2014-06-23.
  2. ↑ Wyss, Jim. "ESMERALDAS, Ecuador: In the cradle of Ecuadorian soccer, the beach is the fiercest field – Americas". MiamiHerald.com. Retrieved 2014-06-23.
  3. ↑ Stark, Harrison (2014-05-27). "Ecuador, 2014: Ecuador once had one of the worst records in South America. What changed?". Slate.com. Retrieved 2014-06-23.
  4. ↑ Vickery, Tim (2014-03-03). "Football in Ecuador makes dreams come true | FIFA World Cup : The World Game". Theworldgame.sbs.com.au. Retrieved 2014-06-23.
  5. ↑ "Estadio Monumental Banco Pichincha (El Coloso del Salado) – StadiumDB.com". stadiumdb.com. Retrieved 2020-05-10.
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