| Season | 2021 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 9 March – 12 December 2021 |
| Champions | Independiente Petrolero (1st title) |
| Relegated | Real Potosí San José |
| Copa Libertadores | Independiente Petrolero Always Ready The Strongest Bolívar |
| Copa Sudamericana | Royal Pari Oriente Petrolero Jorge Wilstermann Guabirá |
| Matches | 239 |
| Goals | 734 (3.07 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Martín Prost (18 goals) |
| Biggest home win | The Strongest 7–0Nacional Potosí (18 August) |
| Biggest away win | Aurora 0–8Royal Pari (11 March) |
| Highest scoring | Indep. Petrolero 5–4Wilstermann (25 April) |
←2020 2022 → | |
The2021 FBF División Profesional, known as the2021 Copa Tigo for sponsorship reasons, was the 44th season of theDivisión Profesional del Fútbol Boliviano,Bolivia's top-flightfootball league and the fourth season under División de Fútbol Profesional management. The season began on 9 March and ended on 12 December 2021.[1]
Independiente Petrolero won their first league title following a 3–2 win overGuabirá and a 1–0 loss forThe Strongest againstReal Santa Cruz on the last day of the season.[2]Always Ready were the defending champions, having won the2020 Apertura tournament.
The format for the 2021 season was approved by the 16 División Profesional clubs on 17 February 2021.[1] Given the need to allow clubs qualified for theCopa Libertadores andCopa Sudamericana as well as thenational team to fulfill their international commitments, and concerns by the development of theCOVID-19 pandemic, it was decided to play a single tournament in the year instead of the usualApertura and Clausura system. The 16 teams played each other twice in a double round-robin tournament for a total of 30 rounds. TheBolivian Football Federation originally proposed 13 March 2021 as the date to start the competition, but per request from the four clubs that took part in the Copa Sudamericana the date was moved forward to 10 March 2021. The top four clubs at the end of the season qualified for the2022 Copa Libertadores, with the champions and runners-up entering the group stage, while the next four best-placed teams qualified for the2022 Copa Sudamericana.[3]
16 teams competed in the league for the 2021 season, increasing from 14 since no clubs were relegated at the end of the previous season.[4]Real Tomayapo andIndependiente Petrolero, the 2020Copa Simón Bolívar champions and runners-up, were both promoted for this season. The former competed for the first time in the top tier, while the latter returned after a 17-year absence.[5][6]
| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Always Ready | No contract signed | 31 December 2020[7] | Pre-season | 18 January 2021[8] | ||
| Atlético Palmaflor | End of contract | 31 December 2020 | 7 January 2021[9] | |||
| Real Potosí | 31 December 2020 | 5 January 2021[10] | ||||
| Real Santa Cruz | 31 December 2020 | 6 January 2021[11] | ||||
| Aurora | End of caretaker spell | 31 December 2020 | 1 January 2021[12] | |||
| Royal Pari | 31 December 2020 | 10 January 2021[13] | ||||
| San José | Replaced | 31 December 2020 | 18 January 2021[14] | |||
| Jorge Wilstermann | Sacked | 1 January 2021[15] | 4 January 2021[16] | |||
| Blooming | 4 January 2021[17] | 5 January 2021[18] | ||||
| Nacional Potosí | Signed byAlways Ready | 8 January 2021[19] | 11 January 2021[20] | |||
| Real Potosí | Health issues | 8 February 2021[21] | 9 February 2021[22] | |||
| San José | Sacked | 1 March 2021[23] | 2 March 2021[24] | |||
| Resigned | 29 March 2021[25] | 16th | 30 March 2021 | |||
| Atlético Palmaflor | Sacked | 29 March 2021[26] | 4th | 30 March 2021[27] | ||
| San José | End of caretaker spell | 6 April 2021 | 16th | 6 April 2021[28] | ||
| Nacional Potosí | Sacked | 8 April 2021[29] | 6th | 13 April 2021[30] | ||
| Always Ready | 10 April 2021[31] | 3rd | 13 April 2021[32] | |||
| The Strongest | 22 April 2021[33] | 2nd | 22 April 2021[33] | |||
| Jorge Wilstermann | Resigned | 25 April 2021[34] | 14th | 26 April 2021[35] | ||
| The Strongest | End of caretaker spell | 26 April 2021 | 1st | 26 April 2021[36] | ||
| Jorge Wilstermann | 29 April 2021[37] | 14th | 28 April 2021[37] | |||
| Real Potosí | Sacked | 12 May 2021[38] | 15th | 13 May 2021[38] | ||
| San José | 16 May 2021[39] | 16th | 17 May 2021[40] | |||
| Bolívar | 23 May 2021[41] | 2nd | 23 May 2021[41] | |||
| End of caretaker spell | 14 July 2021 | 2nd | 14 July 2021[42] | |||
| Real Santa Cruz | Resigned | 21 July 2021[43] | 14th | 22 July 2021[44] | ||
| Always Ready | Sacked | 27 July 2021[45] | 8th | 29 July 2021[46] | ||
| Royal Pari | 27 July 2021[47] | 5th | 28 July 2021[48] | |||
| Real Potosí | 30 July 2021[49] | 15th | 2 August 2021[50] | |||
| Royal Pari | End of caretaker spell | 3 August 2021 | 5th | 3 August 2021[51] | ||
| Nacional Potosí | Sacked | 4 August 2021[52] | 6th | 6 August 2021[53] | ||
| Real Tomayapo | Resigned | 8 August 2021[54] | 12th | 10 August 2021[55] | ||
| The Strongest | 15 August 2021[56] | 1st | 15 August 2021[56] | |||
| Blooming | Mutual consent | 19 August 2021[57] | 14th | 19 August 2021[57] | ||
| San José | Resigned | 21 August 2021[59] | 16th | 26 August 2021[60] | ||
| The Strongest | End of caretaker spell | 21 August 2021[61] | 1st | 19 August 2021[61] | ||
| Guabirá | Sacked | 23 August 2021[62] | 10th | 25 August 2021[63] | ||
| San José | 14 September 2021[64] | 16th | 16 September 2021[65] | |||
| Atlético Palmaflor | 15 September 2021[66] | 7th | 15 September 2021[67] | |||
| Real Potosí | 18 September 2021[68] | 15th | 18 September 2021[69] | |||
| Jorge Wilstermann | Resigned | 23 September 2021[70] | 9th | 24 September 2021[72] | ||
| Real Potosí | End of caretaker spell | 29 September 2021 | 15th | 29 September 2021[73] | ||
| Aurora | Resigned | 17 October 2021[74] | 12th | 18 October 2021[75] | ||
| Atlético Palmaflor | 1 November 2021[76] | 9th | 3 November 2021[77] | |||
| Nacional Potosí | 23 November 2021[78] | 11th | 23 November 2021[78] | |||
| Blooming | 27 November 2021[79] | 15th | 28 November 2021[80] |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Independiente Petrolero(C) | 30 | 20 | 5 | 5 | 59 | 33 | +26 | 65 | Qualification forCopa Libertadores group stage |
| 2 | Always Ready | 30 | 19 | 7 | 4 | 66 | 31 | +35 | 64 | |
| 3 | The Strongest | 30 | 19 | 6 | 5 | 57 | 24 | +33 | 63 | Qualification forCopa Libertadores second stage |
| 4 | Bolívar | 30 | 16 | 8 | 6 | 63 | 29 | +34 | 56 | Qualification forCopa Libertadores first stage |
| 5 | Royal Pari | 30 | 16 | 3 | 11 | 66 | 45 | +21 | 51 | Qualification forCopa Sudamericana first stage |
| 6 | Oriente Petrolero | 30 | 15 | 6 | 9 | 46 | 29 | +17 | 51 | |
| 7 | Jorge Wilstermann | 30 | 15 | 4 | 11 | 64 | 48 | +16 | 49 | |
| 8 | Guabirá | 30 | 13 | 5 | 12 | 47 | 47 | 0 | 44 | |
| 9 | Atlético Palmaflor | 30 | 11 | 7 | 12 | 42 | 45 | −3 | 40 | |
| 10 | Nacional Potosí | 30 | 10 | 9 | 11 | 45 | 46 | −1 | 39 | |
| 11 | Real Santa Cruz | 30 | 11 | 5 | 14 | 39 | 47 | −8 | 38 | |
| 12 | Aurora | 30 | 9 | 6 | 15 | 40 | 51 | −11 | 33 | |
| 13 | Real Tomayapo | 30 | 9 | 5 | 16 | 28 | 45 | −17 | 32 | |
| 14 | Blooming | 30 | 7 | 5 | 18 | 34 | 56 | −22 | 26 | |
| 15 | Real Potosí(R) | 30 | 7 | 4 | 19 | 30 | 63 | −33 | 25 | Qualification forRelegation play-off |
| 16 | San José[a](R) | 30 | 0 | 1 | 29 | 9 | 96 | −87 | −11 | Administrative relegation toBolivian Football Regional Leagues[b] |
| Home \ Away | CAR | APF | AUR | BLO | BOL | GUA | IPE | WIL | NAC | OPE | RPO | RSC | RTO | RPA | SJO | STR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Always Ready | — | 3–2 | 2–0 | 5–1 | 1–1 | 6–1 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 4–0 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 5–0 | 2–1 |
| Atlético Palmaflor | 0–1 | — | 3–2 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 |
| Aurora | 3–4 | 2–1 | — | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 5–0 | 4–1 | 1–2 | 0–8 | 3–0 | 0–1 |
| Blooming | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | — | 2–2 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 4–0 | 2–0 |
| Bolívar | 0–2 | 3–1 | 5–1 | 2–0 | — | 6–0 | 1–0 | 4–0 | 4–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 4–1 | 0–1 |
| Guabirá | 0–0 | 2–0 | 4–0 | 4–2 | 3–1 | — | 2–3 | 3–2 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 3–2 | 4–0 | 0–0 |
| Independiente Petrolero | 1–2 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | — | 5–4 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 4–0 | 2–2 |
| Jorge Wilstermann | 5–2 | 5–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–3 | — | 1–2 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 5–1 | 3–0 | 4–1 | 4–0 | 0–3 |
| Nacional Potosí | 0–2 | 3–2 | 0–0 | 4–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 0–1 | — | 1–0 | 4–2 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 7–1 | 3–4 |
| Oriente Petrolero | 0–0 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 1–3 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 4–2 | 0–0 | — | 2–0 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 2–4 | 4–0 | 2–0 |
| Real Potosí | 3–2 | 1–5 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 0–2 | 1–3 | 0–5 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 2–1 | — | 3–0 | 1–0 | 1–3 | 3–0 | 1–3 |
| Real Santa Cruz | 2–3 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–3 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 4–1 | — | 2–0 | 2–1 | 5–0 | 1–0 |
| Real Tomayapo | 1–0 | 3–3 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | — | 1–4 | 1–0 | 0–0 |
| Royal Pari | 2–1 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 4–3 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 3–2 | 2–0 | 0–3 | 5–0 | 3–2 | 4–2 | — | 6–1 | 0–1 |
| San José | 0–4 | 1–3 | 1–4 | 1–2 | 0–5 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 0–3[a] | 0–4 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 0–3 | — | 0–1 |
| The Strongest | 1–1 | 4–1 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 7–0 | 5–2 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 3–0[b] | 2–0 | — |
| Rank | Name | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Independiente Petrolero | 18 | |
| 2 | Always Ready | 17 | |
| 3 | Guabirá | 16 | |
| 4 | Bolívar | 15 | |
| Royal Pari | |||
| 6 | Real Santa Cruz | 14 | |
| 7 | The Strongest | 13 | |
| 8 | Independiente Petrolero | 12 | |
| Nacional Potosí | |||
| The Strongest |
Source:Soccerway
The relegation play-off was played by:
The winners played in the top flight for the2022 season.
| Real Potosí | 1–2 | Universitario de Sucre |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
| Universitario de Sucre | 2–0 | Real Potosí |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
Universitario de Sucre won 6–0 on points and were promoted to Primera División.