| Football in Paraguay | |
|---|---|
 Paraguay's national team at the2010 FIFA World Cup inSouth Africa | |
| Country | Paraguay |
| Governing body | Asociación Paraguaya de Fútbol |
| National team | Paraguay |
| First played | 1867 |
| National competitions | |
| Club competitions | |
| International competitions | |
| Audience records | |
| Single match | Olimpia Asunción v.Cerro Porteño, 1983 (49, 095)[1] |
Football is by far the most popular sport inParaguay, with approximately three-quarters of the people in Paraguay interested in football.[2] Paraguay'snational team has played at eightFIFA World Cup competitions and has won twoCopa América tournaments. Olimpia Asunción is the country's most successful club in domestic and international competitions.[3][4] Paraguay's football leagues are divided into four divisions. In 2020, Paraguay's top-tier was ranked 8th in the world by theIFFHS.[5]
Football arrived to Paraguay in the late 1800s. There are differing versions as to how this happened. The most commonly held account is that of William Paats. This account has much primary source documentation (newspaper articles) As this version goes, football was first introduced inParaguay byDutchmanWilliam Paats, who moved from theNetherlands toAsunción (the capital of Paraguay) in 1888. During a trip toBuenos Aires Paats bought afootball and brought it back to Asunción in order to teach the sport, which was unknown among Paraguayans.[9] At first, football was only practiced by the "elite" (upper class) but it soon became very popular and spread quickly throughout the whole country to people of all social classes.
Another version brings the genesis of football in Paraguay a bit further back, to 1886 and in the area around Borja. Miguel Angel Bestard, in his authoritative volume "Paraguay: One Century of Football" recounts a story about how English railroad workers organized games against the local Paraguayans. The English team was named "Everton", as a clear homage to the club from Liverpool, England, in the United Kingdom.
In 1900, small tournaments were held at the Plaza de Armas, aplaza located in downtown Asunción. Because of the huge success of the tournaments and the large attendances for the games, Paats decided to found the first Paraguayan football club, which he namedOlimpia Football Club (later renamedClub Olimpia) in 1902. By 1906 the number of football clubs in Paraguay had increased and theParaguayan Football Association (governing body of football in Paraguay) was founded. In 1910, Paraguay formed its first national squad to play against the squad from Corrientes, Argentina, but it would have to wait till 1919 for the Argentine national team to take a boat upriver on the Parana River and visit Asuncion for the first official international games Paraguay would ever play.
The Paraguayan Football Association joinedCONMEBOL in 1921, andFIFA in 1925.
Football has grown enormously since then, and there are over 1600 teams spread throughout Paraguay participating in bla leagues.[10] Each of those teams try to make their way to thefirst division by clearing the different levels of lower divisions. The growth and evolution of Paraguayan football can be seen in the achievements made in the club level and by theParaguay national football team. The national team has participated in eightFIFA World Cups, won twoCopa América tournaments, and earned asilver medal at theOlympic Games in 2004. All these accomplishments established Paraguay as the fourth most successful football nation in South America behind Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay. At the club level,Olimpia Asunción has won a total of eight international tournaments, including threeCopa Libertadores and oneIntercontinental Cup.
Among the most important and successful football players in Paraguayan history areArsenio Erico,Aurelio González,Romerito andJosé Luis Chilavert.[11]
In 2016,Roque Santa Cruz was regarded as one of the best players in the nation's history.[12]
Paraguay's men's national team, nicknamed theAlbirroja, is controlled by theParaguayan Football Association (Asociación Paraguaya de Fútbol). The team has qualified for eightFIFA World Cup competitions, with their best performance coming in 2010 when they reached the quarter-finals. Paraguay has been crowned champions of theCopa América on two occasions (in1953 and1979). Their highestFIFA World Rankings was 8th (March 2001) and their lowest was 103 (May 1995). Paraguay was awarded second place withBest Move of the Year in 1996 for their rise in the FIFA Rankings. The team's most successful period was under the coaching ofArgentineGerardo Martino, who was awarded with theSouth American Coach of the Year in 2007 and took Paraguay to the quarter-finals stage of theFIFA World Cup competition for the first time in history (in 2010) and also to thefinal of the2011 Copa América, where Paraguay finished as runners-up. In Paraguay's entire history at the FIFA World Cup, onlyCarlos Gamarra andJosé Luis Chilavert have both been selected as part of theAll-Star Team, being for the1998 edition.Paulo da Silva holds the most appearances for the team with 148 matches andRoque Santa Cruz is the all-time leading goal scorer with 32 goals.
The women's team of Paraguay, also known asAlbirroja, has lesser success, having never qualified for a singleFIFA Women's World Cup, but has seen its recent rise in fortune. In the2022 Copa América Femenina, Paraguay reached the semi-finals for only the second time after2006, though this means Paraguay is now certain to have a potential spot for the upcoming2023 FIFA Women's World Cup or at least going to theplayoff stage.
Television coverage of Paraguay's top-tier league, the Copa Paraguay and most of the second-tier, third-tier and fourth-tier leagues are televisionally transmitted by:
Internet coverage of Paraguayan football was accessible online until 2015 by football writer andGuinness World Records Latin American representativeRalph Hannah.[13][14][15]
Paraguay'sFootball League System is divided into four divisions:
Promotion to the top-tier, second-tier and third-tier leagues begins from the country's fourth-tier leagues, regional and metropolitana. A club is disaffiliated from the fourth division if it finishes the season in the last position of the table.
PastParaguay national team players, includingEnrique Vera,Oscar Cardozo,Nelson Haedo Valdez,Antolín Alcaraz,Elvis Marecos,Pablo Zeballos,Paulo da Silva,Cristian Riveros andVictor Caceres all began their careers in Paraguay's lower leagues.[16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24]
As of the 2021 season, the winner of the División Intermedia would qualify directly for theCopa Sudamericana competition of the following season.[25][26]
Current season:2021 in Paraguayan football
The Paraguayan women's football championship is the top level league competition forwomen's football inParaguay. The winner qualifies for theCopa Libertadores de Fútbol Femenino, the South American Champions League. The competition is organised by theParaguayan Football Association.
The Paraguayan derby or superclásico is between Club Olimpia Asunción and Club Cerro Porteño.
The Paraguayan Footballer of the Year is an award given to the bestParaguayan professionalfootball player every year. The award began officially in 1997 and it is presented by Paraguayan newspaperABC Color.
The following list only comprises the professional era and is missing data from 1906 to 1934 (amateur era).[29] A Top 10 table follows.
| Nationality | Player | Goals | Season |
|---|---|---|---|
 Paraguay | Flaminio Silva | 34 | 1936 |
| Paraguay | Fernando Fernández | 31 | 2014 |
| Paraguay | Santiago Salcedo | 30 | 2015 |
| Paraguay | José Vinsac | 30 | 1940 |
| Paraguay | Teófilo Salinas | 28 | 1939 |
 Uruguay | Hernán Rodrigo López | 27 | 2006 |
 Argentina | Héctor Núñez | 27 | 1994 |
| Paraguay | Leocadio Marín | 27 | 1947 |
| Paraguay | Atilio Mellone | 27 | 1943 |
| Paraguay | Roque Santa Cruz | 26 | 2019 |
Players who have played for Cerro Porteño and Olimpia Asunción. An Incomplete List follows.
ForCONMEBOL orSouth American foreign football players in Paraguay, Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay are the countries that have contributed most players to Paraguayan football.[38] Argentine football players, such asRoberto Acuña andRicardo Ismael Rojas, played in for several years in Paraguay's leagues and even naturalized themselves to play for the national team.[39] ArgentineHéctor Núñez,[citation needed] UruguayanHernan Rodrigo Lopez and BrazilianGauchinho are the only non-Paraguayan football players to be leading goalscorers of the Primera División Paraguaya in a single season, including the Apertura and Clausura. Héctor Núñez is the only foreign player to win the goalscoring title back-to-back (1994–1995), playing for Cerro Porteño. A Top 10 table follows.
| Nationality | Player | Seasons | Period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Argentina | Sergio Escalante | 13 | 2009– |
| Uruguay | Hernan Rodrigo Lopez | 12 | 2002–2004 2005–2007 2012–2017 |
 Colombia | Vladimir Marin | 11 | 2007–2010 2011–2012 2016–2019 2021– |
| Argentina | Alfredo Virginio Cano | 11 | 2007–2017 |
| Uruguay | Juan Manuel Salgueiro | 10 | 2012–2013 2014–2016 2017– |
| Uruguay | Diego Ciz | 10 | 2007–2010 2011–2016 |
| Argentina | Fabian Caballero | 10 | 1997–1998 1999–2000 2005–2006 2010 2012 2012–2014 |
| Argentina | Guido Di Vanni | 9 | 2012–2014 2014–2016 2016–2019 2020 |
| Argentina | Dario Ocampo | 9 | 2011–2019 |
Most non-CONMEBOL or non-South American foreign football players in Paraguay's football leagues have come fromAfrican (CAF) countries, especially Cameroon, and fromAsian (AFC) countries, especially Japan. Amongst the non-CONMEBOL foreign football players in Paraguay, the most iconic signing in Paraguayan football and the highest paid player in the country's history was theTogoleseEmmanuel Adebayor, when he joined Olimpia Asunción in 2020.[40] Between 2008 and 2011, 30 under-15 footballers fromIndonesia, includingZikri Akbar andRahmanuddin played at diverse clubs inParaguay's Football League.[41] In 2016,Trinidad and Tobago women's national team playersKennya Cordner andKimika Forbes became the first CONCACAF players in to win a trophy in the CONMEBOL, being crowned champions of theCopa Libertadores Femenina with Paraguayan clubSportivo Limpeño.[citation needed][42][43] A Top 10 table follows.
| Nationality | Player | Seasons | Period |
|---|---|---|---|
 United States of America | Bryan Lopez | 8 | 2007–2014 |
 Japan | Riki Kitawaki | 8 | 2005–2012 |
 Cameroon | Kenneth Nkweta Nju | 7 | 2000–2005 2007–2008 |
| Cameroon | Tobie Mimboe | 6 | 1993–1996 2002 2004 |
| Cameroon | Arsenne Maffo | 5 | 2010–2014 |
 Australia | Victor Cristaldo | 5 | 1993–1997 |
 South Korea | Hee-Mang Jang | 4 | 2017–2020 |
| Japan | Takuma Sugano | 4 | 2002–2005 |
| Cameroon | Celestine Romed Ngah Kebe | 3 | 2006–2008 |
A Top 5 list follows of the youngest players to debut in Paraguayan football.[44]
| Nationality | Player | Age | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paraguay | Kevin Pereira | 14 years 7 months 21 days | 5 September 2018[44] |
| Paraguay | Fernando Ovelar | 14 years 9 months 22 days | 28 October 2018[45][46][44] |
| Paraguay | Pedro Benítez | 15 years 1 day | 24 March 1996[44] |
| Paraguay | Ariel Galeano | 15 years 19 days | 10 September 2016[44] |
| Paraguay | Jesus Medina | 15 years 2 months 7 days | 7 July 2012[44] |
An incomplete list follows of the youngest goal scoring players in Paraguayan football.
| Nationality | Player | Age | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paraguay | Fernando Ovelar | 14 years 9 months 22 days | 28 October 2018[47] |
An incomplete list follows of the highest goal scoring players in Paraguayan football.
| Nationality | Player | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| Paraguay | Santiago Salcedo | 152[48] |
| Uruguay | Hernan Rodrigo Lopez | 127[48] |
| Paraguay | Juan Eduardo Samudio | 119[48] |
| Paraguay | Fredy Bareiro | 112[48] |
An incomplete list follows of the highest paid players in Paraguayan football.TogoleseEmmanuel Adebayor became the highest paid player in the history of Paraguayan football when he joinedOlimpia Asunción in 2020.[49][50]
| Nationality | Player | Season | Salary per month |
|---|---|---|---|
 Togo | Emmanuel Adebayor | 2020 | USD$125, 000.00 (rounding off)[51] |
Since 1999,Roque Santa Cruz held the highest transfer fee fromOlimpia Asunción toBayern Munich for USD$6, 900, 000.00 beforeJuan Escobar was sold fromCerro Porteño toMexican teamCruz Azul for USD$7, 000, 000.00 in 2019.[52] In January 2022, Julio Enciso was sold toFA Premier League team Brighton & Hove Albion from Libertad for USD$9, 500, 000.00, a new record of highest transfer in Paraguayan football.[53]
| Nationality | Player | Season | Moving from | Moving to | Fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paraguay | Julio Enciso | 2022 | Libertad |  Brighton & Hove Albion | USD$9, 600, 000.00[53] |
Mostly, football clubs in Paraguay count with the structure of several categories for all ages.
Categories for over-age players follow:
Categories for under-age players follow:
The country's most important stadiums are:
The mentioned were venues for the1999 Copa América.[59][60] The Estadio Defensores del Chaco has more than 100 years as a stadium,[1] and it is one of the places with most history in Paraguayan football.[1] In 2015, the Estadio General Pablo Rojas which belongs toClub Cerro Porteño, began undergoing expansion and remodeling to become the most increased stadium in the country with a 51, 237 capacity.[61][62][63][64]
Other stadiums include:
The mentioned stadiums are venues of the Primera Division Paraguaya and have seating.[61]
