Association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

– commonly known as football (or soccer in the United States and Canada), ( ca, Futbol associatiu) – is a popular sport in Andorra. Prior to political developments in 1994, most football in the landlocked principality had been amateur with the notable exception of

FC Andorra Futbol Club Andorra is a professional football club based in Andorra la Vella, Andorra, that currently competes in Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish league system. The club was founded in 1942 and currently plays its home fixtur ...

which has played in the

Spanish football league system The Spanish football league system consists of several professional, semi-professional and non-professional leagues bound together hierarchically by promotion and relegation. The top two tiers of the male league pyramid— Primera División ( La Li ...

since 1948. The

Andorran Football Federation The Andorran Football Federation ( ca, Federació Andorrana de Futbol) is the governing body of football in Andorra. It was founded in 1994 and joined as a member of FIFA and UEFA in 1996. It organizes the football league, Andorran First Division ...

– the country's national football governing body – runs the

Andorra national football team The Andorra national football team ( ca, Selecció de futbol d'Andorra) represents Andorra in association football and is controlled by the Andorran Football Federation, the governing body for football in Andorra. The team has enjoyed very lit ...

, as well as administering the nation's professional leagues the Andorran First and Andorran Second divisions. The national federation also organizes the

Copa Constitució The Copa Constitució or Andorran Cup is the national football cup competition in Andorra organized by the Andorran Football Federation. The Cup annual tournament began in 1990. Since the 1994–95 season, the tournament has been affiliated with ...

annual tournament and the one-off

Andorran Supercup The Andorran Supercup ( ca, Supercopa Andorrana de Futbol) is the football Supercup of Andorra. History It has been played since 2003. It is a single match at the beginning of the season between the winners of the Andorran First Division and th ...

( ca, Supercopa Andorrana de Futbol).

History

After the 1993 Andorran constitutional referendum resulted in independence for the state, the

( ca, Federació Andorrana de Futbol) was founded in 1994. The FAF was admitted to FIFA and UEFA in 1996, the same year the national team was organized. The country is represented in association football by the

. The men's national team played its first friendly at the Camp d'Esports d'Aixovall on 13 November 1996 losing to

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, an ...

1–6. The team gained its first competitive win in a European Championship qualifier on 11 October 2019, against Moldova. Since then the national team has recorded seven victories, one each against

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and share ...

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by ...

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Cr ...

Liechtenstein Liechtenstein (), officially the Principality of Liechtenstein (german: link=no, Fürstentum Liechtenstein), is a German language, German-speaking microstate located in the Alps between Austria and Switzerland. Liechtenstein is a semi-constit ...

North Macedonia North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Socialist Feder ...

Moldova Moldova ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Republica Moldova), is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The unrecognised state of Transnistri ...

and

San Marino San Marino (, ), officially the Republic of San Marino ( it, Repubblica di San Marino; ), also known as the Most Serene Republic of San Marino ( it, Serenissima Repubblica di San Marino, links=no), is the fifth-smallest country in the world an ...

. They are one of the most penalized teams in Europe, having received more red and yellow cards in the WC 2006 Qualifiers than any other team.

CE Principat Club Esportiu Principat was an Andorran football club created in 1989, based in the city of Andorra la Vella. Was one of the most successful football clubs in Andorra along with FC Santa Coloma and UE Sant Julià, having won three times the And ...

was the first Andorran team to represent the nation in European Club Competitions appearing in the first qualifying round of the 1997–98, 1998–98, and 1999–2000 UEFA Cups.

League system

Professional football in Andorra is organized by the national federation and currently consists of two professional leagues. The Lliga Nacional de Fútbol, also known as Primera Divisió (First Division) or as Lliga Multisegur Assegurances for sponsorship reasons., is the top football league. The Andorran Segona Divisió (Second Division), or Lliga UNIDA for sponsorship reasons, is the second highest football league in Andorra. The system has a hierarchical format with

promotion and relegation In sports leagues, promotion and relegation is a process where teams are transferred between multiple divisions based on their performance for the completed season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are often called open leagues ...

between the leagues.

FC Andorra

Futbol Club Andorra is a professional football club based in

Encamp Encamp () is one of the parishes of Andorra, located on the Valira d'Orient river. It is also the name of the main town in the parish. Other settlements include Vila, El Pas de la Casa, Grau Roig, El Tremat, La Mosquera and Les Bons. As of 2004, ...

Andorra , image_flag = Flag of Andorra.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Andorra.svg , symbol_type = Coat of arms , national_motto = la, Virtus Unita Fortior, label=none (Latin)"United virtue is stro ...

, established in 1942. Although based in Andorra, they have competed in the

since 1948. They currently play in

Primera División RFEF Primera may refer to * Nissan Primera, a car * Primera Air, a former airline * Primera división (disambiguation), multiple top division football leagues * Primera, Texas, a town in Cameron County, Texas * Alí Primera, Venezuelan musician, compos ...

– Group 2, the third tier.

Football stadiums in Andorra

References

External links