Primera Nacional (usually called simply Nacional B, (English "National B Division"), and known as Primera B Nacional until the 2019–20 season) is the second division of the

Argentine football league system The Argentine football league system include tournaments organised by the Argentine Football Association. Clubs affiliated to the body compete in the tournaments, which are split into categories or divisions. Rules establish a system of promot ...

. The competition is made up of 38 teams. It is played by teams from all over the country. Clubs from

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

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, as well as some from

Santa Fe Province The Invincible Province of Santa Fe (, , lit. "Holy Faith") is a Provinces of Argentina, province of Argentina, located in the center-east of the country. Neighboring provinces are from the north clockwise Chaco Province, Chaco (divided by the 2 ...

, are promoted from or relegated to the Primera B Metropolitana ("Metropolitan B Division") while for teams from the other

provinces A province is an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outside Italy. The term ''provi ...

the Torneo Federal A ("Federal A Tournament") is the next level down. In Argentine football, Primera Nacional is the second-highest league, and from it, the three best teams are automatically promoted to Primera División. Primera B Nacional games are often transmitted to Argentina and abroad on television by TyC Sports.

History

It was created in 1986 to integrate unaffiliated clubs into the Argentine football structure, which until then had only participated in

Nacional championship The Campeonato Nacional was one of the two football tournaments that formed the Primera División season (along with the Metropolitano championship) since 1967. The Nacional championship was played annually until its last edition in 1985. The Nac ...

s of Argentina's First Division tournament. It brought together teams from the old Primera B (until then, the second division) and regional leagues from several Argentine provinces. After the 1985–86 season, the Primera B Nacional became the second hierarchical league in Argentina's professional football, after the Primera División, and it is above the Torneo Federal A and the Primera B Metropolitana, the last one started to act as a third division for the teams directly affiliated to AFA. Beginning in the 2019–20 season, the name was changed dropping the B to simply be known as Primera Nacional.

Format

Thirty-seven teams play each other once for a total of thirty-six rounds. The top-placed team will be the champion and will also earn promotion to the Primera División. The teams placed from 2nd to 13th place will compete in the "Torneo Reducido" for the second promotion berth after the regular season ends, with the team placed 2nd entering in the third round, the team placed 3rd entering in the second round and the teams placed 4th to 13th entering in the first round.

List of champions

Since the first season held in 1986–87, the following teams have crowned champions of the division:List of Argentine second division champions
at

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In case of championships defined by final, they are indicated. ;Notes

Titles by club

Seasons in Primera Nacional

Top scorers

Notes

References

External links

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Ascenso del Interior

Interior Futbolero

Promiedos

Primera B Nacional summary
on Soccerway {{CONMEBOL second leagues 1986 establishments in Argentina 2 Professional sports leagues in Argentina

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

Sports leagues established in 1986