The Tercera Federación FUTFEM[1] is the fourth tier of league competition for Spanish women's football. It is the female equivalent of the men's Segunda División RFEF and is run by the Real Federación Española de Fútbol.
 | |
| Founded | 2001 (as Segunda División, second tier) 2019 (as Primera Nacional, became third tier) 2022 (became fourth tier) |
|---|---|
| Country | Spain |
| Confederation | UEFA |
| Number of teams | 6 groups of 14 teams |
| Level on pyramid | 4 |
| Promotion to | Segunda Federación |
| Relegation to | Regional leagues |
| Current: 2023–24 | |
History
editThe league was created in 2001, with the inception of the new Superliga Femenina, composed by only group instead of the four of the previous seasons.
Since 2011, teams were divided in seven groups by geographical criteria.
- Group 1: Asturias, Cantabria and Galicia.
- Group 2: Basque Country, La Rioja and Navarre.
- Group 3: Aragon, Balearic Islands and Catalonia.
- Group 4: Andalusia, Ceuta, Extremadura and Melilla.
- Group 5: Castile and León, Castile-La Mancha and Community of Madrid.
- Group 6: Canary Islands.
- Group 7: Region of Murcia and Valencian Community.
The league was renamed as the Primera Nacional de Fútbol in 2019 after the RFEF renamed the new division between it and the first tier as Segunda División Pro, after initially naming it Primera División B.
In early 2022, it was confirmed that the league structure would be altered again, after only three seasons: the existing Primera División would be a standalone professional league of 16 teams, a single nationwide 16-team division known as the Primera Federación would be created as the second tier, the existing Segunda División Pro of 32 teams (two regionalised 16-team groups) would become the third tier and be named the Segunda Federación, and the existing Primera Nacional division of 96 teams (six regionalised 16-team groups) would become the fourth tier. These levels would be administered by the RFEF and more closely resemble the men's post-2021 structure, albeit only one professional league and six fourth-tier groups rather than five.[2] The fourth level was renamed the Tercera Federación FUTFEM prior to the 2023–24 season.
2022–23 teams
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Group 1edit
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Group 2edit
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Group 3edit
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Group 4edit
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Group 5edit
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Group 6edit
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Promoted teams
editThis table shows the group winners and the promoted teams.[3]
As second tier
edit- ^ Real Sociedad was promoted after the dissolution of Estudiantes.
- ^ a b As the Superliga was expanded to 22 teams, several professional men's football clubs were invited to the league by promoting or directly creating women's football teams. These teams were Eibar, Gimnàstic, Jaén (Atlético Jiennense), Las Palmas, Sevilla and Valladolid.
- ^ a b Winners Atlético Madrid B could not be promoted as they are a reserve team, runners-up played the promotion playoffs.
- ^ a b c d Winners Athletic Bilbao B could not be promoted as they are a reserve team, runners-up played the promotion playoffs.
- ^ a b Winners Espanyol B could not be promoted as they are a reserve team, runners-up played the promotion playoffs.
- ^ a b Winners Rayo Vallecano B could not be promoted as they are a reserve team, runners-up played the promotion playoffs.
- ^ a b Oviedo Moderno promoted as Torrejón resigned after the end of the season.
- ^ a b Runner-up of Group 6 was not allowed to play the promotion playoffs.
- ^ a b c Winners Barcelona B could not be promoted as they are a reserve team, runners-up played the promotion playoffs.
- ^ a b Winners Valencia B could not be promoted as they are a reserve team, runners-up played the promotion playoffs.
- ^ Winners and runners-up Levante B and Valencia B could not be promoted as they are reserve teams, third-placed team played the promotion playoffs.
As third tier
edit| Season | Group I | Group II | Group III | Group IV | Group V | Group VI | Group VII | Best runner-up | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019–20 | Monte | Añorga | Espanyol B | Real Betis B | La Solana | Unión Viera | Aldaia | Joventut Almassora | ||||||||
| 2020–21[a] | Viajes Interrías F. F. | Real Oviedo B[b] | Pradejón | Real Sociedad B | Levante Las Planas | Real Betis B | Getafe | La Garita | Geneto del Teide | Elche | — | |||||
| 2021–22[c] | Mixta Friol | Bizkerre | Europa | Málaga | Real Madrid B | Tenerife | Valencia B | 13 teams[c] | ||||||||
- ^ Includes winners of 'mini groups' in Groups I, II and VI during temporary reconstruction due to COVID-19 pandemic travel restrictions.
- ^ Real Oviedo B could not be promoted as they are a reserve team of a club in the division above (Real Oviedo).
- ^ a b All seven group winners and runners-up – Viajes InterRías, Osasuna B, Atlético Baleares, Torrelodones, Unión Viera and Levante B – along with the six best ranked other teams – Sárdoma, Athletic Club C, Almería, Cáceres Atlético, CD Getafe and CFF Albacete – were promoted to the Segunda Federación division as part of league reconstruction.
References
edit- ^ Distribución de los grupos de Tercera Federación FUTFEM
- ^ Nuevo estructura de ligas de fútbol femenino a patir de 2022-2023 [New structure of women's football leagues from 2022-2023], Manel Expósito, Fútboleras, 10 February 2022 (in Spanish). Retrieved 18 April 2022
- ^ "Resultados históricos de las ligas españolas de fútbol en categorías femeninas nacionales" [Historic results of Spanish football leagues in national women's categories] (in Spanish). Arquero Arba (Antonio Valencia Ruiz). Retrieved 24 January 2019.
External links
edit- Primera Nacional Femenina de Fútbol on RFEF (in Spanish)
- Leagues on women.soccerway.com (in English)
- Group 7(English)
- Primera Nacional Femenina de Fútbol on Futbolme (in Spanish)