Paraguayan Football Association

The Paraguayan Football Association (Spanish: Asociación Paraguaya de Futbol [asosjaˈsjom paɾaˈɣwaʝa ðe ˈfuðβol]; APF) (Guarani: Paraguái Mangapy Atyguasu), is the omnibus governing body of football in Paraguay.^[2] It organizes the Paraguayan football league, including futsal and beach soccer, as well as and the Paraguay national football team. It is based in the city of Luque, near the capital city, Asunción. Football is the most popular sport in Paraguay.^[2]

Paraguayan Football Association

CONMEBOL
Founded	1906; 118 years ago (1906)
Headquarters	Luque
Location	1 Medallistas Olímpicos, Parque Olímpico, Luque
FIFA affiliation	1925
CONMEBOL affiliation	1921
President	Robert Harrison[1]
General Secretary	Luis Kanonnikoff
Website	apf.org.py

History

In the late 1890s William Paats brought soccer to Paraguay, when it was then played at an Asunción teacher's college. Escuela Normal de Maestros.^[2][3]

In 1906, five existing Paraguayan football teams (Olimpia, Guaraní, Libertad, General Díaz, and Nacional) created the governing body of football in Paraguay, the Paraguayan Football League.^[2] In 1998 it adopted its current name.^[2] On June 18, 1906,^[4] the representatives of the five existing football teams in Paraguay at that time (Olimpia, Guaraní, Libertad, General Díaz, and Nacional) met to establish the Paraguayan Football League, named Liga Paraguaya de Football Association.^[5] The first match was played on a Sunday, July 8, 1906.^[6] Adolfo Riquelme, who was a well known Paraguayan journalist, was the organization's first president.^[2]

In 1921, during the presidency of Enrique Pinho, the Paraguayan Football League joined the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL).^[7] In 1925 it became a member of FIFA.^[2][8][3]

In 1941 it changed its name to Liga Paraguaya de Football and in 1957 the name was Hispanicized as Liga Paraguaya de Fútbol.^[9]

On December 3, 1998, its name was changed to its current denomination, Asociación Paraguaya de Fútbol,^[2][5] which coincidentally is one of the names that had been adopted by a dissident football association that brought together some teams, which would later join the League, and which organized championships between 1911 and 1917.^[4]

In 2016, APF appointed Robert Harrison, the former head of Club Nacional, as president.^[10] Harrison succeeded Alejandro Domínguez, who resigned to run for president of CONMEBOL, after Juan Ángel Napout stepped down from that role in December 2015.^[10]

In 2019, APF hired Argentinian Eduardo Berizzo as manager of Paraguay's national men's team.^[11]

Paraguay have not previously hosted the FIFA World Cup. In August 2022, APF joined up with the football associations of Argentina, Uruguay and Chile to jointly bid to host the World Cup in 2030.^[12][13]

Institutional Succession

From its foundation in 1906 until it adopted its final name in 1998, the APF followed the following institutional trajectory::

Founded: 18 June 1906[14]
Liga Paraguaya de Football Association (LPFA)[15]

Affiliation to the Conmebol: 1921[16]
The Paraguayan Football League becomes a member of the South American Football Confederation, during the presidency of Enrique Pinho.

Affiliation to FIFA: 1925
The LPF joins the Member Associations of the International Federation of Association Football.

Change of name: 1941
Paraguayan Football League LPF

Castellanisation: 1957
Paraguayan Football League LPF

Change of name: December 1998
Paraguayan Football Association APF

Honours

• Copa América champions — 1953, 1979^[2]
• Olympic Games silver medal (Athens 2004)^[2]
• FIFA World Cup 8 participations — 1930, 1950, 1958, 1986, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010^[2]

The Paraguay national team appeared in the World Cup finals eight times, reaching the quarter-finals in the world FIFA event in South Africa (2010), losing to the eventual tournament victor, a Spanish team.^[2]

The Club Olimpia has been indomitable: 38 Paraguayan championship titles; 3 in the Copa Libertadores — the continental South American soccer tournament (1979, 1990, 2002); and Intercontinental cup.^[2]

Leadership and staff

Presidents^[17]

Liga Paraguaya de Football Association

Name	Period
Dr. Adolfo Riquelme	1906–1908
Dr. Eusebio Ayala	1908–1909
Don William Paats	1909–1910
Don Emilio Mantera	1910–1910
Don Junio Quinto Godoi	1910–1911
Don Alejandro Gatti	1911–1913
Dr. Enrique L. Pinho	1913–1923
Dr. Juan Manuel Álvarez	1923–1924
Dr. Esteban Semidei	1924–1926
Prof. Dr. Adriano Irala	1926–1928
Don Manuel Bedoya	1928–1931
Don Juan Pablo Gorostiaga	1931–1932
Dr. Ignacio L. Parra	1932–1932
Dr. Francisco Esculies	1935–1936
Don Ramón T. Cartes	1936–1937
Don Manuel Galiano	1937–1938
Dr. Juan Arturo Lavigne	1939–1940
Cnel. Sampson Harrison	1940–1940

Liga Paraguaya de Football

Name	Period
Dr. Manuel Bedoya	1941–1941
Dr. Julio César Airaldi	1942–1944
Dr. Crispín Insaurralde	1944–1945
Don Fulgencio R. Moreno	1945–1946
Don Oscar Pinho Insfrán	1946–1947
Dr. Lorenzo N. Livieres	1947–1948
Clte. Ramón Martino	1948–1948
Dr. Blas A. Dos Santos	1948–1950
Don Lidio Quevedo	1950–1951
Dr. Blas A. Dos Santos	1951–1952
Dr. Alfonso Capurro	1952–1954
Don Lidio Quevedo	1954–1955
Dr. Raimundo Paniagua	1955–1956
Dr. Alfonso Capurro	1956–1957

Liga Paraguaya de Fútbol

Name	Period
Dr. Pedro Recalde	1957–1957
Dr. Ernesto Gavilán	1958–1959
Dr. Hassel Aguilar Sosa	1959–1960
Dr. Tulio Manuel Quiroz	1960–1961
Dr. Manuel Duarte Pallarés	1961–1963
Dr. Anastacio Mendoza Sánchez	1963–1965
Dr. Jerónimo Angulo Gastón	1965–1967
Cnel. Raúl Fernández	1967–1968
Don Juan Antonio Sosa Gautier	1969–1970
Dr. Nicolás Leoz	1971–1972
Don Humberto Domínguez Dibb	1973–1976
Don Oscar Barchini	1977–1979
Dr. Nicolás Leoz	1979–1984
Don Jesús Manuel Pallarés	1985–1994
Esc. Oscar J. Harrison	1994–1998

Asociación Paraguaya de Fútbol

Name	Period
Esc. Oscar J. Harrison	1998–2007
Lic. Juan Ángel Napout	2007–2014
Lic. Alejandro Domínguez	2014–2016
Lic. Ramón González Daher	2016
Lic. Robert Harrison	2016–Present

Association staff (2022)^[18]

Name	Position
Robert Harrison	President
Carlos Sosa	Vice President
Javier Díaz de Vivar	2nd Vice President
Luis Kanonnikoff	General Secretary
Hugo Kuroki	Treasurer
Douglas Martínez	Technical Director
Daniel Garnero	Team Coach (Men's)
Carlos Bona	Team Coach (Women's)
Fernando Ortiz	Media/Communications Manager
Jose Luis Alder	Futsal Coordinator
Cynthia Franco Eber Aquino	Referee Coordinator

Paraguayan football league system

Main article: Paraguayan football league system

The football in Paraguay has four levels in men's tournaments (five in the interior of the country) and one division in women's tournaments.^[19] The Paraguayan Football Association with an affiliated association called the Interior Football Union (UFI) -which consists of 17 federations, one for each department of the country, excluding the city of Asunción-, organizes the different championships.^[20]

The most popular football teams in Paraguay are Olimpia,^[3] Cerro Porteño, Guaraní, Libertad and Nacional. All of them are from Asunción.^[21]

The Supercopa Paraguay is a national cup played since 2021.^[22] It is single match, on a neutral field that faces the champion of Primera División and the champion of Copa Paraguay, a competition created in 2018 with teams of all categories, including the federations that belong to UFI.^[23]

There is also a category for the reserve of the football teams called Categoría Reserva^[24] and then the formative divisions from 14 to 19 years.^[25] The women's division also has a U-18 category.^[26]

Since 2024 there are four women's tournaments: the one division league -called Campeonato Anual FEM-, Copa EFE, Copa Paraguay FEM and Supercopa FEM.^[27][28]

Regarding futsal, it is organized in four categories: a premium league, the Honor Category, Primera and Intermedia.^[29][30] There is also a category for women.^[31]

The APF also organizes two beach soccer championships, the Tournament of Stars^[32] and the Women's Beach Soccer Tournament.^[33]

Controversy

The freedom of players to be contractually released and transfer between clubs and negotiate contracts (commonly called a "buyout clause") has been controversial, and subject to both scholarly inquiry and legal proceedings.^{[34][35][36][37]}

See also

• 2022 Copa Paraguay
• Copa Paraguay
• Paraguayan Primera División
• Paraguay national football team
• Football in Paraguay
• Paraguayan Footballer of the Year
• Paraguay women's national football team
• Paraguayan Tercera División
• Sport in Paraguay
• Estadio Defensores del Chaco
• 2019 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup
• Juan Ángel Napout
• Juan Escobar (Paraguayan footballer)
• Paraguay women's national under-20 football team
• Robert Harrison

References

1. "Paraguay's new high-performance academy creates "pathway" for young talent, says FIFA Presidentl". Retrieved 27 May 2024.
2. Dunmore, Tom (16 September 2011). Historical Dictionary of Soccer. Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Incorporated, Scarecrow Press. pp. 56. 191, 196. ISBN 9780810871885. Archived from the original on 1 August 2023. Retrieved 11 February 2020.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
3. Lewis, Rhett (28 September 2021). "Club Olimpia: Paraguay's Most Successful Soccer Club". History Of Soccer. Archived from the original on 15 December 2021. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
4. Karel, Stokkermans. "Paraguay – League History 1906-1964". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 13 March 2023. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
5. "Suplemento 116 Años de la APF by Asociación Paraguaya de Fútbol". issuu.com (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 9 October 2022. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
6. "Una historia de 114 años: El primer partido oficial del fútbol paraguayo". Versus (in Spanish). 9 July 2020. Archived from the original on 11 October 2022. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
7. "Un símbolo del fútbol paraguayo cumple cien años". OneFootball (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 8 October 2022. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
8. "Planet World Cup - Nations - Paraguay". www.planetworldcup.com. Archived from the original on 30 January 2006. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
9. "Aniversario de la APF". ABC Color (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 9 October 2022. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
10. "Robert Harrison, nuevo presidente del fútbol paraguayo". Associated Press (in Spanish). 26 April 2016. Archived from the original on 22 September 2022. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
11. "Paraguay name Berizzo as national soccer team coach". Xinhua News Agency. 18 February 2019. Archived from the original on 1 August 2023. Retrieved 30 October 2022 – via Gale OneFile.
12. "Ukraine join Spain and Portugal's joint-bid to host the 2030 World Cup, but who else is in the running?". Sky Sports. Archived from the original on 30 October 2022. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
13. "Together for the «South American dream» of the 2030 World Cup". Conmebol. Archived from the original on 30 October 2022. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
14. "Celebran 115 años de fundación de la Asociación Paraguaya de Fútbol". Mayoría (in Spanish). 18 June 2021. Archived from the original on 30 June 2022. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
15. "El frenesí por el football se expandía - Deportes - ABC Color". www.abc.com.py (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 31 January 2023. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
16. "La Asociación celebra 110 años de pasión por el fútbol". d10.ultimahora.com (in European Spanish). Archived from the original on 22 September 2022. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
17. "Historia de la APF". Asociación Paraguaya de Fútbol (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 14 May 2019. Retrieved 29 October 2022.
18. "Paraguayan Football Association - FIFA". www.fifa.com. Archived from the original on 10 January 2022. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
19. "Se pone en marcha el Torneo Anual de la categoría femenina". D10 (in Spanish). 12 April 2024. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
20. Béstard, Miguel Ángel. "80 años de Fútbol en Paraguay". Portal Guarani (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 9 October 2022. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
21. "¿Es Olimpia el club con más hinchas de Paraguay?". Goal.com. Archived from the original on 8 October 2022. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
22. "Se viene la Supercopa del fútbol paraguayo". Diario HOY (in Spanish). 15 January 2021. Archived from the original on 8 October 2022. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
23. "La Copa Paraguay ya tiene formato". extra.com.py (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 8 October 2022. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
24. "Cambio de timón en la cima de Reserva". ABC Color (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 5 December 2022. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
25. "Vuelven las Divisiones Formativas". d10.ultimahora.com (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 9 October 2022. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
26. "Cerro y Sol, líderes en la Sub 18 de Femenino". ABC Color (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 11 October 2022. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
27. "Premio en efectivo y nuevos torneos". www.lanacion.com.py (in Spanish). Retrieved 27 May 2024.
28. "La APF presenta el innovador calendario del fútbol femenino". www.abc.com.py (in Spanish). Retrieved 27 May 2024.
29. "Cerro Porteño y Olimpia, la definición de la Liga Premium". ABC Color (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 8 October 2022. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
30. "En marcha el torneo de Honor de futsal". d10.ultimahora.com (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 8 October 2022. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
31. "Fútbol Femenino en Paraguay: avanza el Torneo Apertura con ejes en la profesionalización y la igualdad de derechos". NEA HOY (in Spanish). 10 May 2022. Archived from the original on 8 October 2022. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
32. "Torneo de las Estrellas de Fútbol Playa". ABC Color (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 8 October 2022. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
33. "Areguá, campeón femenino en fútbol playa". ABC Color (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 11 October 2022. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
34. Hylton, J. Gordon (2017). "How FIFA Used the Principle of Autonomy of Sport to Shield Corruption in the Sepp Blatter Era". Md. J. Int'l L. 32: 134. Archived from the original on 31 October 2022. Retrieved 31 October 2022 – via heinonline.org. Of course, unlike the case in Greece earlier ... [in 2016 - 2017], FIFA had not threatened to suspend the Paraguayan Football Association ...
35. "Article 19 RSTP, a Right Step in the Transfer Policy Jurisprudence". 1 J. For Sports L. Pol'y & Governance. 12. 2018–2019. Archived from the original on 31 October 2022. Retrieved 31 October 2022 – via heinonline.org.
36. Antonio, Miguel; Zunini, Laterza. "El "Caso Pitta" y la (in)ejecutabilidad automática de las "cláusulas de rescisión" en el fútbol paraguayo" (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 31 October 2022. Retrieved 31 October 2022. With the current regulations of the Paraguayan Football Association (APF) it is impossible the automatic execution of the compensatory clauses due to anticipated contractual breakdown (buy-out clauses), because with the simple opposition of the employer club, the exit operation of a player it is extended in time and is subject to the decision of a judge outside the parties. Therefore, this work will attempt to demonstrate the imperative need to have aspecific federative regulation to implement a summary administrative procedure to materialize the automatic release of players who are in a position to execute clauses of this type. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
37. Kfouri, ByJuca; de São Paulo, Folha (2016). "7: Impunity and corruption in South American football governance". Global Corruption (eBook) (1st, Imprint ed.). Routledge. doi:10.4324/9781315695709-16. ISBN 9781315695709. Archived from the original on 31 October 2022. Retrieved 7 December 2022.

Further reading

• Callary, Bettina; Gearity, Brian (2019). "Voices From the Field: Q&A With Coach Developers Around the World". International Sport Coaching Journal. 6 (3): 366–369. doi:10.1123/iscj.2019-0070. S2CID 204633721.
• Campomar, Andreas (May 2014). Golazo!: The Beautiful Game from the Aztecs to the World Cup: The Complete History of How Soccer Shaped Latin America (E-book). Penguin books.

External links

• Official website
• Paraguay – FIFA profile (archived 2 June 2007)