The Puerto Rican Football Federation (Spanish: Federación Puertorriqueña de Fútbol) is the governing body of association football in Puerto Rico. It was founded in 1940 and became affiliated to FIFA in 1960, one of the last to do so in the Western Hemisphere. It governs over all football on the island, including the Puerto Rico national football team, the amateur Liga Nacional de Fútbol de Puerto Rico, the scheduled Liga Profesional de Fútbol de Puerto Rico, as well as the Puerto Rico FC who played in the North American Soccer League.
| CONCACAF | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Founded | 1940 |
| Headquarters | San Juan |
| FIFA affiliation | 1960 |
| CONCACAF affiliation | 1964[1] |
| President | Iván Rivera |
| Website | fedefutbolpr.com |
History
Owing to its unique status in relation to the United States of America, the governance of football on Puerto Rico has been different from the traditional format. On May 14, 2008, the federation announced the creation of the Puerto Rico Soccer League, the first unified league in the history of the island's football,[2] although it folded in 2011. In recent years the Federation has attempted to overhaul the island's historic underperformance in football, which has been helped by the co-operation from a number of established club teams from around the world, who are keen to build up a base in Puerto Rico.
On March 9, 2015, the executive committee of the Puerto Rican Football Federation (FPF) approved a resolution specifying that in Puerto Rico there will be only one division league, before then the FPF statutes had allowed for more than one first division league.[3]
National Teams
Puerto Rico men's national football team
The Puerto Rico men's national team played their first international match in 1940 against Cuba. Héctor Pito Ramos is the team's all time goalscorer and cap leader having last played in 2019. As of May 2024, The national team has still never qualified for a World Cup or Gold Cup entry.
The team had recently won their group in the 2022–23 CONCACAF Nations League C gaining a promotion to Nations League B the following year, and gained entry for the 2023 Gold Cup qualifiers but was shortly eliminated soon after.
Puerto Rico women's national football team
Youth national teams
Puerto Rican Football Federation oversees and promotes the development of few youth national teams:
Professional Leagues
Despite a very short history of professional soccer in the country, Puerto Rico has struggled to build and sustain a domestic soccer league. They have gone through many different iterations, finally landing on the Liga Puerto Rico that was founded in 2018.
Men
The Liga Puerto Rico (LPR) is the top division of soccer on the island of Puerto Rico. It's teams range widely in financial status with some able to pay semi-pro wages and others made up entirely of amateurs. The winner of the league earns a berth in the following CFU Club Championship.
Organization
Members of the Puerto Rican Football Federation
FPF recognizes the following members:
Professional Council
- Liga Puerto Rico (LPR)
- Liga Femina Puerto Rico (LFPR)
- Liga Futbol Playa (LFP)
- Puerto Rico International Futsal Championship
Current Staff and Past Presidents
Past Presidents of FBF
- Paco Bueso
- José Laureano Cantero
- Cristo Manuel Romero Sánchez (1968–1969)
- José M. Arsuaga
- Dr. Roberto Monroig
- Esteban Rodríguez Estrella (1982–1984)
- Luis Russi Dilán (1994–2002)
- Joe Serralta (2004–2010)
- Eric Labrador (2011–2019)
- Iván Rivera (2019–present)[6]
See also
References
External links
- Official website (in Spanish)
- Puerto Rico at the FIFA website
- Puerto Rico at CONCACAF site