Right from the start: La Liga does not have playoffs to determine its champion or European spots. It’s a traditional round-robin league. But yes — there are playoffs — just not in the way some leagues use them. CandyGoal will take you through what these playoffs are, where they apply, and how they tie into promotion, relegation, and the wider Spanish football pyramid.
What “not having playoffs” means for La Liga
La Liga, also known as Primera División, is like many top European leagues where:
- There are 20 teams.
- Each plays every other team twice (home & away).
- The champion is the one with the most points over 38 matchdays.
- There’s no playoff at the end of the season to decide the champion.
So, unlike the NFL or many American/Asian-style leagues, there’s no knockout or playoff bracket after the regular matches to determine La Liga’s winner or its European qualification.
Where playoffs do happen: promotion from Segunda División
While La Liga itself doesn’t use playoffs for deciding the champion, the concept does enter the picture in the fight to get into La Liga. Here’s how:
Promotion to La Liga (From the Second Tier)
- The second division (Segunda División, recently branded LaLiga Hypermotion) has playoffs for promotion.
- At season’s end, the top two teams earn automatic promotion to La Liga. ic promotion** to La Liga.
- The teams finishing 3rd to 6th enter a playoff to decide the third promotion spot.
Format of those playoffs
- Both the semi-finals and the final are two-legged ties (home and away) for fairness.
- The lower-ranked team hosts the first leg.
- If the aggregate score is tied after both legs, it can go to extra time, and if still tied, the team with better regular-season performance advances. There is no away goals rule used as a separate decider.
Promotion-relegation between La Liga & Segunda División
Playoffs also play a role (indirectly) in the relegation/promotion dynamic:
- The bottom three teams in La Liga at the end of the season are relegated directly to Segunda División.
- Those replaced are the top two of Segunda (automatic promotion), plus one via the playoff among 3rd-6th.
Other playoffs in the Spanish football pyramid
Beyond just La Liga & Segunda División, Spain’s lower leagues also use playoffs:
- Primera Federación (third tier) promotes teams via playoffs (teams 2nd-5th in groups) for additional promotion spots.
- Similarly, regional tiers use playoff systems for promotion and sometimes for relegation.
Common misconceptions & clarifications
- Some fans believe La Liga has a playoff for the title, similar to MLS or certain cup competitions. That’s not true — the title is decided purely by the regular league season.
- “Playoffs” in La Liga context almost always refers to the promotion playoffs from Segunda División.
- The playoff teams are sometimes reserve or “B” teams — these cannot be promoted to La Liga if their senior team is already in that division.
Recent example: 2024-25 promotion playoffs
To make things concrete, in the 2024-25 Segunda División:
- The teams that placed 3rd to 6th competed in the promotion playoffs.
- Semi-finals were two-legged. Finals also two-legged.
- Real Oviedo won that playoff and were promoted.
Conclusion
Does La Liga have playoffs? In the context of deciding who wins La Liga or which teams go to Champions League, no. But in terms of promotion, absolutely yes — playoffs are crucial, dramatic, and one of the most nerve-racking parts of Spanish football.
CandyGoal hopes this clarifies how Spain’s football structure uses playoffs where they count. If you want, I can also dig into playoff formats in other European leagues for comparison, or show you how playoffs influence money, player transfers, or tactics. What do you say?
