The Primera Division, commonly known as La Liga and as La Liga Santander for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional association football division of the Spanish football league sytem. Administrated by the Liga de Futbol Profesional, La Liga is contested by 20 teams, with the three lowest-placed teams relegated to the Segunda Division and replaced by the top two teams in that divisions plus the winner of a play-off.
A total of 60 teams have competed in La Liga since its inception. Nine teams have been crowned champions, with Real Madrid winning the title a record 32 times and Barcelona 24 times. Real Madrid dominated the championship from the 1950s through the 1980s. From the 1990s on wards, Barcelona (14 titles) and Real Madrid (7 titles) both dominated, through La Liga also saw other champions, including Atletico Madrid, Valencia, and Deportivo de la Coruna. In more recent years, Atletico Madrid has joined a coalition of now three teams dominating La Liga alongside Real Madrid and Barcelona.
According to UEFA's league coefficient, La Liga has been the top league in Europe over the last five years, and has produced the continent's top-rated club more times (18) than any other league, double that of second-placed Serie A. Its clubs have won the most UEFA Champions League (16) and UEFA Europa League (10) titles, and its players have accumulated the highest number of (FIFA) Ballon d'Or awards (19).
La Liga is one of the most popular professional sports leagues in the world, with an average attendance of 26, 741 for league matches in the 2014-15 season. This is the sixth-highest of any domestic professional sports league in the world and the fourth-highest of any professional association football league in the world, behind the Bundesliga, the Premier League, and the Indian Super League.
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