Categoria Primera A

A total of twenty clubs compete in the leagues regular season. During the league stage, which lasts for twenty matches, each team plays against every other team once. The league table follows a normal European league table, one point for ties and three points for a win. The top eight teams advance to the playoffs. The playoffs have been organized in two different ways over the course of the short tournaments. They were first organized by dividing the eight teams into two groups where they would play home and away games; then, the two group winners would play the final. In later years, the playoffs are organized in pairs and play direct elimination in home and away games until only two teams reach the finals. Relegation from Primera A is based on an averaging system. At the end of each season, the two teams with the worst three-year average are relegated to Primera B.