How Many Soccer Divisions Are There in Spain? (All 10 Levels Explained)

Spain has five national soccer divisions, plus up to five more regional tiers below that. All told, the Spanish football pyramid runs about 10 levels deep — covering more than 30,000 registered clubs and roughly 1.2 million federated players. So how many soccer divisions are there in Spain? Five nationally. But the full picture is much bigger than that.

Here’s how every tier works, from La Liga at the top to the regional amateur leagues at the bottom.

The 5 National Divisions at a Glance

Spain’s five national tiers break down like this:

The top two tiers are run by the Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional (LFP). Everything from Tier 3 down is governed by the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF).

Only Two Tiers Are Fully Professional

La Liga and Segunda División are the only fully professional Spanish soccer leagues. Players in these 42 clubs have full contracts and the legal protections that come with professional sport.

From Tier 3 downward, most clubs operate on semi-professional or amateur terms. Many players in Primera Federación hold day jobs alongside their football commitments. The further down the pyramid you go, the more football becomes a community activity rather than a career.

The financial stakes of La Liga survival are enormous. The league generates billions of euros in TV and commercial revenue each season, distributed among its 20 clubs. Dropping to Segunda means a sharp cut in income — for mid-table clubs with no European competition as a buffer, relegation can be existential.

The 2021 Reforma — Why Spain Rebuilt Its Pyramid

Before 2021, Spain’s third tier was called Segunda División B. It ran in four regional groups and was widely criticized — confusing structure, arbitrary geographic splits, and promotion math that was hard to follow even for dedicated fans.

The RFEF used the COVID-19 pandemic as a window to redesign the whole thing. In 2021, Segunda B was dissolved and replaced by three new divisions:

• Primera Federación — 40 clubs in 2 national groups (new Tier 3)
• Segunda Federación — 90 clubs in 5 regional groups (new Tier 4)
• Tercera Federación — 324 clubs in 18 regional groups (new Tier 5)

The final season of Segunda B ran with 10 sub-groups to handle the COVID logistics — a chaotic last act before the new system launched. The stated goals were cleaner tiers, better television appeal, and a genuine semi-professional third division. Most analysts consider it a real improvement over the old setup.

The “Tercera” Naming Paradox

Here’s a fact that trips up even dedicated Spanish football fans: the Tercera División was never actually the third division.

For most of its history, it was Spain’s fourth tier. The third tier was the old Segunda División B. “Tercera” simply means “third” in Spanish — the name stuck for decades despite not matching the league’s actual position.

After the 2021 reform, it got more confusing: what was the fourth tier is now officially the fifth. The renamed Tercera Federación sits at Level 5. The name says third. The reality is fifth.

It’s the kind of quirk that makes sense once you know the history — but it’s a genuine source of confusion for anyone navigating the Spanish football pyramid for the first time. One fan put it plainly in an online discussion: “The inappropriately named Tercera División is the 4th division of the Spanish football pyramid.” That was written before 2021. It’s now the 5th.

Below the Tercera: Spain’s Regional Leagues

Below Tier 5, each of Spain’s 17 autonomous communities runs its own separate pyramid. These regional divisions typically add three to five more competitive levels.

Catalonia runs five additional tiers below the national Tercera — from the Lliga Elit at Level 6 all the way to the Quarta Catalana at Level 10 with 30 separate groups. That means Catalonia alone has 10 competitive levels of soccer.

The Girona story shows what this open system can produce. In 1982, Girona FC was playing in Catalonia’s regional championships — somewhere around the fifth tier or below. They spent 18 years in the Tercera División alone. Decade by decade, they climbed every level of the Spanish football league system. In 2024, they played in the UEFA Champions League. That journey is only possible because promotion connects every rung of the pyramid.

How Promotion and Relegation Work

Spain uses universal promotion and relegation across all tiers — no closed leagues, no permanent spots.

In La Liga, the bottom three clubs are relegated to Segunda División. The top two in Segunda go up automatically. Teams finishing 3rd through 6th in Segunda enter a two-legged playoff for the third promotion spot.

At Tier 3, group winners go straight up to Segunda. Additional promotion spots are decided through a national playoff involving the next best finishers. Five clubs per group are relegated to Tier 4.

This pattern repeats with variations at every level. One key rule: B teams cannot share a tier with their parent club. If a reserve team earns promotion to a division where its first team already plays, the spot passes to the next club in the table. When a parent club gets relegated into the same tier as its B team, the B team is sent down regardless of its own results.

How Spain Compares to England and Germany

Spain’s overall depth matches England’s. Germany goes deeper in the lower amateur layers. What makes Spain stand out is the scale of its semi-professional Tier 3: the 40-club Primera Federación is larger than England’s National League (24 clubs) or Germany’s 3. Liga (20 clubs).

Spain also has one of the highest raw club counts in European football. Over 30,000 clubs compete across all tiers — a figure that reflects both the country’s football culture and the sheer number of active competitions at the grassroots level.

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Frequently Asked Questions

How many divisions does La Liga have?

La Liga is a single division — the top tier of Spanish soccer, with 20 clubs competing in one national league. “La Liga” is sometimes used informally to refer to the broader professional system, but technically it refers to Tier 1 only.

Is the Segunda División professional?

Yes. La Liga and Segunda División are both fully professional, governed by the Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional (LFP). Everything from Tier 3 (Primera Federación) down is administered by the RFEF, with semi-professional or amateur status.

How many soccer clubs are there in Spain?

As of 2023, Spain had more than 30,000 registered clubs — one of the highest totals in European football, spread across all levels from La Liga to local amateur competitions.

The Bottom Line

How many soccer divisions are there in Spain? Five at the national level — La Liga, Segunda División, Primera Federación, Segunda Federación, and Tercera Federación. Below that, each autonomous community adds its own regional pyramid, pushing the total to around 10 competitive levels. It’s one of the deepest, widest football systems in the world, connecting more than 1.2 million players across a structure that lets any club, from any level, work their way to the top.