*About the the Primera División (First Division) of the Liga de Fútbol Profesional (Professional Football League), commonly known as La Liga (The League) by english speakers or, in terms of sponsorship, Liga BBVA (BBVA League) since 2008, is the top professional association football league in Spain. It is contested by 20 teams, with the three lowest placed teams relegated to the Segunda División and replaced by the top three teams in that division. A total of 58 teams have competed in La Liga, nine of which have been crowned champions. Since the 1950s, Real Madrid and FC Barcelona have dominated the championship. The former have won the title 31 times while the latter have won it on 19 occasions. However, during the 1930s and 1940s and in the last two decades, La Liga has seen other champions including Atlético Madrid, Athletic Bilbao, Valencia, Sevilla, Deportivo, Real Sociedad and Real Betis.
La Liga is one of the most popular professional sports leagues in the world, with an average attendance of 29,029 for league matches in the 2007-2008 season. This is the eighth highest of any domestic professional sports league in the world and the third highest of any professional association football league, behind the Bundesliga and the Premier League. La Liga is currently ranked the second strongest league in Europe according to UEFA’s league coefficient, based on recent European performances