Editing La Liga (section)

==Competition format==
The competition format follows the usual double [[Round-robin tournament|round-robin]] format. During the course of a season, which lasts from August to May, each club plays every other club twice, once at home and once away, for 38 matches. Teams receive three points for a win, one point for a draw, and no points for a loss. Teams are ranked by total points, with the highest-ranked club crowned champion at the end of the season.

===Promotion and relegation===
A system of [[promotion and relegation]] exists between the ''Primera División'' and the ''[[Segunda División]]''. The three lowest placed teams in La Liga are relegated to the ''Segunda División'', and the top two teams from the ''Segunda División'' promoted to La Liga, with an additional club promoted after a series of play-offs involving the third, fourth, fifth and sixth placed clubs. Below is a complete record of how many teams played in each season throughout the league's history;

{| class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible"
|+Number of clubs in La Liga throughout the years
!Period (in years)
!{{Abbr|No.|Number}}{{Abbr}} of clubs
|-
|1929–1934
|10 clubs
|-
|1934–1941
|12 clubs
|-
|1941–1950
|14 clubs
|-
|1950–1971
|16 clubs
|-
|1971–1987
|18 clubs
|-
|1987–1995
|20 clubs
|-
|1995–1997
|22 clubs
|-
|1997–present
|20 clubs
|}

===Tie breaker rules===
If points are equal between two or more clubs, the rules are:<ref>{{Cite news |date=7 June 2010 |title=Reglamento General de la RFEF 2010 (Artículo 201.2) (page 138) |language=es |publisher=[[Royal Spanish Football Federation|RFEF]] |url=https://www.rfef.es/FCKeditor/UserFiles/File/normativas/Reglamento2010.pdf |url-status=dead |access-date=23 June 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110519225919/https://rfef.es/FCKeditor/UserFiles/File/normativas/Reglamento2010.pdf |archive-date=19 May 2011}}</ref>
* If all clubs involved have played each other twice:
** If the tie is between two clubs, then the tie is broken using the head-to-head [[goal difference]] for those clubs (without [[away goals rule]]).
** If the tie is between more than two clubs, then the tie is broken using the games the clubs have played against each other:
*** a) head-to-head points
*** b) head-to-head goal difference
* If two legged games between all clubs involved have not been played, or the tie is not broken by the rules above, it is broken using:
** a) total goal difference
** b) total goals scored
* If the tie is still not broken, the winner will be determined by [[Sportsmanship|Fair Play]] scales.<ref>{{Cite news |date=30 October 1998 |title=Criterios de puntuación del juego limpio |language=es |publisher=[[Royal Spanish Football Federation|RFEF]] |url=https://www.rfef.es/index.jsp?nodo=298#ancla2 |url-status=dead |access-date=18 May 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100407195555/https://www.rfef.es/index.jsp?nodo=298#ancla2 |archive-date=7 April 2010}}</ref> These are:
** [[Yellow card (sports)|yellow card]], 1 point
** [[Yellow card (sports)|doubled yellow card]]/[[Ejection (sports)|ejection]], 2 points
** [[Red card (sports)|direct red card]], 3 points
** suspension or disqualification of [[Head coach|coach]], executive or other club personnel (outside [[Referee (association football)|referees']] decisions), 5 points
** misconduct of the [[Sports fan|supporters]]: mild 5 points, serious 6 points, very serious 7 points
** stadium closure, 10 points
** if the Competition Committee removes a penalty, the points are also removed
* If the tie is still not broken, it will be resolved with a tie-break match in a neutral stadium.

===Qualification for European competitions===
{{See also|UEFA coefficient#Country coefficient|l1=UEFA country coefficients}}

====Current criteria====
The top four teams in La Liga qualify for the subsequent season's [[UEFA Champions League]] league stage. The winners of the UEFA Champions League and [[UEFA Europa League]] also qualify for the subsequent season's UEFA Champions League league stage.

The fifth place team in La Liga and the winner of the {{Lang|es|[[Copa del Rey]]|italic=no}} also qualify for the subsequent season's UEFA Europa League group stage. However, if the winner also finished in the top five places in La Liga, then this place reverts to the team that finished sixth in La Liga. Furthermore, the sixth place (or seventh if sixth already qualifies due to the {{Lang|es|[[Copa del Rey]]|italic=no}}) team qualifies for the subsequent season's [[UEFA Conference League]] play-off round.<ref>{{Cite news |date=4 May 2018 |title=Premier League clubs' UEFA qualification explained |publisher=Premier League |url=https://www.premierleague.com/news/671047 |access-date=6 November 2018 |archive-date=2 May 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180502203145/https://www.premierleague.com/news/671047 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The number of places allocated to Spanish clubs in [[UEFA]] competitions is dependent upon the position a country holds in the [[UEFA coefficient#Men's Association coefficient|UEFA country coefficients]], which are calculated based upon the performance of teams in [[UEFA]] competitions in the previous five years. As of the end of the [[2023–24 La Liga|2023–24]] season, the ranking of Spain (and [[de facto]] La Liga) is second.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Country coefficients |url=https://www.uefa.com/memberassociations/uefarankings/country/#/yr/2021 |access-date=22 May 2021 |publisher=UEFA |archive-date=4 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191204125228/https://www.uefa.com/memberassociations/uefarankings/country/#/yr/2021 |url-status=dead }}</ref>