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1948 Campeonato Profesional

Campeonato Profesional
Season1948
Dates15 August – 19 December 1948
ChampionsSanta Fe (1st title)
Matches played90
Goals scored409 (4.54 per match)
Top goalscorerAlfredo Castillo (31)
Biggest home winSanta Fe 6–0 Ind. Medellín
Junior 6–0 Once Deportivo
Millonarios 6–0 Once Deportivo
Biggest away winInd. Medellín 3–7 Millonarios
Highest scoringMillonarios 7–4 Deportes Caldas
Junior 8–3 Ind. Medellín
1949 →

The 1948 Campeonato Profesional was the first season of Colombia's top-flight football league. The tournament was started on 15 August, with the match between Atlético Municipal and Universidad. Ten teams competed against one another and played each weekend until 19 December.

Independiente Santa Fe were the champions, after earning 27 points in 18 matches played. Atlético Junior were the runners-up and Deportes Caldas ended in third place. Striker Alfredo Castillo, who played for Millonarios, ended as the season's top scorer.[1]

Background

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The creation of the Colombian Football Federation dates back to 1924, but it was not until 1948 that a professional club tournament was played, with the creation of Dimayor on 27 June 1948.[2][3] Ten teams signed up for the tournament, with each one having to pay a fee of 1,000 pesos: one from Barranquilla, three from Bogotá, two from Cali, two from Manizales, and two from Medellín.[4] 252 players were registered as follows: 182 Colombians, 13 Argentines, 8 Peruvians, 5 Uruguayans, 2 Chileans, 2 Ecuadorians, 1 Dominican and 1 Spanish.[4]

League system

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Every team played two games against each other team, one at home and one away. Teams received two points for a win and one point for a draw. If two or more teams were tied on points, places were determined by goal difference. The team with the most points was the champion of the league.

Teams

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Locations of the 1948 Campeonato Profesional teams:
  • 1. Barranquilla
  • 2. Bogotá
  • 3. Cali
  • 4. Manizales
  • 5. Medellín
  • 6. Pereira

The competition was contested by 10 clubs, all of which were founding members of Dimayor. Out of the 13 founding members of the entity, only Victoria F.C., Huracán de Medellín, and Boca Juniors de Cali did not enter the competition, with the latter two joining the league for the following edition.[2]

Team City Stadium
América Cali Olímpico Pascual Guerrero
Atlético Municipal Medellín[i] Hipódromo San Fernando
Deportes Caldas Manizales Fernando Londoño Londoño
Deportivo Cali Cali Olímpico Pascual Guerrero
Independiente Medellín Medellín[i] Hipódromo San Fernando
Junior Barranquilla Romelio Martínez
Millonarios Bogotá El Campín
Once Deportivo Manizales Fernando Londoño Londoño
Santa Fe Bogotá Alfonso López Pumarejo
Universidad Bogotá[ii] Alberto Mora Mora
Notes
  1. ^ a b Atlético Municipal and Independiente Medellín played their home matches in Itagüí.
  2. ^ Universidad played their home matches in Pereira.

Final standings

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 Santa Fe (C) 18 12 3 3 57 29 +28 27
2 Junior 18 11 1 6 48 35 +13 23
3 Deportes Caldas 18 8 4 6 45 40 +5 20
4 Millonarios 18 9 1 8 58 45 +13 19
5 América 18 8 2 8 40 31 +9 18
6 Atlético Municipal 18 7 4 7 29 36 −7 18
7 Independiente Medellín 18 7 3 8 37 49 −12 17
8 Deportivo Cali 18 6 4 8 35 41 −6 16
9 Once Deportivo 18 5 4 9 32 50 −18 14
10 Universidad 18 3 2 13 28 53 −25 8
Source: RSSSF
(C) Champions

Results

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Home \ Away AME CAL DCA JUN DIM MIL MUN OND SFE UNI
América 1–0 5–1 3–0 4–0 4–0 3–0 2–2 1–2 2–1
Deportivo Cali 4–3 2–2 2–4 1–1 2–4 4–1 2–2 1–0 2–5
Deportes Caldas 1–3 3–2 3–1 4–1 3–0 3–1 3–2 1–1 5–2
Junior 4–2 2–0 1–0 8–3 5–2 1–0 6–0 2–4 4–0
Independiente Medellín 1–1 0–1 1–3 3–2 3–7 2–1 5–2 2–0 5–0
Millonarios 2–0 3–2 7–4 6–1 5–2 3–4 6–0 1–2 4–1
Atlético Municipal 3–2 4–3 3–1 1–1 0–3 2–2 1–0 2–1 2–0
Once Deportivo 2–1 3–1 3–5 0–2 3–3 2–1 2–2 2–5 3–1
Santa Fe 5–1 3–3 2–2 4–1 6–0 5–3 5–2 2–1 6–3
Universidad 3–2 1–2 2–2 2–3 1–2 3–2 0–0 2–3 1–4
Source: RSSSF
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Top goalscorers

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Rank Name Club Goals
1 Argentina Alfredo Castillo Millonarios 31
2 Spain Argentina Jesús María Lires Santa Fe 20
3 Argentina Germán Anton Santa Fe 18
4 Argentina Pedro Cabillón Millonarios 14
Colombia Jaime Cardona Deportes Caldas 14
6 Colombia Rigoberto García Junior 11
Colombia Carlos Arango Deportes Caldas 11
8 Colombia Ricardo López Universidad 10
9 Argentina Ricardo Ruiz Deportivo Cali 9
10 Colombia Octavio Carrillo Junior 8

Source: RSSSF.com Colombia 1948


 1948 Campeonato Profesional champion 
Santa Fe
1st title

References

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  1. ^ "Santa Fe, primer campeón para la eternidad" [Santa Fe, first champion for eternity] (in Spanish). El Espectador. 25 February 2021. Retrieved 19 August 2025.
  2. ^ a b Uribe, Juan Manuel (20 February 2025). "Los 13 equipos fundadores de la Dimayor" (in Spanish). Cápsulas de Carreño. Retrieved 19 August 2025.
  3. ^ Ruíz Bonilla, Guillermo (2008). La gran historia del Fútbol Profesional Colombiano. Ediciones Dayscript. pp. 12–14, 19. ISBN 978-958-98713-0-0.
  4. ^ a b Ruíz Bonilla, Guillermo (2008). La gran historia del Fútbol Profesional Colombiano. Ediciones Dayscript. p. 51. ISBN 978-958-98713-0-0.
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