La Liga: Dates, teams, venues, history & more

La Liga is one of the top five leagues in European football, with many of the world's top stars regularly plying their trade in the Spanish top-flight.

Barcelona will be looking to retain their title following a strong showing in their first season under Hansi Flick.

Here is everything you need to know about La Liga.

La Liga - Dates

The 2024/25 La Liga season begins on 17th August 2024 and will last all the way through to Sunday 24th May 2025.

La Liga - Teams

La Liga is the men's top professional football division in Spain and it is contested by 20 teams.

Last season, Leganés, Las Palmas and Valladolid were relegated, while Real Madrid, Barcelona, Athletic Bilbao, Atletico Madrid and Villareal finished in the top five.

Real Betis and Celta Vigo qualified for the Europa League in sixth and seventh, respectively, while Rayo Vallecano earned Conference League qualification in eighth.

Here are the list of teams that will compete in the 2024/25 La Liga campaign.

• Alaves
• Atheltic Bilbao
• Atletico Madrid
• Barcelona
• Celta Vigo
• Elche
• Espanyol
• Getafe
• Girona
• Levante
• Mallorca
• Osasuna
• Rayo Vallecano
• Real Betis
• Real Madrid
• Real Oviedo
• Real Sociedad
• Sevilla
• Valencia
• Villarreal

La Liga - Venues & stadiums

La Liga follows the usual double round-robin format, meaning each club plays every other club twice throughout the campaign, once at home and once away, for 38 matches.

Some of the world's most iconic stadiums are used every season, including Barcelona's Camp Nou and Real Madrid's Santiago Bernabeu.

Here is the list of stadiums that will be used in La Liga for the 2024/25 season.

Alaves	Mendizorrotza
Athletic Bilbao	San Mames
Atletico Madrid	Metropolitano
Barcelona	Olimpic Lluis Companys and Camp Nou (mid-season)
Celta Vigo	Balaidos
Elche	Martínez Valero
Espanyol	Stage Front Stadium
Getafe	Coliseum
Girona	Montilivi
Levante	Ciutat de València
Mallorca	Son Moix
Osasuna	El Sadar
Rayo Vallecano	Vallecas
Real Betis	Benito Villamarin
Real Madrid	Santiago Bernabeu
Real Oviedo	Carlos Tartiere
Real Sociedad	Anoeta
Sevilla	Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan
Valencia	Mestalla
Villarreal	La Ceramica

La Liga - History

In April 1928, Jose Maria Acha, a director at Getxo, proposed the idea of a national league in Spain. The Real Federacion Espanola de Futbol eventually agreed to create a 10-team league in 1929.

Barcelona won the first La Liga crown in 1929, but it was Athletic Bilbao that dominated the early years, winning the division in 1930, 1931, 1934 and 1936. 

The league did not run from 1936-1939 due to the Spanish Civil War before returning for the 1939-40 campaign.

Over the years, the number of clubs competing would expand, and in 1987, it reached 20 clubs, although 22 clubs competed between 1995 and 1997.

In total, there have been 93 La Liga campaigns since its inception in 1929.

La Liga - Odds and favourites