VENEZUELA NATIONAL FOOTBALL TEAM
WORLD RANKING: 30
GOVERNING BODY:-
Federación Venezolana de Fútbol (FVF)
CAPTAIN:-
Tomás Rincón
COACH:-
José Peseiro
MOST CAPPED PLAYER:-
Juan Arango
TOP SCORER:-
Salomón Rondón
HOME STADIUMS:-
Estadio Olímpico de la UCV, Caracas
Estadio Metropolitano de Mérida, Merida
Polideportivo Cachamay, Avenida Guayana
STAR PLAYERS:-
Salomón Rondón, Tomás Rincón
NICKNAME:-
La Vinotinto (The Red Wine)
RIVALS:-
Colombia
COPA AMERICA:-
Appearances: 19
Best Result: Fourth place (2011)
The Venezuela national football team represents Venezuela in men’s international football and is controlled by the Venezuelan Football Federation (FVF), the governing body for football in Venezuela.
They are nicknamed La Vinotinto (“Red wine”) because of the traditional burgundy colour of their shirts.
When playing at home in official games, they usually rotate between three stadiums: The Polideportivo Cachamay in Puerto Ordaz, the Estadio José Antonio Anzoátegui in Puerto La Cruz and the Estadio Pueblo Nuevo in San Cristóbal. In friendly matches, they tend to rotate between the rest of the stadiums in the country.
Unlike other South American nations, and akin to some Caribbean nations, baseball is extremely popular in Venezuela, which diverts athletic talent away from football, contributing to its historic lack of success in CONMEBOL competitions.
They are the only CONMEBOL side to have never qualified for the FIFA World Cup.
Often Venezuela would go through entire qualification tournaments without recording a single win, although this has not happened since 1998.
Until 2011, their best finish at the Copa América was fifth in their first entry, in 1967.
It is only recently with the spread of the World Cup’s popularity in nations where football was not the primary sport (such as Japan, the United States, and Australia) that the national team found incentives to increase player development and fan support.
Venezuela has held the highest position on the FIFA World Ranking of any team that has not yet qualified for the World Cup, being ranked 25th.
Football in Venezuela
Football is a widely practised and popular sport in Venezuela, although the sport has lagged behind baseball in popularity.
The country has proven to be one of the biggest underachievers in CONMEBOL and was formerly known as the Cenicienta of the region.
Venezuelan football league system
The Venezuelan football league system is a series of interconnected football leagues for clubs in Venezuela and is organized by the Venezuelan Football Federation at the national level.
The system has promotions and relegations between the different leagues in all different levels, which means that even the smallest club can reach the top level, the Primera División.
Level 1 – Primera Division
Venezuelan Primera División (Liga FUTVE)
The Primera División, or Liga Venezolana is the top-flight professional football league of Venezuela.
It was created in 1921 and turned professional in 1957. It is organized by the Federación Venezolana de Fútbol.
Since the 2020 season, the 20 teams play in a home-and-away round-robin tournament, with the top eight teams advancing to the semi-final stage.
In the semi-final stage, the eight teams are divided into two groups of four teams each, facing the other teams in their group twice. The two group winners will advance to the Serie Final to decide the league champions.
International qualification
- The champions and runners-up qualify to the group phase of the Copa Libertadores.
- The team with the most points in the entire season qualifies to the preliminary round of the Copa Libertadores as Venezuela 3.
- The second and third team with the most points in the entire season qualifies for the Copa Sudamericana as Venezuela 1 and Venezuela 2.
- If a team won both tournaments that team qualify for the Copa Libertadores as Venezuela 1, then the first and second team with the most points in the entire season qualify to the Copa Libertadores as Venezuela 2 and Venezuela 3 and the fourth and fifth team with the most points in the entire season qualify to the Copa Sudamericana as Venezuela 1 and Venezuela 2.
- If the winner of the Copa Venezuela does not qualify to the Copa Libertadores through the aforementioned manners or through the point total in the entire season, they take the Venezuela 2 spot in the Copa Sudamericana.
Relegation
- The two lowest placed teams in the entire season are automatically relegated to the Segunda División.
Level 2 – Segunda División
Venezuelan Segunda División
Segunda División is the second tier of the Venezuelan football league system.
The Venezuelan second division was established in 1979.
Level 3 – Tercera División
Venezuelan Tercera División
Tercera División is the fourth tier of the Venezuelan football league system.
The Venezuelan second division was established in 2007.
Level 4 – Torneos Regionales
These are the regional football tournaments in Venezuela.