The Spanish football categories range from the professional elite to grassroots leagues, forming one of the most complete football systems in Europe. In Spain, the most important football competition is La Liga, also known as LaLiga EA SPORTS, sponsor of the 2025/2026 season. This competition features the best clubs in Spain, with Real Madrid and FC Barcelona as the main benchmarks.
The competition is regulated by the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), and for the 2026/27 season, 5 Spanish teams will compete in the UEFA Champions League, 2 teams will compete in the Europa League, and one team will fight to win the Conference League. Not everything is rewards — the three worst-ranked teams face relegation to the Second Division, Liga Hypermotion; even so, in their first year in Liga Hypermotion, they will receive significant financial support from the RFEF to build a squad with the goal of returning to the top tier of Spanish football.
As for the most decorated teams in the history of this competition, Real Madrid leads with 36 Liga titles, followed by Barça with 29 titles across all editions played.
Regarding salaries in the 2025/2026 season in LaLiga, the average annual salary of players stands at around €3,119,731. However, there is significant salary variation within squads, where players with less prominence or experience may earn approximately €190,000 per year, while most professional players earn over €300,000 annually, reaching much higher figures at clubs in the upper part of the table.
Second Division. Liga Hypermotion 2025/2026
Next is the Second Division, Liga Hypermotion, which is made up of 22 teams and is the second most important league in Spain. The champion and runner-up are automatically promoted, while the teams finishing between 3rd and 6th place compete in a promotion playoff, from which only one additional team earns promotion.
In terms of salaries, wages in LaLiga Hypermotion for the 2025/2026 season start at a minimum of approximately €98,000 gross per year, according to the current collective agreement, while the average salary in the division ranges between €150,000 and €200,000 per year. Generally, the highest earners are centre forwards.
Third Division – 1st RFEF
The third tier of Spanish football, known as the 1st RFEF, is made up of two groups and is considered the last fully professional category in Spain. This category includes historic clubs with very high budgets compared to newly promoted sides. Even so, every year there are surprises, with low-budget clubs breaking into the top positions.
The promotion system works as follows: the top team in each group is directly promoted to LaLiga Hypermotion, while the teams finishing between 2nd and 5th in each group compete in a playoff for the remaining two promotion spots. As for relegations, the bottom four teams in each group are relegated to the Segunda Federación RFEF, a category that is already semi-professional in nature.
Players in the Primera RFEF earn an average salary of approximately €50,000 per year. Wages vary significantly depending on the club and the player’s role, in many cases ranging between €25,000 and €80,000 per year, while the most important players or those with experience in higher categories can reach figures above €150,000.
Segunda RFEF and Tercera RFEF
From this point on, there is the 2nd RFEF and the 3rd RFEF, where teams are semi-professional.
The 2nd RFEF is structured into 5 groups across Spain, divided by regions, while the 3rd RFEF has 18 groups. The promotion system is the same for both categories. The group winners are directly promoted, while the teams finishing from 2nd to 5th play a playoff among themselves to secure the remaining promotion spots.
Players in the Segunda RFEF earn approximately between €15,000 and €50,000 per year, depending on the team’s objectives.
From the 3rd RFEF onwards, regional leagues are played that are not organised by the Royal Spanish Football Federation but by regional federations; in these categories, players are entirely amateur. A player in the 3rd RFEF earns from around €3,000 to €15,000 per year at the most prominent clubs.
At this level, many LaLiga clubs organise official football trials to scout national and international talent. There are also independent football trials in Spain where sporting directors and representation agencies gather to evaluate players with options to join professional or semi-professional clubs, facilitating the competitive step up towards higher-level structures.
Youth categories in Spain (16, 17 and 18 years old)
División de Honor
The top category at youth level in Spain, home to the best academies in the country. It is made up of 7 groups according to territory, and the best-ranked teams can compete in the Youth Copa del Rey, which determines the best youth team of the year — the greatest possible achievement for a club’s youth football. This trophy is usually won by a LaLiga EA club.
Liga Nacional
This is the second category at national youth level and, like the División de Honor, is also governed by the RFEF. In this category there is one group per region and only the best team earns promotion to the top category. Liga Nacional usually features the “B” teams of Spain’s major clubs, with U16 players and advanced-stage cadets.
Liga Preferente
This category is already organised by the regional federations and its structure depends on the number of licences in each autonomous community, with one, two, or even three groups per region to reduce travel and costs. Even so, it is a very important category as it enables the step up to national competitions.
From the Liga Preferente onwards, there are the 1st Division, 2nd Division, and 3rd Division, where clubs tend to be local and from small towns in each territory.
Cadet categories (14 and 15 years old)
División de Honor
Just as in the youth category, this is the top tier of cadet football in Spain, but with a broader structure across autonomous communities. There is usually one group per autonomous community, depending on the competitive level. All competitions are already organised by regional federations.
Preferente
This is the second cadet category, with several groups per territory competing for promotion to the División de Honor. It is a very demanding category where only the best-ranked teams earn promotion.
Infantil categories (12 and 13 years old)
The structure of infantil football is similar to that of the cadet category, with a top regional category (División de Honor) and a Liga Preferente with several groups. The best teams access the top regional category.
Alevín (10 and 11 years old) and Benjamín (8 and 9 years old) categories
At younger ages, Spanish football depends largely on the regional federations. In addition, many academies in Spain organise their own matches and competitions outside the federation framework to provide more competitive experience.
Categories in Spanish Women’s Football
The Spanish football categories in women’s football are more limited.
The first division is the Liga F (Liga Profesional de Fútbol Femenino de España), where the best clubs in the country compete, with FC Barcelona standing out as the dominant force of the last decade. It is currently the only professional women’s league in Spain.
The league champion earns a direct place in the UEFA Women’s Champions League, while the second and third-placed teams enter the preliminary qualifying rounds of the tournament.
Historically, clubs such as Atlético de Madrid, RCD Espanyol, and Athletic Club were pioneers in women’s football in Spain, although in recent years new powers such as Real Madrid and Real Sociedad, among others, have emerged.
The women’s Second Division is made up of a single group of 14 teams. The champion is directly promoted to Liga F, while the teams finishing between 2nd and 5th place compete in a playoff for the second promotion spot, with the particularity that reserve teams are excluded from the playoff even if they finished in those positions.
Regarding youth football, unlike men’s football, due to the significantly lower number of licences, there is no national category at any age group and everything is also managed by the regional federations.
If as a footballer you want to be part of a professional club within the Spanish football categories, do not hesitate to contact us to find out all the available options.
