History
As part of its 2020 expansion plans, the Royal Spanish Football Federation announced three new divisions, two semi-professional and one amateur: the Primera División RFEF as the new third tier of the Spanish system; the Segunda División RFEF as the new fourth tier, with broadly the same format as the Segunda División B created in 1977; and the Tercera División RFEF as the fifth tier, based on the 1977 Tercera División, with groups limited to teams from each of the country's autonomous communities and managed by a local association.
On June 30, 2022, after only one season of its existence, Primera División RFEF was renamed to Primera Federación.
Format
The Primera Federación consists of a total of 40 clubs divided into two groups of 20 teams each, based on geographic proximity to each other, with an initial division between the northwest and southeast. In the first season, 4 teams will be relegated from the Segunda División, with the rest coming from the Segunda División B.
Like the other Spanish divisions, it is played annually, starting in late August or early September and ending in May or June of the following year.
The twenty teams in each group play each other twice, home and away, for a total of thirty-eight games.
At the end of the season, the seven teams that have accumulated the most points in each group, excluding the reserve teams, qualify for the next edition of the Copa del Rey.
At the end of the season, a total of four teams are promoted to the second division, with the champion of each group automatically promoted to the Segunda División.
The second to fifth place teams play promotion play-offs to the second division, with two of eight teams winning the playoffs and advancing to the Segunda División.
The last five finishers in each division are relegated to the fourth division.