Andalusian football will experience a significant loss of representation in the Primera Federación for the 2026/27 campaign. While the final playoff results for promotion to the Second Division are still pending, it is confirmed that the region will have only four teams in the third tier of national football. This figure marks the lowest historical participation for Andalusia since the new division was established by the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF).
Algeciras CF is preparing for its sixth consecutive season in this league. The club was one of the founding members in 2021/22, following the RFEF's restructuring. The category has seen many clubs come and go, including Andalusian historic teams like Málaga and Córdoba, who have managed to return to professional football, while others have seen significant relegations.
The Primera Federación once featured a maximum of nine Andalusian teams, accounting for nearly a quarter of the total 40 participants. However, next season this number will be reduced to a minimum of four. Alongside Algeciras, the teams will be Antequera CF, Juventud Torremolinos, and the newly promoted Real Jaén. Jaén's promotion has partially mitigated the 'Andalusian catastrophe' in Group II of the 25/26 season, which saw four of its representatives relegated: Betis Deportivo, Marbella, Atlético Sanluqueño, and Sevilla Atlético.
Traditionally, Andalusian football has been strong in the former Segunda B and the Primera Federación. Historically, the region has always provided a solid block of teams for group formation. In the inaugural season of the Primera RFEF (2021/22), there were seven Andalusian representatives: Algeciras, Balona, Linares, San Fernando, Sanluqueño, Sevilla Atlético, and Betis Deportivo. Three were relegated, and Linares reached the promotion playoffs.
The 2022/23 season saw a reduction to five teams: Linares, Córdoba, San Fernando, Algeciras, and Balona. In 2023/24, the number rose to nine clubs, including Algeciras, Córdoba, Málaga, Recreativo de Huelva, Antequera, Sanluqueño, San Fernando, Linares, and Recreativo Granada. After that season, Córdoba and Málaga were promoted, and three teams were relegated, one of which was San Fernando, which later dissolved.
The 2024/25 season featured seven Andalusian teams: Algeciras, Antequera, Sevilla Atlético, Betis Deportivo, Sanluqueño, Marbella, and Recreativo de Huelva. Antequera reached the promotion playoffs, while Recreativo de Huelva was relegated.
The recently concluded 2025/26 season began with seven Andalusian teams: Algeciras, Antequera, Juventud Torremolinos, Betis Deportivo, Sevilla Atlético, Marbella, and Sanluqueño. The outcome was the absence of Andalusian teams in the promotion phase and the relegation of four of these clubs.
For the 2026/27 season, Algeciras is confirmed as the sole team from the province of Cádiz in the category, and the second highest representative nationally after Cádiz CF.
This decline in the Primera Federación is linked to the strong performance of Andalusian teams in the First and Second Divisions, but also to an oversupply of teams in the Segunda RFEF (the fourth tier). Currently, ten Andalusian teams have secured spots for the next campaign: Recreativo de Huelva, Sevilla Atlético, Betis Deportivo, Marbella, Sanluqueño, Xerez Club Deportivo, Estepona, Linares, Ciudad de Lucena, and Mijas. Xerez CD did not achieve promotion.
Two more teams could join these ten if Atlético Central or Arenas de Armilla manage to ascend from the Tercera RFEF.
