2016 Categoría Primera A season
The 2016 Categoría Primera A season was the 69th season of Colombia's top-flight football league. Atlético Nacional came in as the defending champions having won the title in the 2015 season's Finalización tournament.
20 teams competed against one another, eighteen returning from last season plus Atlético Bucaramanga and Fortaleza, who were promoted from the 2015 Primera B and will be returning to the top tier after 7 years and 1 year, respectively, replacing Uniautónoma and Cúcuta Deportivo who were relegated at the end of the last season.
Independiente Medellín won its sixth title in the Torneo Apertura after beating Junior in the finals, while in the Torneo Finalización Santa Fe won its ninth title after beating Deportes Tolima in the finals.
Format
The league retained the format used in the most recent season. The Apertura and Finalización tournaments were divided into three stages: a First Stage which was contested on a single round-robin basis, with each team playing the other teams once and playing a regional rival once more for a total of 20 matches. The top eight teams after the twenty rounds advanced to a knockout round, where they were pitted into four ties to be played on a home-and-away basis, with the four winners advancing to the semifinals and the winner of each semifinal advancing to the final of the tournament, which was played on a home-and-away basis as well. The winner of the final in each tournament was declared the tournament champion and will participate in the 2017 Copa Libertadores.Teams
Stadia and locations
| Team | City | Stadium | 2015 season |
| Alianza Petrolera | Barrancabermeja | Daniel Villa Zapata | 14th |
| Atlético Bucaramanga | Bucaramanga | Alfonso Lópeza | 1st |
| Atlético Huila | Neiva | Guillermo Plazas Alcidb | 11th |
| Atlético Nacional | Medellín | Atanasio Girardot | 1st |
| Boyacá Chicó | Tunja | La Independencia | 18th |
| Cortuluá | Tuluá | Doce de Octubre | 15th |
| Deportes Tolima | Ibagué | Manuel Murillo Toro | 5th |
| Deportivo Cali | Cali | Deportivo Calic | 4th |
| Deportivo Pasto | Pasto | Departamental Libertad | 16th |
| Envigado | Envigado | Polideportivo Sur | 8th |
| Fortaleza | Bogotá | Metropolitano de Techo | 3rd |
| Independiente Medellín | Medellín | Atanasio Girardot | 2nd |
| Jaguares | Montería | Jaraguay | 19th |
| Junior | Barranquilla | Metropolitano | 3rd |
| La Equidad | Bogotá | Metropolitano de Techo | 13th |
| Millonarios | Bogotá | Nemesio Camachod | 6th |
| Once Caldas | Manizales | Palogrande | 9th |
| Patriotas | Tunja | La Independencia | 10th |
| Rionegro Águilase | Rionegro | Alberto Grisales | 12th |
| Santa Fe | Bogotá | Nemesio Camachod | 7th |
a: Temporarily plays its home games at Estadio Álvaro Gómez Hurtado in Floridablanca due to remodeling works at Estadio Alfonso López.
b: Temporarily played its home games at Estadio Manuel Murillo Toro in Ibagué due to the temporary closure of Estadio Guillermo Plazas Alcid.
c: Plays Sunday evening home games at Estadio Pascual Guerrero in Cali.
d: Temporarily played its home games at Estadio Metropolitano de Techo due to remodeling works at Estadio El Campín.
e: Formerly known as Águilas Doradas.
Torneo Apertura
First Stage
The First Stage began on 29 January and consisted of twenty rounds including a series of regional rivalries in the tenth round. It ended on 29 May with the top eight teams at the end of this stage advancing to the knockout stage.Standings
Results
Knockout phase bracket
Quarterfinals
Semifinals
Finals
----Top goalscorers
Source:Torneo Finalización
First Stage
The First Stage began on 1 July and featured the same format used in the Torneo Apertura, with reversed fixtures. It ended on 20 November with the top eight teams at the end of this stage advancing to the knockout stage.Standings
Results
Knockout phase bracket
Quarterfinals
Semifinals
Finals
----Top goalscorers
Source:Relegation
A separate table is kept to determine the teams that get relegated to the Categoría Primera B for the next season. The table includes an average of all first stage games played for the current season and the previous two seasons. For purposes of elaborating the table, the promoted teams are given the same point and goal tallies as the team in the 18th position at the start of the season.| Team | Relegation | |||||||
| 1 | Atlético Nacional | 63 | 79 | 76 | 218 | 116 | ' | - |
| 2 | Independiente Medellín | 51 | 70 | 73 | 194 | 116 | ' | - |
| 3 | Santa Fe | 61 | 62 | 70 | 193 | 116 | ' | - |
| 4 | Junior | 55 | 69 | 65 | 189 | 116 | ' | - |
| 5 | Millonarios | 53 | 62 | 70 | 185 | 116 | ' | - |
| 6 | Deportivo Cali | 47 | 67 | 66 | 180 | 116 | ' | - |
| 7 | Rionegro Águilas | 57 | 54 | 60 | 171 | 116 | ' | - |
| 8 | Deportes Tolima | 45 | 68 | 57 | 170 | 116 | ' | - |
| 9 | Once Caldas | 57 | 57 | 51 | 165 | 116 | ' | - |
| 10 | Patriotas | 45 | 58 | 61 | 164 | 116 | ' | - |
| 11 | Envigado | 48 | 61 | 51 | 160 | 116 | ' | - |
| 12 | Alianza Petrolera | 54 | 53 | 47 | 154 | 116 | ' | - |
| 13 | Atlético Huila | 46 | 57 | 42 | 145 | 116 | ' | - |
| 14 | La Equidad | 41 | 54 | 42 | 137 | 116 | ' | - |
| 15 | Atlético Bucaramanga | 45 | 31 | 55 | 131 | 116 | ' | - |
| 16 | Cortuluá | 35 | 45 | 45 | 125 | 116 | ' | - |
| 17 | Jaguares | 45 | 31 | 46 | 122 | 116 | ' | - |
| 18 | Deportivo Pasto | 38 | 39 | 44 | 121 | 116 | ' | - |
| 19 | Boyacá Chicó ' | 47 | 34 | 31 | 112 | 116 | ' | Relegation to Categoría Primera B |
| 20 | Fortaleza ' | 45 | 31 | 35 | 111 | 116 | ' | Relegation to Categoría Primera B |
Source:
Rules for classification: 1st average; 2nd goal difference; 3rd number of goals scored; 4th away goals scored.