2017 Categoría Primera A season
The 2017 Categoría Primera A season was the 70th season of Colombia's top-flight football league. Santa Fe were the defending champions having won the title in the 2016 season's Finalización tournament. The season started on 3 February and concluded on 17 December.
In the Torneo Apertura, Atlético Nacional won its sixteenth title after beating Deportivo Cali in the finals, while in the Torneo Finalización Millonarios defeated crosstown rivals Santa Fe in the finals to win its fifteenth title.
Format
The league was played under the same format used since the 2015 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 2018 Copa Libertadores, as well as the top team in the aggregate table not yet qualified and the Copa Colombia champions. The next four best teams in the aggregate table qualified for the 2018 Copa Sudamericana.Teams
20 teams took part, eighteen of them returning from last season plus América de Cali and Tigres, who were promoted from the 2016 Primera B. The former returned to the top tier after 5 years while the latter competed in the Primera A for the first time ever. Both promoted teams replaced Boyacá Chicó and Fortaleza who were relegated at the end of the last season.Stadia and locations
| Team | Manager | Home city | Stadium | Capacity |
| Alianza Petrolera |  Juan Cruz Real | Barrancabermeja | Daniel Villa Zapata | 10,400 |
| América de Cali |  Jorge da Silva | Cali | Pascual Guerrero | 33,130 |
| Atlético Bucaramanga |  Jaime de la Pava | Bucaramanga | Alfonso Lópeza | 28,000 |
| Atlético Huila | Néstor Craviotto | Neiva | Guillermo Plazas Alcid | 22,000 |
| Atlético Nacional |  Juan Manuel Lillo | Medellín | Atanasio Girardot | 40,043 |
| Cortuluá | Néstor Otero | Tuluá | Pascual Guerrerob | 33,130 |
| Deportes Tolima | Alberto Gamero | Ibagué | Manuel Murillo Toro | 28,100 |
| Deportivo Cali | Sergio Angulo | Cali | Deportivo Calic | 52,000 |
| Deportivo Pasto | Flabio Torres | Pasto | Departamental Libertad | 20,665 |
| Envigado | Rubén Darío Bedoya | Envigado | Polideportivo Sur | 11,000 |
| Independiente Medellín | Ismael Rescalvo | Medellín | Atanasio Girardot | 40,043 |
| Jaguares | Hubert Bodhert | Montería | Jaraguay | 12,000 |
| Junior | Julio Comesaña | Barranquilla | Metropolitano Roberto Meléndezd | 49,692 |
| La Equidad | Luis Fernando Suárez | Bogotá | Metropolitano de Techoe | 8,000 |
| Millonarios | Miguel Ángel Russo | Bogotá | Nemesio Camacho El Campín | 36,343 |
| Once Caldas | Herney Duque | Manizales | Palogrande | 28,678 |
| Patriotas | Diego Corredor | Tunja | La Independencia | 20,630 |
| Rionegro Águilas | Diego Edison Umaña | Rionegro | Alberto Grisales | 14,000 |
| Santa Fe | Gregorio Pérez | Bogotá | Nemesio Camacho El Campín | 36,343 |
| Tigres | John Jairo Bodmer | Bogotá | Metropolitano de Techof | 8,000 |
a: Played its Torneo Apertura home games at Estadio Álvaro Gómez Hurtado in Floridablanca due to remodeling works at Estadio Alfonso López.
b: Temporarily plays its home games at Estadio Pascual Guerrero in Cali since Estadio Doce de Octubre failed to meet league requirements. Cortuluá used the Estadio Francisco Rivera Escobar in Palmira for its home game against Deportes Tolima.
c: Deportivo Cali used the Estadio Pascual Guerrero for its home games against Atlético Huila and Cortuluá.
d: Junior used the Estadio Jaime Morón León in Cartagena for its home games until late March due to works on the pitch at Estadio Metropolitano Roberto Meléndez.
e: La Equidad used the Estadio El Campín for its home games against América de Cali and Atlético Nacional.
f: Tigres used the Estadio El Campín for its home game against Atlético Nacional.
Managerial changes
Torneo Apertura
First stage
The First stage began on 3 February 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 phase.Standings
Results
Knockout phase bracket
Quarterfinals
First leg
†: Match played behind closed doors.Second leg
Semifinals
First leg
†: Match played behind closed doors.Second leg
Finals
----Atlético Nacional won 5–3 on aggregate.
| Liga Águila 2017 Apertura Champions |
| Atlético Nacional 16th Title |
Top goalscorers
Source:Torneo Finalización
First stage
The First stage began on 7 July and featured the same format used in the Torneo Apertura, with reversed fixtures. It concluded on 19 November with the top eight teams at the end of this stage advancing to the knockout stage.Standings
Results
Knockout phase bracket
Quarterfinals
First leg
Second leg
Semifinals
First leg
Second leg
Finals
----Millonarios won 3–2 on aggregate.
| Liga Águila 2017 Finalización Champions |
| Millonarios 15th Title |
Top goalscorers
Source:Aggregate table
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, 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 | 79 | 76 | 87 | 242 | 120 | ' | - |
| 2 | Independiente Medellín | 70 | 73 | 69 | 212 | 120 | ' | - |
| 3 | Millonarios | 62 | 70 | 69 | 201 | 120 | ' | - |
| 4 | Santa Fe | 62 | 70 | 67 | 199 | 120 | ' | - |
| 5 | Junior | 69 | 65 | 62 | 196 | 120 | ' | - |
| 6 | Deportivo Cali | 67 | 66 | 53 | 186 | 120 | ' | - |
| 7 | Deportes Tolima | 68 | 57 | 53 | 179 | 120 | ' | - |
| 8 | Patriotas | 58 | 61 | 45 | 164 | 120 | ' | - |
| 9 | Envigado | 61 | 51 | 44 | 156 | 120 | ' | - |
| 10 | Rionegro Águilas | 54 | 60 | 39 | 153 | 120 | ' | - |
| 11 | Once Caldas | 57 | 51 | 42 | 150 | 120 | ' | - |
| 12 | La Equidad | 54 | 42 | 53 | 149 | 120 | ' | - |
| 13 | Atlético Huila | 57 | 42 | 48 | 147 | 120 | ' | - |
| 14 | Alianza Petrolera | 53 | 47 | 46 | 146 | 120 | ' | - |
| 15 | Deportivo Pasto | 39 | 44 | 56 | 139 | 120 | ' | - |
| 16 | América de Cali | 31 | 46 | 60 | 137 | 120 | ' | - |
| 17 | Jaguares | 31 | 46 | 59 | 136 | 120 | ' | - |
| 18 | Atlético Bucaramanga | 31 | 55 | 47 | 133 | 120 | ' | - |
| 19 | Cortuluá ' | 45 | 45 | 42 | 132 | 120 | ' | Relegation to Categoría Primera B |
| 20 | Tigres ' | 31 | 46 | 45 | 122 | 120 | ' | Relegation to Categoría Primera B |
Source:
Rules for classification: 1st average; 2nd goal difference; 3rd number of goals scored; 4th away goals scored.