Torneo de Verano

The Torneo de Verano de la Liga Federal de Valladares or Torneo de Verano (Summer Tournament) for short is an annual tournament held for Valladar Liga-1 clubs in January and February in the lead up to the start of the Liga-1 season. The competition, which features a group stage and a knockout stage and is usually played at a neutral ground, was devised to give teams that failed to qualify for any IFCF competition in the previous season a chance to get some preparation ahead of the Liga-1 season, as well as offering fans the opportunity to watch competitive domestic football in the first months of the year.

The current champions are Marinos Metropolis, who defeated Tannenberg FC in the final of the seventh edition of the competition.

Competition format
The Torneo de Verano is contested by the Valladar Liga-1 clubs that failed to qualify for the Champions League, the Challengers Cup or the Liga B Champions Trophy at the end of the preceding season. The participating teams are split into three groups where they play every other team in their group once, with the three group winners as well as the best group runners-up advancing to the semi-finals. The semi-finals and final are single-legged matches, in which extra time will be played if tied after 90 minutes and a penalty shoot-out will decide the winner if still tied at the end of extra time.

Whilst the first editions of the tournament were conceived as friendly competitions within the pre-season preparation of participating teams and were held in intermittent fashion, the increasing competitiveness displayed by the participating teams as well as the successful reception by fans convinced the Liga Federal de Valladares to turn it into an official competition and thus, starting from the fifth edition of the tournament (held prior to the 64th Liga-1 season), the Torneo de Verano champions get the chance to play a single match on neutral ground against the fourth- or fifth-placed team in the Liga-1 season for a berth into the following season's Challengers Cup.

All matches of the competition are played at a single stadium which does not serve as host to any Liga-1 teams. This is aimed at ensuring a level playing field for everyone involved as well as bringing top-flight football to zones of the country which do not usually get the chance to have teams in Liga-1.

Media coverage
Given that the Torneo de Verano is considered for practical effects as an extension of the Valladar Liga-1 season, all television and radio broadcast agreements signed by the Liga-1 also apply to Torneo de Verano matches.