In 1993, the government, unhappy at the way the championship was being run, ordered the competition to be suspended and Olimpia were declared champions by the federation following a vote behind closed doors.

Only Cerro Porteno and Olimpia, the Big Two from the capital, boast crowds approaching the level found in neighbouring Argentina.

However, they fill the 43,000-capacity Defenders of the Chaco stadium in Asuncion, the nation's largest, only when they meet each other.

Olimpia are the most successful club, having won the Libertadores Cup three times, but even they have fallen on hard times.

For nearly 30 years, the club was funded largely by tempestuous, controversial president Osvaldo Domingues Dibb, known locally as ODD.

Domingues Dibb resigned in May 2004 due to health problems. Since then, the club has floundered, finishing bottom of the table in 2004 -- and escaping relegation due to the intricacies of the rules -- and doing little better last year.

On the weekend that Tacuary played Nacional, Olimpia were watched by just over 1,000 people and Cerro had the best attendance -- 2,274.

Football, however, is a great leveller and Paraguay will face both England and Sweden on equal terms when they meet in Germany next month.