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TheApertura ([apeɾˈtuɾa]) andClausura ([klawˈsuɾa]) tournaments is a splitseason format for Spanish-speakingsports leagues. It is a relatively recent innovation for manyLatin Americanfootballleagues in which the traditionalassociation football season from August to May is divided in two sections perseason, each with its ownchampion.Apertura andClausura are theSpanish words for "opening" and "closing". In French-speakingHaiti, these are known as theOuverture and theFermeture, while in English-speakingBelize, they are respectively theOpening andClosing seasons. When used in the United States and Canada, they are known as theSpring Championship andFall Championship (French:Championnat de printemps; Championnat d'automne).
TheApertura is held in the first half of the calendar year inBolivia,Colombia,Haiti,Paraguay andUruguay while it is held in the second half of the calendar year inCosta Rica,El Salvador,Guatemala,Honduras,Mexico andNicaragua.
The wordsApertura andClausura are used in most Latin American countries. Some, however, use different terminology:
In most leagues, each tournament constitutes a national championship in itself. On the other hand, in the leagues of Nicaragua, Peru, and Uruguay, the winners of theApertura andClausura play each other in a playoff for the season title, or there is a final stage where teams qualify based on placements in theApertura andClausura. Thus, two championship titles are awarded per year in the first group of leagues, and only one in the second. In Mexico andColombia, for instance, the winners of each tournament play each other at the beginning of the following season for another title, but this is a rather minor season curtain-raiser, akin to nationalSuper Cups inEuropean leagues. SomeApertura andClausura tournaments also have second stages to decide the winner.
In leagues with 12 or fewer teams, eachApertura andClausura has a double round-robin format, as a means to fill in the gaps caused by the lack of elimination cup competitions as in most European countries. In leagues with 16 or more teams, each tournament has a single round-robin format.
Relegations, if any, are done on anaggregate basis; usually the combined table for both tournaments determine relegation placements. In some leagues, the average points over the previous two or three seasons are used to determine relegation.
Peru abolished itsApertura andClausura format after the 2008 season but brought it back for the 2014 season. Ecuador adopted theApertura andClausura in 2005 featuring two champions in the season, however, its subsequent tournaments renamed theApertura andClausura as first and second stages, respectively, with the top placed teams advancing to a third stage to determine the champion and international qualification. Starting in 2009, the Ecuadorian championships were decided by a final between stage or group winners, maintaining the half-year tournament format.
Argentine Football Association (AFA) presidentJulio Grondona proposed in December 2008 the return to a single championship per season format,[1] and at the conclusion of the2014Primera season this happened, with the2015 season taking a European style year long season from February to December. The AFA later decided to change its season to one spanning two calendar years; as such, the2016 season is an abbreviated tournament held from February to May, followed by an August-to-June season from 2016–17 forward.
ThePremier League of Belize, created in 2012 by the merger of two rival top-level leagues, began a split season in 2012–13. The Opening Season takes place in the second half of the calendar year, with the Closing Season following in the first half of the next calendar year. Like most Latin American leagues, it crowns two separate champions in each season. However, its format is significantly different from that of most other leagues, being more similar to the system used byMajor League Soccer in the United States and Canada.
In the first split season (2012–13), the league's 12 teams were divided into two six-team zones. During the first half of the season, every team played a double round-robin within its zone, plus single games against four teams from the opposite zone, resulting in a 14-game schedule. The top two teams from each zone qualified for a playoff round, with the top team from each zone matched against the second-place team from the other zone in the two-legged semifinals. The semifinal winners advanced to a two-legged final. In the second half of the season, only eight of the initial 12 teams competed; all teams played a double round-robin in that half of the season, followed by a four-team knockout playoff (again two-legged throughout).
The number of teams participating in the top flight dropped to seven for the 2013–14 season. Each half of that season will have the same format as the 2013 Closing Season.
TheBrazilian national league is a notable tournament in Latin America not to split the season into two parts, using a single-season double round-robin format to decide the champions, similar to those in European leagues, though played between May and December. Brazilian clubs also participate in thestate leagues from January to April, some of which do feature a split season format. Brazil also has, unlike most Latin American nations, anational cup.
In1967 and1968, theTaça Brasil andTorneio Roberto Gomes Pedrosa were run in the same year, making these yearsde facto Apertura and Clausura seasons. Both tournaments' winners are recognized as Brazilian champions.
For the 2019 season only, theCanadian Premier League adopted a split-season format divided into Spring and Fall seasons. The winner of each part of the season advances to theCanadian Premier League Finals. Following the traditional standard for soccer in the United States and Canada, the season is entirely contained within a calendar year, running April to November. The CPL did not follow a simple double round-robin format; the spring season was an uneven 10 match season, while the fall season was a triple round robin, 18 match season.
The second incarnation of theNorth American Soccer League adopted a split-season format in 2013, divided into Spring and Fall Championships. Like other soccer leagues in the United States and Canada, the season was entirely contained within a calendar year.[2] Beginning in 2014, the winner of each season qualified for the playoffs along with the two teams with the best records in the combined seasons; the two season winners previously qualified directly for theSoccer Bowl championship.[2] The seasons were unbalanced, with the fall season completing a full double round-robin while the shorter spring season only had single round-robin.[3][4] The NASL cancelled its Spring 2018 season after it lost Division II sanctioning from theUnited States Soccer Federation and later ceased operations amid a legal challenge against the federation.[5][6]
The third-divisionNational Independent Soccer Association debuted in 2019 with a split season format that was played from fall to spring. The fall and spring seasons both had their own playoffs to determine the league champions.[7][8] The format was abandoned following theFall 2021 season as the league moved to a spring-to-fall single-season schedule.[9]
The USSR Championship in football among "exhibition teams" (later "teams of masters") started in 1936. Its first season (1936) contained a split-season format for all four tiers of the championship including Groups (A, B, V, and Ghe). In 1976 a split-season format was once again revived for theTop League only and for a single season. On both occasions the seasons were conducted in a singleround-robin tournament.
In Belgium a large reform of theBelgian football league system was performed in 2016, which reduced the number of professional teams to 24, with only 8 teams remaining at the second level, calledBelgian First Division B. From the2016–17 season until the2019–20 season, the 8 teams played two tournaments, with the winners of both tournaments playing a two-legged playoff to determine the overall champion. This format was abolished for the2020–21 season, and the competition reverted to a traditional format played from August to April.
For most of its history (except in 1996) theJ. League inJapan had a similar system for itsfirst division, although it was called 1st Stage and 2nd Stage. The seasons became unified in 2005, partially to avoid conflicts with theEmperor's Cup. It briefly resumed the same format for 2015 and 2016 seasons.
TheJapan Football League, at the fourth tier, briefly introduced the format from 2014 to 2019.
The first season ofS.League in1996 was played in split seasons and a playoff model, with the first series being named Tiger Beer Series, and the second series being named Pioneer Series. Winners of both series then played each other at the end of the season in a championship Playoff, with the winner of the Playoff being crowned the first champion of S.League. This split seasons format has not been used since the first season.
TheK-League ofSouth Korea also had the same system in 1984, 1986, 1995, 2004, 2005, and 2006. In 2007, it again became unified because of confusion among fans.
All the following leagues are their country's top national division (Div 1) unless otherwise indicated.
| Country | League | Champions | Calendar | Seasons |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CONMEBOL | ||||
 Argentina | Primera División | One | European (August–June) | 1990/91–2014 |
 Bolivia | División de Fútbol Profesional | One | European (August–May) American (January–December) | 1991–2017 2018–present[10] |
 Chile | Primera División | One | European (July–June) American (January–December) | 2013/14–2017 1997, 2002–2009, 2011–2012[11] |
 Colombia | Primera A | Both | American (February–December) | 2002–present |
 Ecuador | Serie A | One | American (February–December) | 2005-present |
 Paraguay | Primera División | Both (Since 2007) | American (February–December) | 1996–present |
 Peru | Primera División | One | American (February–November) | 1997–2008, 2014–present |
 Uruguay | Primera División | One | European (August–June) American (January–December) | 1994–2016 2017–present |
 Venezuela | Primera División | One | European (July–May) American (January–December) | 1986/87–2015 2016–2019, 2024–present |
| CONCACAF | ||||
 Belize | Premier League | Both (Since 2012–13) | European (August–May) | 2012/13–present |
 Canada | Canadian Premier League | One | American (April–October) | 2019 |
 Costa Rica | Primera División | Both | European (August–May) | 2007/08–present |
 El Salvador | Primera División | Both | European (August–June) | 1998/99–present |
 Guatemala | Liga Nacional de Fútbol | Both | European (July–May) | 1999/00–present |
 Guyana | Elite League | One | European (September–June) | 2015/16–present |
 Haiti | Ligue Haïtienne | Both (Since 2002, except in 2005–06) | American (April–November) | 2002, 2003, 2004/05, 2007–present[12] |
 Honduras | Liga Nacional de Fútbol | Both (Since 1997–98) | European (August–May) | 1997/98–present |
 Mexico | Liga MX | Both | European (July–May) | 1996/97–present |
 Nicaragua | Primera División | One | European | 2004/05–present |
 Panama | Liga de Fútbol | Both (Since 2007) | European (July–May) | 2001/02–present |
 United States | NASL (defunct, Div 2) | One | American (April–November) | 2013–2017 |
| NISA (Div 3) | One | European (August–June) | 2019–2021 | |
| AFC | ||||
 Japan | J1 League | One | American (March–November) | 1993–1995, 1997–2005, 2015–2016 |
| Japan Football League (Div 4) | One | American (March–November) | 2014–2019 | |
 Singapore | S.League | One | American (April-November) | 1996 |
 South Korea | K League Classic | One | American (March–November) | 1984, 1986, 1995, 2004, 2005, 2006 |
| UEFA | ||||
 Belgium | First Division B (Div 2) | One | European (August–May) | 2016/17–2019/20 |
 Soviet Union | Top League (Group A) | Both | American (January–December) | 1936, 1976 |
In baseball, theDouble-ASouthern andTexas Leagues in theUnited States both use a similar system, dividing the March–October regular season in half, with records being cleared mid-season, and the top teams mid-season and at the end of the season clinching spots in the playoff for the leaguepennant (the remainder of playoff slots being filled bywild cards). This system is used in some Single-A leagues, as well. The March–SeptemberChinese Professional Baseball League and winterMexican Pacific League also follow the same structure, using a team's win record in each stage to determine which advance to the playoffs. Japan'sPacific League had a split season format from 1973 to 1982, with a mini-playoff between the two winners to determine the league's champion.
WhileLittle League Baseball does not mandate any specific scheduling format to be used by local leagues, it recommends dividing the regular season in half and having the first-half winner play against the second-half winner at the end of the season for the championship.[13]
ThePhilippine Basketball Association also conducts a split season similar in many ways to theApertura andClausura.
AllLeague of Legends leagues operate on a split-season system, with one split in the spring and one in the summer. The summer is reserved for the spring split playoffs and theMid-Season Invitational, while the fall is reserved for the summer split playoffs and theLeague of Legends World Championship. Qualification to the World Championship is decided in one of two ways: finishing within the top three within the second split playoffs (for theLCS) or, for theLCK andLPL, either winning the second split or through a system that awards points based on a team's performance in each of the splits, with the best non-qualified teams entering the regional finals for the last one or two spots. Unlike most other split-season formats, the summer split is more important than the spring split; coming second in the summer split is worth as many points as winning the spring split. TheLEC has three splits, winter, spring and summer, as well as an end-of-season tournament called Season Finals which decides which teams qualify for the World Championship.
The first four seasons of theNational Hockey League used a half-season system, with the winners of the two half-seasons playing in the league final.[14]
