Apertura and Clausura

Light-green - countries with Apertura and Clausura tournaments during calendar year; Orange - countries with Apertura and Clausura starting in the second half of calendar year and finishing at the first half of following year; Number 1 shows countries where the Apertura and Clausura are only parts of a larger tournament.

The Apertura [aperˈtuɾa] and Clausura [klawˈsuɾa] tournaments are a relatively recent innovation for many Latin American football leagues in which the traditional European football season from August to May is divided in two sections per season, each with its own champion. Apertura and Clausura are the Spanish words for "opening" and "closing". In French-speaking Haiti, these are known as the Ouverture and the Fermeture, while in English-speaking Belize, they are respectively the "Opening" and "Closing" seasons. The North American Soccer League (NASL), the second-level league in both the United States and Canada, adopted a split season in 2013; the season is divided into a "Spring Championship" and "Fall Championship".

Latin America [edit]

The Apertura is held in the first half of the calendar year in Chile, Colombia, Haiti and Paraguay while it is held in the second half of the calendar year in Argentina, Bolivia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Uruguay and Venezuela.

The words Apertura and Clausura are used in most Latin American countries. Some, however, use different terminology:

Argentina: Starting in 2012–13, Inicial and Final (Spanish for "initial" and "final")
Colombia: Apertura and Finalización
Costa Rica: Invierno and Verano (Spanish for "winter" and "summer")

In most leagues, each tournament constitutes a national championship in itself. On the other hand, in the leagues of Nicaragua, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela, the winners of the Apertura and Clausura play each other in a playoff for the season title, or there is a final stage where teams qualify based on placements in the Apertura and Clausura. Thus, two championship titles are awarded per year in the first group of leagues, and only one in the second. In Mexico, 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 national Super Cups in European leagues. Some Apertura and Clausura tournaments also have second stages to decide the winner.

In leagues with 12 or fewer teams, each Apertura and Clausura 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 an aggregate 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 has abolished its Apertura and Clausura format after the 2008 season and adopted new formats.^{[clarification needed]} Ecuador used it only in 2005. Argentine Football Association president Julio Grondona proposed in December 2008 the return to a single championship per season format,^[1] but there are no plans currently for such a format change in the near future.

Belize [edit]

The Premier 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 by Major League Soccer in the United States and Canada.

The league's 12 teams are divided into two six-team zones. During each half of the season, every team plays 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 qualify 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 advance to a two-legged final.

Brazil [edit]

The Brazilian 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 the state leagues from January to April. Brazil also has, unlike most Latin American nations, a national cup.

Japan and South Korea [edit]

For most of its history (except in 1996, 2002, and 2003) the J. League in Japan had a similar system, although it was called 1st Stage and 2nd Stage. The seasons became unified permanently in 2005, partially to avoid conflicts with the Emperor's Cup. The K-League of South 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.

North American Soccer League [edit]

The NASL adopted a split-season format in 2013, divided into Spring and Fall Championships. Following the traditional standard for the US and Canada, the season is entirely contained within a calendar year. It follows a format more similar to that of Nicaragua, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela—each part of the season is conducted in a double round-robin format, with the winner of each part of the season advancing to a championship final known as the Soccer Bowl.