The () and () tournaments are a split season format for Spanish-speaking sports leagues. It is a relatively recent innovation for many Latin American football leagues in which the traditional association football season from August to May is divided into two sections per season, each with its own champion. and are the Spanish words for "opening" and "closing". In French-speaking Haiti, these are known as the and the , while in English-speaking Belize, they are respectively the Opening and Closing seasons. When used in the United States and Canada, they are known as the Spring Championship and Fall Championship ().
The Americas The is held in the first half of the calendar year in Bolivia, Colombia, Haiti, Paraguay and Uruguay while it is held in the second half of the calendar year in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico and Nicaragua. The words and are used in most Latin American countries. Some use different terminology: Colombia: and Costa Rica: and (Spanish for "winter" and "summer"); until the 2016–17 season.
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 the and play each other in a playoff for the season title, or there is a final stage where teams qualify based on placements in the and . Thus, two championship titles are awarded per year in the first group of leagues, and only one in the second. In Mexico and Colombia, 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 and tournaments also have second stages to decide the winner.
In leagues with 12 or fewer teams, each and 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 determines relegation placements. In some leagues, the average points over the previous two or three seasons are used to determine relegation.
Peru abolished its and format after the 2008 season but brought it back for the 2014 season. Ecuador adopted the and in 2005 featuring two champions in the season, however, its subsequent tournaments renamed the and 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.
Argentina Argentina: Starting in 2012–13, and (Spanish for "initial" and "final"). Argentine Football Association (AFA) president Julio Grondona proposed in December 2008 the return to a single championship per season format, and at the conclusion of the 2014 season this happened, with the 2015 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, the 2016 season is an abbreviated tournament held from February to May, followed by an August-to-June season from 2016–17 forward.
Belize 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.
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.
Brazil 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, some of which do feature a split season format. Brazil also has, unlike most Latin American nations, a national cup. In 1967 and 1968, the Taça Brasil and Torneio Roberto Gomes Pedrosa were run in the same year, making these years de facto Apertura and Clausura seasons. Both tournaments' winners are recognized as Brazilian champions.
Canada For the 2019 season only, the Canadian Premier League adopted a split-season format divided into Spring and Fall seasons. The winner of each part of the season advances to the Canadian 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.
United States
The second incarnation of the North 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. 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 the Soccer Bowl championship. The seasons were unbalanced, with the fall season completing a full double round-robin while the shorter spring season only had single round-robin. The NASL cancelled its Spring 2018 season after it lost Division II sanctioning from the United States Soccer Federation and later ceased operations amid a legal challenge against the federation. The third-division National 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. The format was abandoned following the Fall 2021 season as the league moved to a spring-to-fall single-season schedule.
Elsewhere Soviet Union 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 the Top League only and for a single season. On both occasions the seasons were conducted in a single round-robin tournament.
Belgium In Belgium a large reform of the Belgian 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, called Belgian First Division B. From the 2016–17 season until the 2019–20 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 the 2020–21 season, and the competition reverted to a traditional format played from August to April.
Japan For most of its history (except in 1996) the J. League in Japan had a similar system for its first division, although it was called 1st Stage and 2nd Stage. The seasons became unified in 2005, partially to avoid conflicts with the Emperor's Cup. It briefly resumed the same format for 2015 and 2016 seasons. The Japan Football League, at the fourth tier, briefly introduced the format from 2014 to 2019.
Singapore The first season of S.League in 1996 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.
South Korea
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.
and by country All the following leagues are their country's top national division (Div 1) unless otherwise indicated. Country League Champions Calendar SeasonsCONMEBOL Both European (August–June)American (January–December) 1990/91–20142025–present One European (August–May)American (January–December) 1991–20172018–2020, 2022, 2024 One European (July–June)American (January–December) 2013/14–20171997, 2002–2009, 2011–2012In 2010, only one championship was held due to the devastating earthquake that struck Chile that year. The country changed from the American to the European calendar beginning in 2013–14. To manage this change, the 2013 season consisted of only one championship, which the league called ("Transition"). Both American (February–December) 2002–present One (Both in 2005) American (February–December) 2005–present Both (Since 2007) American (February–December) 1996–present One American (February–November) 1997–2008, 2014–present One European (August–June)American (January–December) 1994–20162017–present One European (July–May)American (January–December) 1986/87–20152016–2019, 2024–presentCONCACAF Premier League Both (Since 2012–13) European (August–May) 2012/13–present Canadian Premier League One American (April–October) 2019 Both European (August–May) 2007/08–present Both European (August–June) 1998/99–present Both European (July–May) 1999/00–present GFF Elite League One European (September–June) 2015/16–present Both (Since 2002, except in 2005–06) American (April–November) 2002, 2003, 2004/05, 2007–presentHaiti adopted the two–stage season in 2002. In 2004, it changed its season to align with the European football calendar, conducting the in 2004 and the in 2005. The 2005–06 season saw only one championship contested. In 2007, the league returned to the American calendar and a two–stage season. Both (Since 1997–98) European (August–May) 1997/98–present Both European (July–May) 1996/97–present One European 2004/05–present Both (Since 2007) European (July–May) 2001/02–present Both European (August–June) 2022/23–present NASL (defunct, Div 2) One American (April–November) 2013–2017NISA (Div 3)OneEuropean (August–June)2019–2021AFC J1 League One American (March–November) 1993–1995, 1997–2005, 2015–2016 Japan Football League (Div 4) One American (March–November) 2014–2019 S.League One American (April-November) 1996 K League Classic One American (March–November) 1984, 1986, 1995, 2004, 2005, 2006UEFA First Division B (Div 2) One European (August–May) 2016/17–2019/20 MaltaMaltese Premier LeagueOneEuropean (August–May)2024/25–present Top League (Group A) Both American (January–December) 1936, 1976
Other sports