Apertura and Clausura

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In recent times, many Latin American football leagues are divided in two sections per season, Apertura and Clausura, 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 Clôture.

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

In the leagues of Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico and Panama, each section of the year constitutes a national championship in itself; on the other hand, in the leagues of Costa Rica, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela, the Apertura and Clausura are parts of a larger tournament, and the winners are not national champions, but usually 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. (Note that some countries, such as Ecuador and Panama, have switched between the two formats in recent years.) 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. Relegations, if any, are done on an aggregate basis; usually the combined table for both tournaments determine relegation placement(s). In the Argentine and Mexican leagues, the average points over the previous three seasons are used to determine relegation.

The Apertura and Clausura format can be seen as a means to fill in the gaps caused by the inherent lack of elimination cup competitions in most Latin American nations.

The Brazilian national league is the only one 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 April and December. Brazilian clubs also participate in the state leagues from January to April. Brazil also has, unlike the Spanish-speaking nations, its own Copa do Brasil.

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.