Sports · Football · 7 hrs ago
New Liga Femenil format changes which teams reach playoffs
Mexico’s Liga Femenil BBVA changed its playoff format for the Apertura 2026 tournament.
Instead of sending the eight highest-scoring teams from one league table to the quarter-finals, the league split its 18 clubs into two groups of nine.
The top four teams in each group qualified, with quarter-final matchups crossing between groups.
This meant León and Santos missed out despite earning 25 and 22 points, while Pachuca advanced with 19, a league record low for a playoff team.
The league says the shorter regular season and group setup aim to reduce travel and help balance competition, but large gaps remained, including two 10-0 wins by leading clubs.
The quarter-finals begin on November 10, and the final is scheduled to finish by December 20; the eight-team field includes three clubs that have never won the league title.
Liga Femenil BBVA’s Apertura 2026 format sent the top four teams from each of two groups to the playoffs, replacing qualification based on the overall points table.
The change meant Pachuca qualified with 19 points, while León and Santos missed out despite earning 25 and 22 points.
The league said the format was intended to reduce the number of matchdays and help bring the level of the 18 teams closer together.
The regular season was shortened from 17 to 14 matchdays, and the 18 teams were divided into two groups of nine.
The Apertura 2026 quarter-finals were scheduled to begin on November 10, with the second leg of the final due by December 20 at the latest.
- Who
- The 18 Liga Femenil BBVA teams, including the eight teams that qualified for the playoffs.
- What
- A new format divided teams into two groups, with the top four from each advancing to the playoffs.
- When
- The format began with the Apertura 2026 tournament.
- Where
- Liga Femenil BBVA in Mexico.
- Why
- The league said the changes aimed to reduce matchdays, bring the teams’ levels closer together, shorten long trips and prioritize player recovery.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
The eight teams with the most points advanced to the quarter-finals based on the overall table after 17 matchdays.
The league introduced two groups of nine and reduced the regular season to 14 matchdays.
The first legs of the Apertura 2026 quarter-finals were scheduled to begin.
The second leg of the final was scheduled to take place by this date at the latest.
- Teams
- 18, split into two groups of nine
- Playoff places
- Four teams from each group
- Regular-season length
- 14 matchdays in Apertura 2026, down from 17
- Pachuca
- Qualified with 19 points
- León and Santos
- Earned 25 and 22 points respectively but did not qualify
- Top regular-season team
- América, with 37 points and a +50 goal difference
What people are saying
When we analyzed the midweek rounds, they affected three dates: the one before, the midweek round, and the one after. If we had four midweek rounds, we were affecting 12 of the 17. The clubs understood this, asked how to add up, and different competition-system models were developed.
Each group was formed taking into account the ELO ranking, as well as geographic location, in order to reduce long trips and prioritize the players’ recovery.