The Apertura and Clausura system is a single round-robin tournament format used for the Argentine Primera División championships. Introduced in 1990–91, it lasted until the 2012–13 season when it was replaced by the "Inicial and Final", which were similar to the previous format.
The Apertura and Clausura championships were reinstated in the 2025 season.
History The Apertura and Clausura format was introduced in 1990–91, with 20 teams contesting the season which was divided into two tournaments. "Apertura" ("opening") championship which opened the season and was contested in the second half of the calendar year, and "Clausura" ("closing") championship that closed the season and was played in the first half of the following year. Each Apertura or Clausura consisted of a single round-robin tournament of 19 rounds, and there were 10 matches per round.
Nevertheless the opening season brought a big controversy so Newell's Old Boys (1990 Clausura) and Boca Juniors (1991 Apertura) had celebrated their respective titles, although in June 1991 the AFA's Executive Committee decided (with all the PD clubs agreeing to the decision) that the 1990–91 season would have only one champion so a final would be conducted in order to decide a winner of the season. The finals were won by Newell's, who were crowned as the only champion of the entire season.Campeones de Primera División on afa.com.ar
The controversy caused AFA to recognise Apertura and Clausura tournaments as individual (and official) titles for their winners. From then on (starting with the 1991–92 season), winners of the following editions were recognised as official champions with no need to play a final.
Boca Juniors have claimed the 1991 Apertura be recognised as another league title for the club,Boca y Racing también salen a reclamar títulos on La Gazeta, 17 Jul 2013Boca y Racing pedirán a la AFA que le reconozcan títulos on Sitio Andino. 8 Jul 2013 as AFA did with the titles win in 1936 (the first season to be split into two tournaments, "Copa Campeonato" and "Copa de Honor") by San Lorenzo and River Plate). Both teams played a final (named "Copa de Oro") to define the champion of the season.Argentina 1936 by Osvaldo Gorgazzi on RSSSF.com In June 2013 (77 years after the match was played) AFA cited on its website the "Copa Campeonato" as a league title for River Plate. The "Copa de Honor" was also included as a league title for San Lorenzo de Almagro.Campeones de Primera División on AFA website"¿River y San Lorenzo campeones... de 1936?" on Goal.com, 5 Jul 2013"La AFA le dio un campeonato a River y a San Lorenzo y se desató la polémica" on CanchaLlena.com, 5 July 2013
Between the 1991–92 season and the 1994–95 seasons, the league used the old two points for a win system. From the 1995–96 season the Argentine Association adopted the 3 points for a win system.
The Apertura and Clausura championships were reinstated in the 2025 season.Reglamento de Torneos LPF 2025 on ligaprofesional.ar
List of champions
Apertura Clausura Year Champion Year Champion 1990–91 1990 Newell's Old Boys 1991 Boca Juniors 1991–92 1991 River Plate 1992 Newell's Old Boys 1992–93 1992 Boca Juniors 1993 Vélez Sarsfield 1993–94 1993 River Plate 1994 Independiente 1994–95 1994 River Plate 1995 San Lorenzo 1995–96 1995 Vélez Sarsfield 1996 Vélez Sarsfield 1996–97 1996 River Plate 1997 River Plate 1997–98 1997 River Plate 1998 Vélez Sarsfield 1998–99 1998 Boca Juniors 1999 Boca Juniors 1999–00 1999 River Plate 2000 River Plate 2000–01 2000 Boca Juniors 2001 San Lorenzo 2001–02 2001 Racing 2002 River Plate 2002–03 2002 Independiente 2003 River Plate 2003–04 2003 Boca Juniors 2004 River Plate 2004–05 2004 Newell's Old Boys 2005 Vélez Sarsfield 2005–06 2005 Boca Juniors 2006 Boca Juniors 2006–07 2006 Estudiantes (LP) 2007 San Lorenzo 2007–08 2007 Lanús 2008 River Plate 2008–09 2008 Boca Juniors 2009 Vélez Sarsfield 2009–10 2009 Banfield 2010 Argentinos Juniors 2010–11 2010 Estudiantes (LP) 2011 Vélez Sarsfield 2011–12 2011 Boca Juniors 2012 Arsenal 2025 2025 Platense 2025 Estudiantes (LP) 2026 2026 Belgrano (C) 2026 TBD
Notes
Titles by team
ClubSeason championshipsTotal won Apertura Clausura River Plate 6 6 12 Boca Juniors 7 2 9 Vélez Sarsfield 1 6 7 San Lorenzo 0 3 3 Independiente 1 12 Newell's Old Boys 1 12 Estudiantes (LP) 213 Racing 101 Lanús 101 Banfield 101 Argentinos Juniors 011 Arsenal 011 Platense 101 Belgrano (C) 101
See also Apertura and Clausura Argentine Primera División Football in Argentina
References
Argentina 1990s by Osvaldo José Gorgazzi and Victor Hugo Kurhy at rsssf Argentina 2000s by Osvaldo José Gorgazzi at rsssf