The 2025–26 Liga Nacional de Fútbol de Guatemala, also known as Liga Bantrab due to sponsorship reasons, is the 73rd professional season of the top-flight football league in Guatemala. The season is to be divided into two championships—the 2025 Apertura and the 2026 Clausura—each in an identical format and each contested by the same 12 teams.
Competition format Same as previous years, the season was divided into two short tournaments: Torneo Apertura (opening) and Torneo Clausura (closing), each of which crowning its own champion. Both Apertura and Clausura tournaments were played under the same format which consisted in a Classification phase and a Final phase.
In the classification phase, teams played each other twice on a home-and-away round-robin basis. The top eight teams at the conclusion of the classification stage advanced to the quarter-finals of the final stage.
The final phase was played on a single-elimination format and consisted of the quarter-finals, semi-finals and the finals. All rounds were played on a home-and-away two-legged basis, with the higher-ranked team in the classification phase of each tie hosting the second leg. The quarter-final pairings were pre-determined based on the teams' final position in the classification phase. In the semi-finals the teams were re-seeded based also on their final position in the classification phase in order to determine the two pairings. The quarter-finals and semi-finals matchups were determined as follows:
Quarter-finals Match A: Third placed team vs. Sixth placed team Match B: Fourth placed team vs. Fifth placed team Match C: First placed team vs. Eighth placed team Match D: Second placed team vs. Seventh placed team
Semi-finals Match I: Second best placed semi-finalist vs. Third best placed semi-finalist Match II: Top-placed semi-finalist vs. Fourth best placed semi-finalist
Both champions of the Apertura and Clausura tournaments plus the best placed team on the aggregate table (excluding the two champions) at the end of the season qualified for the 2026 CONCACAF Central American Cup.
Teams A total of 12 teams took part in this season: the top ten teams from the aggregate table of the 2024–25 season as well as two promoted teams from the 2024–25 Liga Primera División season.
Stadiums and locations
Team City Stadium CapacityAchuapaEl ProgresoWinston Pineda 7,300 Antigua Antigua Guatemala Pensativo 10,000 Aurora Amatitlán Guillermo Slowing 12,000 Cobán Imperial Cobán Verapaz 15,000 Comunicaciones Guatemala City Cementos Progreso 17,000 Guastatoya Guastatoya David Cordón Hichos 3,100 Malacateco Malacatán Santa Lucía 8,000 Marquense San Marcos Estadio Marquesa de la Ensenada 11,000 Atlético Mictlán Asunción Mita Estadio La Asunción 4,000 Mixco Mixco Santo Domingo de Guzmán 5,200 Municipal Guatemala City El Trébol 10,000 Xelajú Quetzaltenango Mario Camposeco 11,220
Personnel and sponsoring
TeamChairmanHead CoachCaptainKitmakerShirt Sponsors Achuapa TBD Martín Adrián García TBD TUTO SPORT. Muni el Progreso, Banrural, Pan Sinaí Antigua TBD Mauricio Tapia Jose Ardon Nino Valvoline, Banrural, Cayala, Betcris Aurora TBD Saúl Phillip Allan Garcia TUTO SPORT Tributo, Bantrab, ECA Electrodos, Productus del aire, Pepsi Cobán Imperial TBD José Luis Trejo Janderson Pereira MG Sports Domino's, Bantrab, Pepsi, Mayafert Comunicaciones TBD Roberto Hernández José Manuel Contreras Adidas Banrural, Forza Delivery, Gana777, Gulf Oil Guastatoya TBD Ariel Sena Marlon Sequén TUTO SPORT Banrural, Municipalidad de Guastatoya Malacateco TBD José Guadalupe Cruz TBD Silver Sport Valvoline, Bantrab, Starbus, betcris, Farmancia Batres, Don Ramy Marquense TBD Hernán Medford Oscar Linto Guza Sport Bantrab, Holcim, Chapinwin, Acredicom Atlético Mictlán TBD Adrian García Arias TBD TUTO SPORT Munimita Mixco TBD Fabricio Benítez Kevin Moscoso JM12 Banrural, Gana777 Municipal TBD Mario Acevedo TBD Umbro Banrural, Forza delivery, Zeta Gas Xelajú TBD Amarini Villatoro Jorge Aparicio Kelme Banrural, Pepsi, Farmancia Batres, Elektra, J.A. Vasquez, Forza delivery
Managerial changes
Before the start of the season
TeamOutgoing managerManner of departureDate of vacancyReplaced byDate of appointmentPosition in table Achuapa Adrián Arias Contract finished May 2025 Martín Adrián García May 2025 th and Quarterfinalist (TBD) Cobán Imperial Roberto Montoya Contract finished May 2025 José Luis Trejo May 2025 th and Quarterfinalist (TBD) Comunicaciones Rónald González Contract finished May 2025 Roberto Hernández May 2025 th and Quarterfinalist (TBD) Guastatoya Dwight Pezzarossi Contract finished May 2025 Ariel Sena 2025 th and Quarterfinalist (TBD) Malacateco Roberto Hernández Contract finished May 2025 José Guadalupe Cruz June 2025 th and Quarterfinalist (TBD) Mictlán Edwin Vásquez Contract finished June 2025 Adrián Arias June 2025 th and Quarterfinalist (TBD) TBD TBD Contract finished 2025 TBD 2025 th and Quarterfinalist (TBD) Municipal Sebastian Bini Contract finished May 2025 Mario Acevedo June 2025 th and Quarterfinalist (TBD)
During the Apertura season
TeamOutgoing managerManner of departureDate of vacancyReplaced byDate of appointmentPosition in table Marquense Hernán Medford Sacked August 11, 2025 Diego Vázquez August 21, 2025 th (2025 Apertura) Guastatoya Ariel Sena Sacked August 20, 2025 Mike Leonardo (Interimship) August 21, 2025 th (2025 Apertura) Coban Imperial Jose Luis Trejo Mutual Consent August 2025 Sebastian Bini August 2025 th (2025 Apertura) Guastatoya Mike Leonardo Interimship ended, moved back to assistant coach September 1, 2025 Pablo Centrone September 1, 2025 th (2025 Apertura) Malacateco José Guadalupe Cruz Sacked September 9, 2025 Roberto Montoya September 10, 2025 th (2025 Apertura) Mictlán Adrian Garcia Arias Sacked September 12, 2025 Flavio da Silva September 13, 2025 th (2025 Apertura) Comunicaciones Roberto Hernández Sacked October 1, 2025 Iván Sopegno October 1, 2025 th (2025 Apertura) Xelajú Amarini Villatoro Sacked December, 2025 TBD December, 2025 th (2025 Apertura) Achuapa Martín García Resigned October 2025 Álvaro García October 2025 th (2025 Apertura)
Between the Apertura and Clausura season
TeamOutgoing managerManner of departureDate of vacancyReplaced byDate of appointmentPosition in table Coban Imperial Sebastian Bini Mutual Consent December 2025 Martin Garcia December 2025 th (2025 Apertura) Marquense Diego Vázquez Resigned December 2025 Leonel Noriega January 2026 th (2025 Apertura) Xelajú Amarini Villatoro Resigned December 2025 Roberto Hernández December 2025 th (2025 Apertura) Achuapa Álvaro García Resigned December 2025 Rafael Loredo December 2025 th (2025 Apertura) Comunicaciones Iván Franco Sopegno Resigned December 2025 Marco Antonio Figueroa January 2026 th (2025 Apertura)
During the Clausura season
TeamOutgoing managerManner of departureDate of vacancyReplaced byDate of appointmentPosition in table Mictlán Flavio da Silva Sacked February 2026 Gabriel Alvarez February 2026 th (2025 Apertura) Marquense Leonel Noriega Resigned March 2026 Omar Arellano March 2026 th (2025 Apertura) Achuapa Rafael Loredo Resigned March 2026 Álvaro García March 2026 th (2025 Apertura) Malacateco Roberto Montoya Sacked March 2026 Mínor Díaz March 2026 th (2025 Apertura)
Apertura The Apertura 2025 tournament began on 3 August and scheduled to end on 30 November 2025. Xelajú were the defending champions, having won the Clausura 2025 tournament at the previous season.
Standings
Results
Final phase – Apertura 2025 The final phase of the Apertura tournament ran from 6 December to 28 December 2025.
Quarter-finals
(s) Aurora advanced due to better regular season position.
Semi-finals
Final
Clausura The Clausura 2026 tournament began in January 2026 and ended in May 2026. Antigua GFC are the defending Clausura champions.
Standings
Results
Final phase – Clausura 2026 The final phase of the Clausura tournament ran from 30 March to 23 May 2026.
Quarter-finals
(s) Mixco advanced due to better regular season position.
Semi-finals
Final
Aggregate table The aggregate table is used to determine the third qualified team for the 2026 CONCACAF Central American Cup, besides the Apertura and Clausura champions, and the two relegated teams to the 2026–27 Primera División.
List of foreign players This is a list of foreign players in 2025-2026 season. The following players: have played at least one apertura game for the respective club. have not been capped for the Guatemala national football team on any level, independently from the birthplace.
A new rule was introduced a few season ago, that clubs can only have five foreign players per club and can only add a new player if there is an injury or player/s is released.
Achuapa Agustín Maziero Vitor Alves Ederson Cabezas Yeison Carabalí Dayron Suazo
Antigua Francisco Apaolaza Juan Osorio Jostin Daly Gerson Chávez Milton Maciel Enzo Fernandez Robinson Flores
Aurora Nicolas Lovato Pablo Mingorance José Luis Vivas Eddie Ibargüen Liborio Sánchez
Cobán Imperial Tómas Casas Matías Rotondi Thales Moreira Janderson Anthony López Uri Amaral
Comunicaciones José Corena Karel Espino Ernesto Monreal Juan Blanco Brian Martínez
Guastatoya Emanuel Yori Antonio Gutemberg Kevin Aladesanmi Keyshwen Arboine José Almanza Rubén Escobar Víctor Avalos
Malacateco Ayrton Sisa Carlos Anderson Pérez Ochoa José Guillermo Ortiz Kenneth Cerdas Byron Angulo Victor Torres Miguel Jiménez Angel Lopez Irving José Hernández
Marquense Óscar Linton Luis Zúniga Diego Casas
Mictlán Igor da Silva Juan Alejandro Osorio Daniel Santa Renny Folleco Ronaldo Dinolis John Faust Guillermo Chavasco
Mixco Gabriel Arce Facundo González Jorge Sotomayor Nicolás Martínez Kennedy Rocha Eliser Quiñónes
Municipal Cristian Hernández Yasniel Matos Yunior Pérez Eddie Hernández Davis Contreras Aubrey David Darwin Torres
Xelajú Romario Yilton Díaz Derrikson Quirós Steven Cárdenas Manuel Romero Pedro Báez
(player released beginning the Apertura season, Never played a game) (player released during the Apertura season) (player released between the Apertura and Clausura seasons) (player released during the Clausura season) (Injured and ruled out for the rest of the season) (player naturalized for the Clausura season) (player released beginning the Clausura season, Never played a game)
References
External links