The Liga MX Femenil, Mexico’s premier women’s football league, has announced a rebranding to Liga Femenil BBVA, along with a new format for the regular season.
The name change coincides with a restructuring that will transition the league from an 18-team format to a system featuring two groups of nine teams.
Teams will be divided based on Elo rankings and geographical locations, with each Liga Femenil team set to play eight matches against teams in their group and six against teams from the other group.
Like the corresponding men’s league in Mexico, the women’s league will continue to feature two seasons each year – the Apertura and the Clausura – both culminating in playoff rounds.
The playoff format will also change due to the introduction of the two groups. The top four teams from each group will qualify for the knockout stage, with matchups consisting of No. 1 vs. No. 4 and No. 2 vs. No. 3 from opposing groups.
In the semifinals, teams will be re-ranked from No. 1 to No. 4 based on their performance in the overall league standings, resulting in matches between re-ranked No. 1 vs. No. 4 and No. 2 vs. No. 3.
To eliminate mid-week matches, the number of regular-season games has been reduced from 17 to 14, with games primarily scheduled from Fridays to Sundays.
Club América, who triumphed over Monterrey 3-1 on aggregate in last season’s Clausura final, are the current champions.
They will face the Apertura champions Tigres on July 26 at San Antonio’s Toyota Field in the league’s annual “Campeón de Campeonas” exhibition.
The revamped Liga Femenil will officially kick off the 2026 Apertura on July 31 with a match between Cruz Azul and Atlas.