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2mo ago

Liga MX Announces July 16 Start and Publishes Apertura 2026 First-Week Schedule

The early launch forces an adjusted calendar that overlaps the World Cup and includes a contingency to move the Final if Toluca advances because of an Intercontinental commitment.

cuándo inicia, calendario, fechas clave y todo lo que debes saber del regreso del futbol mexicano
Tendrá la Liga de Expansión a 3 nuevos equipos
Tras el Mundial, vuelve la acción de Liga MX.

Overview

  • The Apertura 2026 regular season will begin on Thursday, July 16 with Necaxa vs. Atlante at Estadio Victoria and Tijuana vs. Tigres at Estadio Caliente as the two opening matches.
  • Atlante will rejoin the top flight in place of the defunct Mazatlán and will be coached by Miguel Herrera for the tournament.
  • Liga MX published the full first-week slate for July 16–18 but has not yet confirmed television assignments for those matches.
  • The league set provisional Liguilla windows—quarterfinals from November 25–29, semifinals December 2–6 and a Final on December 10 and 13—but the Final could be pushed to December 24 and 27 if Toluca reaches it due to its FIFA Intercontinental match.
  • The calendar change is a direct result of the 2026 World Cup timing, which forces scheduling trade-offs for clubs, broadcasters and fans and also leaves the Liga MX Femenil slated to start on July 31 under a proposed two-group format.