The 2025 Liga MX Apertura season was one for the history books, but there’s no time to relax as the Clausura 2026 campaign kicks off on Jan. 9, 2026.
Toluca became back-to-back champions in a thrilling Apertura 2025 final, defeating Tigres to capture their 12th league title. In the process, they became the second winningest side in Liga MX history and only the fifth club this century to win consecutive crowns.
But the reigning champions won’t have much time to rest on their success, with the Clausura 2026 season starting less than a month after the Apertura 2025 final.
Liga MX teams that didn’t even qualify for the Apertura 2025 Play-In game round have been planning for the Clausura 2026 season since before the start of the November international break. In the coming weeks, teams will continue their preparations to try and dethrone Toluca as champions.
As is the case almost every year, a number of teams—especially those who made a deep playoff run in the Apertura—will likely treat the first few weeks of the new campaign as an extended preseason, rounding back into form after a brief vacation and also continuing to explore the transfer market for reinforcements.
Once the calendar turns to February, the Clausura 2026 season will fully take-off, with every team reaching their top potential in a bid to qualify for the eight-team playoffs in May.
Here’s the key dates you should know to be prepared for the start of the Liga MX Clausura 2026 season.
Liga MX Clausura 2026 Key Dates
- Jan. 9, 2026: Start of Clausura 2026 regular season
- April 26, 2026: End of Clausura 2026 regular season
- May 3–10, 2026: Clausura 2026 quarterfinals
- May 13–17, 2026: Clausura 2026 semifinals
- May 21, 2026: First leg of Clausura 2026 final
- May 24, 2026: Second leg of Clausura 2026 final
The Liga MX Clausura 2026 season will start on Friday, Jan. 9, and the regular season will span the first four months of the calendar year, reaching its conclusion on Sunday, April 26.
The climax of the Clausura 2026 will begin only days later, with the action of "La Liguilla”—the Liga MX playoffs—starting with the quarterfinals that will span from May 3–10. The semifinals commence the following week, from May 13–17.
The two-legged Clausura 2026 final will crown a new Liga MX champion heading into the summer break. The first leg will be played on May 21 and the decisive second leg is scheduled for May 24.
How Will The 2026 World Cup Impact Liga MX
Because of the 2026 World Cup Mexico will co-host, the Liga MX Clausura 2026 season will be different than previous campaigns, especially when the tournament reaches it’s climax.
The fast approaching World Cup resulted in Liga MX getting rid of Play-In games—the round that used to determine the final two quarterfinalists—for the Clausura 2026 season. Instead, the top eight teams in the regular season will immediately qualify to that round, as was the case until 2020.
But the most significant impact the World Cup will have on the Clausura 2026 season has to do with the Mexico national team.
In an effort to help El Tri’s preparations, league owners approved an initiative that will see every Liga MX player selected in Javier Aguire’s 26-man World Cup roster abandon their club on Apr. 30. El Tri players will take one week off due to FIFA’s rules and then report with the national team during the first full week of May to begin training under Aguirre, a little over a month before Mexico’s World Cup debut.
As a result, the Liga MX Clausura 2026 playoffs will be devoid of El Tri players, a situation that could drastically impact team’s chances of lifting the trophy. For example, it’s likely that reigning champions Toluca won’t be able to call-upon three key players—Alexis Vega, Marcel Ruiz and Jesús Gallardo—in their quest for a three-peat.
To try and counter this, as a one time exception, Liga MX will allow teams to field up to nine foreign players during the playoffs, two more than they would be able to under normal circumstances.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as 2026 Liga MX Clausura: Key Dates, Format After Historic Toluca Win.