The format for the 2008–09 season changed from 2 groups of 12 to 3 groups of 9 teams. This gave the opportunity and the number increased from 24 to 27, many teams served as reserve teams from teams in D1.

Changes for the 2008–09 season

Coatzacoalcos Coatzacoalcos () is a major port city in the southern part of the Mexican state of Veracruz, mostly on the western side of the Coatzacoalcos River estuary, on the Bay of Campeche, on the southern Gulf of Mexico coast. The city serves as the munic ...

moved to Orizaba and was rebranded

Orizaba Orizaba () is a city and municipality in the Mexican state of Veracruz. It is located 20 km west of its sister city Córdoba, and is adjacent to Río Blanco and Ixtaczoquitlán, on Federal Highways 180 and 190. The city had a 2005 census ...

after Apertura 2008 *

Veracruz Veracruz (), formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave), is one of the 31 states which, along with Me ...

were demoted from Primera División * Indios were promoted to Mexican Primera Division *

Irapuato Irapuato is a Mexican city (and municipality) located at the foot of the Arandas Hill (in Spanish: ''Cerro de Arandas''), in the central region of the state of Guanajuato. It lies between the Silao River and the Guanajuato River, a tributary of t ...

won promotion to Primera División A when Pachuca Jr. did not meet the qualifications for promotion. Added teams * Atlante Chetumal * Mérida FC * Chihuahua * Club Tapatio From Morelia B

Stadia and locations

Torneo Apertura

The Primera División A Apertura 2008 is a Mexican

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

tournament, one of two short tournaments held each year. It began on July 18, 2008, and ran until December 7, 2008. The reigning champions, León, were eliminated in the quarterfinals by

on a 2–1 two-leg aggregate, and thus could not successfully defend their '' Clausura 2008'' title.

Querétaro Querétaro (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Querétaro ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Querétaro, links=no; Otomi language, Otomi: ''Hyodi Ndämxei''), is one of the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 federal entities of Mexico. I ...

won the tournament, defeating

on a 2–0 two-leg aggregate, and will earn a spot into the promotional playoff held after the end of the '' Clausura 2009'' season, where the winners of the two tournaments meet in an effort to gain promotion to the '' Primera División''. After winning the 2008 promotional playoff against León, the Indios were promoted to the Primera División.

were relegated to the

Primera División A Primera may refer to * Nissan Primera, a car * Primera Air, a former airline * Primera división (disambiguation), multiple top division football leagues * Primera, Texas, a town in Cameron County, Texas * Alí Primera, Venezuelan musician, compos ...

due to finishing at the bottom of the ''Primera División'' relegation table.

Pachuca Juniors Club de Fútbol Pachuca Reserves and Academy are the under-20, under-17 and under-15 teams of Mexican Liga MX Pachuca. History Pachuca Juniors played its single season at Primera División A in 2004-05 season. After the season the club license ...

won the right to be promoted to the ''Primera División A'' after winning the ''

Segunda División The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Segunda División, commercially known as LaLiga SmartBank for sponsorship reasons, is the men's second professional association football division of the Spanish football league system. Administrated by the Lig ...

'' promotional playoff but lacked the certificate of promotion given to teams by the

Federación Mexicana de Fútbol Asociación * Federación, Entre Ríos, Argentina * Federación Department, Argentina * Federación Municipality, Falcón State ) , anthem = , image_map = Falcon in Venezuela.svg , map_alt = , map_caption ...

. Instead,

were promoted to the ''Primera División A'', and two new reserve teams were created for the Indios of Ciudad Juárez ( Chihuahua) and Atlante (

Chetumal Chetumal (, , ; yua, label=Yucatec Maya, Chactemàal , ) is a city on the east coast of the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico. It is the capital of the state of Quintana Roo and the municipal seat of the Municipality of Othón P. Blanco. In 2020 i ...

Tournament format

A total of 27 teams are divided into three groups of nine teams each. Each team plays the other eight teams in its group twice, once at home and once away, for a total of 16 games. At the end of the regular season the top two teams in each group, as well as the next two highest placed teams, qualify to the ''Liguilla''. The teams are seeded based on their position in the general table and are arranged before each round so that the highest seeded team remaining always plays the lowest seed remaining. The teams play a home and home series and whichever team has the better

aggregate score There are a number of formats used in various levels of competition in sports and games to determine an overall champion. Some of the most common are the ''single elimination'', the ''best-of-'' series, the ''total points series'' more commonly kn ...

advances. If the two teams are tied after both legs in the quarterfinals and semifinals the higher seed advances automatically. In the finals, if the two teams are tied after both legs two 15 minute halves of

extra time Overtime or extra time is an additional period of play specified under the rules of a sport to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played onl ...

are added. If the teams are still tied after extra time the champion is determined through a

penalty shootout The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pen ...

Promotion

One team is promoted to the '' Primera División'' each year (two short tournaments). After the '' Clausura 2009'' tournament, the champions of the ''Apertura 2008'' and ''Clausura 2009'' tournaments will play a home and home series to determine which team will be promoted. If the same team wins both tournaments it will be promoted automatically. In order for a team to be promoted it has to obtain a certification from the

. If the winner of the promotional final is not certified for promotion a home and home series is played between the highest placed certified team and the club being relegated to the ''Primera División A'' to determine which will be in the ''Primera División''. ;Currently certified teams * Atlético Mexiquense *

Lobos BUAP Club de Fútbol Lobos de la Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla were a Mexican football club based in Puebla, Mexico. The club represented the Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla. The club's history goes back to the early 1930s ...

Cruz Azul Hidalgo Club Deportivo Cruz Azul Hidalgo, also known as Cruz Azul Hidalgo, was a professional football club in Mexico who last played in the Liga Premier league of Mexico. Their stadium was the Estadio 10 de Diciembre located in Ciudad Cooperativa Cruz ...

Durango Durango (), officially named Estado Libre y Soberano de Durango ( en, Free and Sovereign State of Durango; Tepehuán: ''Korian''; Nahuatl: ''Tepēhuahcān''), is one of the 31 states which make up the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico, situated in ...

* Mérida * León *

* Santos Laguna A *

Dorados de Sinaloa Dorados de Sinaloa, or Dorados, is a Mexican professional football club based on Culiacán, Sinaloa, Mexico. History Dorados de Sinaloa was founded on August 9, 2003. The Dorados was the youngest team to play on First Division de México, hav ...

Tijuana Tijuana ( ,"Tijuana"
(US) and < ...

* Correcaminos *

Relegation

One team is relegated to the ''

'' each year (two short tournaments). The team that has the worst points to games played ratio over the previous three years ('' Apertura 2006'', '' Clausura 2007'', '' Apertura 2007'', '' Clausura 2008'', Apertura 2008, '' Clausura 2009'') is relegated to the ''Segunda División''.

Group league tables

Group 1

Group 2

Group 3

General league table

Liguilla

Quarter-finals

=First leg

=Second leg

Semi-finals

=First leg

=Second leg

Final

=First leg

=Second leg

Results

Group 1

Group 2

Group 3

Top scorers

Relegation table

Torneo Clausura

The Primera División A Clausura 2009 is a Mexican

tournament, the second of two short tournaments held during the 2008–2009 Mexican football season. It began on January 10, 2009, and will run until May 23 or May 24, 2009. The winner of the tournament will earn a place in the promotional playoff against

, the winners of the '' Apertura 2008'' tournament, to determine which team will be promoted to the '' Primera División''.

Tournament format

A total of 27 teams are divided into three groups of nine teams each. Each team plays the other eight teams in its group twice, once at home and once away, for a total of 16 games. At the end of the regular season the top two teams in each group, as well as the next two highest placed teams, qualify to the ''Liguilla'' (playoffs). The teams are seeded based on their position in the general table and are arranged before each round so that the highest seeded team remaining always plays the lowest seed remaining. The teams play a home and away series and whichever team has the better

are added. If the teams are still tied after extra time the champion is determined through a

Promotion

One team is promoted to the '' Primera División'' each year (two short tournaments). After the ''Clausura 2009'' tournament, the champions of the '' Apertura 2008'' and ''Clausura 2009'' tournaments will play a home and home series to determine which team will be promoted. If the same team wins both tournaments it will be promoted automatically. In order for a team to be promoted it has to obtain a certification from the

. If the winner of the promotional final is not certified for promotion a home and away series is played between the highest placed certified team and the club being relegated to the ''Primera División A'' to determine which will be in the ''Primera División''. ;Currently certified teams * Atlético Mexiquense *

* Mérida * León *

* Santos Laguna A *

Tijuana Tijuana ( ,"Tijuana"
(US) and < ...

* Correcaminos *

Relegation

One team is relegated to the ''

'' each year (two short tournaments). The team that has the worst points to games played ratio over the previous three years ('' Apertura 2006'', '' Clausura 2007'', '' Apertura 2007'', '' Clausura 2008'', Apertura 2008, ''Clausura 2009'') is relegated to the ''Segunda División''.

Group league tables

Group 1

Group 2

Group 3

General league table

Liguilla

Quarter-finals

=First leg

=Second leg

Semi-finals

=First leg

=Second leg

Final

=First leg

=Second leg

Promotional final

First leg

----

Second leg

Results

Group 1

Group 2

Group 3

Top scorers

Relegation table

External links

Federación Mexicana de Fútbol Asociación, A. C.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Primera Division A Clausura 2009 Ascenso MX seasons Mex 2008–09 in Mexican football 2009 domestic association football leagues Mex es:Primera División 'A' de México