The InterLiga was a

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 ...

competition from 2004 to 2010 between Mexican clubs to determine qualifying spots for that country in South America's premier club competition, the

Copa Libertadores The CONMEBOL Libertadores, also known as the Copa Libertadores de América ( pt, Copa Libertadores da América), is an annual international club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 1960. It is the highest level of competition in S ...

. Prior to the 2004 Copa Libertadores, Mexican clubs competed in two levels of competition—first against one another, and then against clubs from

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

—for spots in the main competition. In 2004, Mexico and Venezuela were granted automatic entries to the Copa Libertadores for the first time. The

Mexican Football Federation The Mexican Football Federation (; abbreviated as Femexfut or FMF) is the governing body of association football in Mexico. It adm the Mexico national team, the Liga MX and all affiliated amateur sectors, and controls promoting, organizing, direc ...

decided to create a qualifying league for its two automatic spots, and the first InterLiga was held that January, during the off-season of the

Mexican Primera División The Liga MX, officially known as the Liga BBVA MX for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional football division in Mexico, holding 2 tournaments per year. The league is considered the strongest in North America, and among the strongest in al ...

. The eight qualifying teams were selected based on their combined results in the ''Apertura'' and ''Clausura'' phases of the Primera División, and divided into two groups of four, with even-numbered seeds in one group and odd-numbered seeds in the other. Each group was conducted as a single round-robin league. In order to assure a more neutral environment, and to take advantage of a large and relatively well-off pool of Mexican football fans, all matches were held in the United States in

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

and

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

, two states with large Mexican populations. The winners of each group then played in a final for one of the two Libertadores berths. The loser of the final had a second chance to earn the other berth, as it would compete in a play-in game against the winner of a match against the two second-place finishers from each group. The actual league champions are currently excluded from the InterLiga as they qualify for the

CONCACAF Champions League The CONCACAF Champions League, known officially as the Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League for sponsorship reasons, is an annual continental club football competition organized by CONCACAF. The tournament is contested by clubs from North Ameri ...

, which is contested during the same time period as the Libertadores, and whose prize is a spot in the

FIFA Club World Cup The FIFA Club World Cup is an international men's association football competition organised by the ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The competition was first contested in 200 ...

. Mexican teams would not be eligible for the latter competition if they won the Libertadores because Mexico belongs to CONCACAF.

Tournaments

{, class="wikitable" !Year!!Final Venue!!Champion!!Runner-up , - bgcolor="ddeeff" ,

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

, ,

Carson Carson may refer to: People *Carson (surname), people with the surname *Carson (given name), people with the given name Places ;In the United States * Carson, California, a city * Carson Township, Fayette County, Illinois *Carson, Iowa, a city * ...

, ,

Santos Laguna Club Santos Laguna S.A. de C.V. (), commonly known as Santos Laguna or Santos, is a Mexican professional football club that competes in the Liga MX. It is located in northern Mexico and represents the urban area of La Comarca Lagunera, made up o ...

, , América , - ,

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

, ,

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

, , UANL, ,

Guadalajara Guadalajara ( , ) is a metropolis in western Mexico and the capital of the list of states of Mexico, state of Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population of 1,385,629 people, making it the 7th largest city by population in Me ...

, - bgcolor="ddeeff" ,

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

, ,

, , UANL, ,

Monterrey Monterrey ( , ) is the capital and largest city of the northeastern state of Nuevo León, Mexico, and the third largest city in Mexico behind Guadalajara and Mexico City. Located at the foothills of the Sierra Madre Oriental, the city is anchor ...

, - ,

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

, ,

Necaxa Impulsora del Deportivo Necaxa S.A. de C.V. (); often simply known as Necaxa, is a Mexican professional football club in Liga MX based in the city of Aguascalientes. It plays in the Estadio Victoria. History Foundation (Light and Power Comp ...

, , América , - bgcolor="ddeeff" ,

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

, ,

, , América, ,

Atlas An atlas is a collection of maps; it is typically a bundle of maps of Earth or of a region of Earth. Atlases have traditionally been bound into book form, but today many atlases are in multimedia formats. In addition to presenting geographic ...

, - ,

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

, ,

Pachuca Pachuca (; ote, Nju̱nthe), formally known as Pachuca de Soto, is the capital and largest city of the Mexican state of Hidalgo. It is located in the south-central part of the state. Pachuca de Soto is also the name of the municipality of whic ...

, - ,

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

, ,

, , América Note: After both finals have been played, both winners qualify to Copa Libertadores, but the winner with the best performance in the group stage becomes champion. Since 2005, when Mexico gained a third spot (dubbed "Mexico 3") to play in the pre-group stage of the Copa Libertadores, the runner-up has been "Mexico 3". "Mexico 1", who qualifies directly to the group stage of the Copa Libertadores, has been chosen in a match between the two champions of the year preceding the previous, independent from the InterLiga. "Mexico 2" is the InterLiga champion and also qualifies directly to the group stage.

Participations

* América: 6 (2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010) * UANL: 6 (2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010) *

Morelia Morelia (; from 1545 to 1828 known as Valladolid) is a city and municipal seat of the municipality of Morelia in the north-central part of the state of Michoacán in central Mexico. The city is in the Guayangareo Valley and is the capital and larg ...

: 5 (2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009) *

: 4 (2004, 2005, 2006, 2009) *

: 4 (2006, 2007, 2008,2010) * Atlante: 3 (2004,2005,2010) *

: 3 (2004, 2008, 2009) *

Chiapas Chiapas (; Tzotzil language, Tzotzil and Tzeltal language, Tzeltal: ''Chyapas'' ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Chiapas ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Chiapas), is one of the states that make up the Political divisions of Mexico, ...

: 3 (2005, 2007, 2010) *

Cruz Azul Club de Futbol Cruz Azul or simply Cruz Azul () is a professional football club based in Mexico City, Mexico. It competes in the Liga MX, the top division of Mexican football. Because "azul" means "blue" in Spanish, the club has traditionally ...

: 3 (2006, 2007, 2008) *

Estudiantes Tecos Tecos Fútbol Club (often referred to by its nickname "Tecos") is a Mexican professional football club associated with the Universidad Autónoma de Guadalajara AC. It plays its home games in the ''Estadio 3 de Marzo'' (March 3 Stadium, named for ...

: 3 (2007, 2009, 2010) *

: 3 (2005, 2006, 2007) *

: 3 (2004, 2005, 2010) *

Toluca Toluca , officially Toluca de Lerdo , is the States of Mexico, state capital of the State of Mexico as well as the seat of the Municipality of Toluca. With a population of 910,608 as of the 2020 census, Toluca is the fifth most populous city in M ...

: 3 (2004, 2005, 2009) *

: 2 (2006, 2009) *

Puebla Puebla ( en, colony, settlement), officially Free and Sovereign State of Puebla ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Puebla), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 217 municipalities and its cap ...

: 1 (2010) *

UNAM The National Autonomous University of Mexico ( es, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, UNAM) is a public research university in Mexico. It is consistently ranked as one of the best universities in Latin America, where it's also the bigges ...

: 1 (2007) *

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 ...

: 1 (2006)

History Topscorers

{, class="wikitable" !Pos!!Player!!Goals , - , 1, ,

Reinaldo Navia Reinaldo Marcelino Navia Amador (born 10 May 1978) is a retired Chilean footballer. Navia was a member of the Chile national squad that competed in the 2000 Summer Olympics at Sydney, making an offensive duo with the historic Chilean striker I ...

, , 9 , - , 1, ,

Salvador Cabañas Salvador Cabañas Ortega (born 5 August 1980) is a Paraguayan former professional footballer who played as a striker. Cabañas played for Club 12 de Octubre, Guaraní, Audax Italiano, Chiapas, Club América, General Caballero, Tanabi and Ind ...

, , 9 , - , 2, ,

Bruno Marioni Bruno Marioni Giménez (born 15 June 1975, in Paraná) is a retired Argentine striker who preferred to attack from the sides. He is currently the manager of Liga de Expansión MX team Venados. Career Marioni made his debut under the last n ...

, , 7 , - , 3, ,

Cuauhtémoc Blanco Cuauhtémoc Blanco Bravo (; born 17 January 1973) is a Mexican politician and former professional footballer who is the current Governor of Morelos under the coalition '' Juntos Haremos Historia''. He formerly served as the municipal president ...

, , 6 , - , 3, ,

Aldo de Nigris Jesus Aldo de Nigris Guajardo (born 22 July 1983) is a Mexican former professional footballer who played as a striker, who is the current assistant manager of Liga MX club Monterrey. Club career He started his career at the youth divisions ...

, , 6 , - , 4, ,

Omar Bravo Omar Bravo Tordecillas (born 4 March 1980) is a Mexican former professional footballer who played as a striker. He is Guadalajara's all-time leading scorer in all matches. Club career Club Deportivo Guadalajara Omar Bravo has scored 132 goals ...

, , 5 , - , 4, , Walter Gaitán, , 5 , - , 4, ,

Kléber Boas Kléber may refer to: * French cruiser ''Kléber'', French armored cruiser active from 1904 to 1917 * Kléber (Paris Métro), Paris Métro station * ''Kléber'' (train), former express train in France * Lycée Kléber, secondary school in Strasb ...

, , 5 , - , 4, ,

Alfredo Moreno Alfredo David Moreno (12 January 1980 – 8 December 2021) was an Argentine Association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football), forward. Club career Moreno began his career with Boca Juniors, making his debut for ...

, , 5 , - , 5, , Manuel Perez, , 4 , - , 5, ,

Jared Borgetti Jared Francisco Borgetti Echavarría (; born 14 August 1973) is a Mexican former professional Association football, footballer who currently works as a commentator for ESPN Deportes and ESPN Latin America, ESPN Mexico. As a player, Borgetti wa ...

, , 4 , - , 5, ,

Sebastian Gonzalez Sebastian may refer to: People * Sebastian (name), including a list of persons with the name Arts, entertainment, and media Films and television * ''Sebastian'' (1968 film), British spy film * ''Sebastian'' (1995 film), Swedish drama film ...

, , 4 , - , 5, ,

Carlos Ochoa Carlos Augusto Ochoa Mendoza (born 5 March 1978) is a Mexican former professional footballer who played as a striker. He started his career as a substitute for Necaxa in 1999, and was part of their squad that finished third in the 2000 FIFA ...

, , 4 , - , 5, ,

Ramón Morales Ramón Morales Higuera (born 10 October 1975) is a Mexican former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Club career Morales made his professional debut in the Mexican Primera División in 1995, playing for Rayados de Monterrey i ...

, , 4 , - , 5, ,

Edgar Benitez Edgar is a commonly used English given name, from an Anglo-Saxon name ''Eadgar'' (composed of ''wikt:en:ead, ead'' "rich, prosperous" and ''Gar (spear), gar'' "spear"). Like most Anglo-Saxon names, it fell out of use by the later medieval per ...

, , 4 , - , 5, ,

Adolfo Bautista Adolfo Bautista Herrera (born 15 May 1979), also known as "Bofo", is a Mexican former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. Bautista is remembered for his powerful shot, creative ball control, and acrobatic moves, as ...

, , 4 , - , 5, , Jorge Achucarro, , 4 As January 19, 2008

External links

Official site
(in Spanish and English) {{InterLiga Defunct football competitions in Mexico International club association football competitions hosted by the United States