The playoffs, play-offs, postseason and/or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be either a single game, a series of games, or a tournament, and may use a single-elimination system or one of several other different playoff formats. Playoff, in regard to international fixtures, is to qualify or progress to the next round of a competition or tournament.
In an organized sports league, a typical season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session: for example, in Major League Baseball the season lasts approximately from April to October. In other team sports, like association football or basketball, it is generally from August or September to May although in some countries - such as Northern Europe or East Asia - the season starts in the spring and finishes in autumn, mainly due to weather conditions encountered during the winter.
The Primera División of the Liga de Fútbol Profesional, more commonly known as La Liga Mayor or La Primera, is the top professional football league in El Salvador.
The Apertura[apeɾˈtuɾa] and Clausura[klawˈsuɾa] tournaments is a split season format for sports leagues. It is a relatively recent innovation for many Latin American football leagues in which the traditional association football season from August to May is divided in two sections per season, each with its own champion. Apertura and Clausura are the Spanish words for "opening" and "closing". In French-speaking Haiti, these are known as the Ouverture and the Fermeture, while in English-speaking Belize, they are respectively the Opening and Closing seasons. The North American Soccer League (NASL) adopted a split season in 2013; the season is divided into a Spring Championship and Fall Championship.
The Primera División, named Superliga Argentina since the 2017–18 season, is a professional football league in Argentina, organised by the homonymous entity, that is administrated independently and has its own statute. Nevertheless, the Superliga is contractually linked with the main football body, the Argentine Football Association (AFA) that organized all the championships from 1893 to 2017.
The Liga Nacional de Básquet, also commonly referred to as "La Liga de Básquet", is the top-tier level of the Argentine basketball league system. The league is controlled by the Basketball Clubs' Association. The LNB's predecessor league is the now defunct Campeonato Argentino de Clubes, which was organized by the Argentine Basketball Federation.
The Torneo Argentino A was one of the two leagues that form the regionalised third level of the Argentine football league system. Clubs in the Torneo Argentino have indirect membership in AFA, while clubs in the Primera B Metropolitana have direct membership in AFA. All teams with indirect membership are from outside the city of Buenos Aires and its metropolitan area, while most of the direct members are from the aforementioned area.
The Torneo Nacional de Clubes is a club rugby union competition in Argentina, organised by the National Union (UAR). The Nacional de Clubes is the main club competition in Argentine rugby, being contested by a total of 16 teams, 8 from Buenos Aires and 8 from the rest of the provinces of Argentina.
The Liga Uruguaya de Básquetbol is the most important professional club basketball league in Uruguay. It is organized by the Uruguayan Basketball Federation (FUBB). The Uruguayan Basketball League competition began in 2003. Before that time, the Uruguayan basketball championships were only local metropolitan, and no competitions brought together all the clubs in the country. Until the Liga Uruguaya de Básquetbol was created, the capital clubs participated in the Campeonato Uruguayo Federal de Básquetbol, while the clubs of the rest of the country competed in regional tournaments. The Uruguayan Federal Basketball Championship was founded in 1915, making it among the oldest on the continent.
The Liga TDP is Mexico's fourth tier in the Mexican League System. The Liga TDP is divided into 13 groups. For the 2009/2010 season, the format of the tournament has been reorganized to a home and away format, which all teams will play in their respective group. The 13 groups consist of teams who are eligible to play in the liguilla ascenso for one promotion spot, teams who are affiliated with teams in the Liga MX, Ascenso MX and Liga Premier, which are not eligible for promotion but will play that who the better filial team in an eight team filial playoff tournament for the entire season.
The FIBA Americas League, officially abbreviated as the LDA, is the only intercontinental basketball club competition played annually by clubs of the entire Americas. It is organized by FIBA Americas. The first edition started on 4 December 2007. The FIBA Americas League is a recreation of the now defunct Pan American Club Championship, that existed from 1993 to 2000.
The Torneo del Interior A is an annual rugby union competition in Argentina. The competition involves clubs from all provincial unions outside Buenos Aires. Teams qualify from different tournaments along the provinces of Argentina, such as Litoral, Noroeste, Córdoba, Nordeste, Pampeano, Oeste and Patagónico.
The 2010–11 Campeonato Nacional de Fútbol de Cuba was the 100th season of the highest division of Cuban football, and the first season under its present format.
The 2013 Copa Sudamericana was the 12th edition of the Copa Sudamericana, South America's secondary international club football tournament organized by CONMEBOL. The winner qualified for the 2014 Copa Libertadores, the 2014 Recopa Sudamericana, and the 2014 Suruga Bank Championship. São Paulo were the defending champions, but lost to Ponte Preta in the semifinals.
The 2015 Copa Sudamericana was the 14th edition of the Copa Sudamericana, South America's secondary club football tournament organized by CONMEBOL.
The 2013-14 season, was the nineteenth Torneo Argentino A season since it became part of the third tier of the Argentine football league system. The tournament is reserved for teams indirectly affiliated to the Asociación del Fútbol Argentino (AFA), while teams affiliated to AFA have to play the Primera B Metropolitana, which is the other third tier competition. The champion will be promoted to Primera B Nacional.
The Torneo Federal A was founded in 2014 as a result of a change in the structure of the Argentine football league system, is one of the two leagues that form the regionalised third level of the Argentine football league system. Clubs in the Torneo Federal have indirect membership in AFA, while clubs in the Primera B Metropolitana have direct membership in AFA. All teams with indirect membership are from outside the city of Buenos Aires and its metropolitan area, while most of the direct members are from the aforementioned area.
The 2016 Peru Cup season, the largest amateur tournament of Peruvian football, started in February.
The 2017–18 Liga Nacional de Básquet season is the 34th season of the top professional basketball league in Argentina. The season started on 20 September 2017 with the Torneo Súper 20, which finished on 18 November 2017. The regular season began on 29 November 2017 and finished on 6 May 2018. Starting this season, the competition format underwent significant changes. Instead of two conferences, all 20 teams are placed in a single group and play a double round-robin, where the best 16 teams at the end of the season qualify for the championship playoffs, while the two teams with the worst record play in a best-of-five relegation series. Before the start of the regular season, the Torneo Súper 20 took place, which awarded two berths to the 2018 Liga Sudamericana de Básquetbol. Salta Basket was relegated after losing the playoff series against Ferro Carril Oeste. San Lorenzo won their third consecutive title, defeating San Martín de Corrientes in the finals.
The CONMEBOL South American Beach Soccer League, named natively in Spanish as the CONMEBOL Liga Sudamericana de Fútbol Playa, is a continental league competition for South American men's national beach soccer teams.
