Primera B Metropolitana

At a regionalized level, the Primera B Metropolitana is one of the two leagues that comprise the Argentine Football Association’s league structure. Made up of 21 clubs, the teams are mainly based in and around the Buenos Aires Region.

The league follows a two competition format with the Clausura and Apertura Championships determining the victors at the end of the season. The Apertura Championships, or the “Opening” championships are played between August to December. The names are such to mimic the league format in the Northern Hemisphere where August marks the beginning of the league championship and June marks the end. The concept was introduced in 1998-99 and has since been known as the Primera B Metropolitana.

The winner of the two leagues are crowned as champions however, in case two different teams win the tournaments, the season’s overall champion is decided by means of a playoff held between the two. The overall winner gains promotion to the next level, the Primera B Nacional. It isn’t all over for the rest though, as the teams finishing between 2nd and 8th place, over the two competitions, enter a playoff tournament to determine the candidate for a promotion-relegation playoff with the 2nd worst team from the Primera B Nacional division.