The 2024 Argentine football season will start with the Copa de la Liga 2024 on January 27. The competition, which was the closing curtain for 2023, will be played in the first half of the season this time around, with the set of fixtures and the groups already decided.

As with the last tournament, the 28 first-division teams are divided into two 14-team groups (zonas in Spanish). The clubs will play 13 fixtures plus an extra match in which they play against their derby rival regardless of what group they’re in. If a team does not have a traditional adversary (think Boca vs. River), it is designated a team within the first division.

For this tournament, the groups will be the same as last time around, only reversing the venues in each match. Promoted Independiente Rivadavia and Deportivo Riestra will take the places of relegated Arsenal and Colón in Group A.

However, Colón’s complaint to have its relegation annulled on the grounds of changes in the tournament rules while it was being played could throw a spanner in the works. AFA’s Discipline Court took the complaint, but the final decision isn’t expected sooner than this Thursday.

The Fecha de los Clásicos, when teams face traditional rivals, will be played on February 25, the seventh matchday of the tournament. With reversed hosting from the 2023 tournament, River Plate will host Boca Juniors in a new Superclásico, Independiente will host Racing Club in a new Clasico de Avellaneda, and San Lorenzo will visit Huracán in the next Clasico Porteño.

The top four teams from each club will move on to a playoff. Starting in the quarterfinals, the games become direct elimination matches played at neutral stadiums. In the event of a tie, the match will be defined by penalties. The final is set to be played on May 5.

The Liga Profesional is set to start immediately after, on May 12, with the only pause in local football falling between June 20 and July 13 — when the Copa América will be played in the United States.