MEXICO CITY - The Mexican football league will change its regular-season format and playoff structure beginning with the fall Apertura season, abandoning its three-group method for a single table and replacing the knockout "Liguilla" with a second league phase The moves, announced Monday, will extend the playoffs from 14 games to 26. With the three regular-season groups or divisions molded into a single table, eight teams will continue to qualify for the playoffs. But instead of two teams from each group plus the next two sides with the best records qualifying, the top eight will advance. Instead of a two-leg, knockout quarterfinals, semifinals and finals formula, the eight teams will be divided into two, four-team groups for a second league phase with each team playing the others in the group home and away. The two group winners will then meet in the finals. http://www.concacaf.com/page/AssociationNewsDetail/0,,12813~2362533,00.html
