Tercera División de México

Tercera División de México

Country	Mexico
Confederation	CONCACAF
Founded	1967
Divisions	14 groups
Number of teams	237
Level on pyramid	4
Promotion to	Champion - Liga Premier de Ascenso Runner Up - Liga de Nuevos Talentos
Current champions	Leones Negros (2015–16)
Website	terceradivision.com.mx
Offseason

Tercera División is Mexico's fourth tier in the Mexican League System. The Tercera División (Third Division) is divided into 14 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 14 groups consist of teams who are eligible to play in the liguilla ascenso for two promotion spots, teams who are affiliated with teams in the Liga MX (Primera División) and Ascenso MX, 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.

Teams

Participating clubs for the 2016–17 tournament:^[1]

* Teams with an affiliate in the Liga MX and that are not eligible for promotion.

** Teams with an affiliate in the Ascenso MX and that are not eligible for promotion.

*** Teams with an affiliate in the Segunda División and that are not eligible for promotion.

Group I

Group II

Group III

Group IV

Group V

Group VI

Group VII

Group VIII

Group IX

Group X

Group XI

Group XII

Group XIII

Group XIV

Current Format

Tercera División currently features 211 teams divided into 14 groups. There are 7 teams with filials (affiliates) in the Liga MX (First Division) or Ascenso MX, who are not eligible for promotion. The Tercera follows the usual double round-robin format in which each club plays every other club twice within their own group.

The teams will be divided in accordance to their geographical zone. The teams in each subgroup of 14 will then play each other in the double round-robin format within their own subgroup. Teams receive three points for a win, one point for a draw, and no points for a loss. If a game ends in a draw both team are awarded one point for the draw in regulation time and will then move on to the execution of penalties. The team who wins in the penalty series will be awarded a point in addition to the point won for drawing during regulation time. Teams are ranked by total points won.

Qualification for Promotion

Two teams from the Tercera Division will be promoted to Second Division de Mexico, Campeon (Champion) and Sub-Campeon (Runner-Up). The champion will be promoted directly to the Liga Premier de Ascenso and the runner-up will be promoted to the Liga de Nuevos Talentos.

Of the teams that are eligible for promotion, 64 teams will qualify for play-offs to determine which two teams will be promoted. The play-offs will be played in a home and away format, the winner being determined by the aggregate score. Also, Participating in the play-offs is the 8 affiliate clubs without the right to be promoted to the Liga MX, Ascenso MX and Second Division de Mexico.

Round of 64

For Groups I, II, XII, XIII and XIV the top 4 teams will play-off amongst the teams in their own group as shown above.

Groups III - VII

For Groups III, IV, V, VI, and VII the teams will be repositioned from 1 to 20, into a single table, depending on their final overall record in regular season play.

Groups VIII - XI

• 1 vs. 16
• 2 vs. 15
• 3 vs. 14
• 4 vs. 13
• 5 vs. 12
• 6 vs. 11
• 7 vs. 10
• 8 vs. 9

For Group VIII, IX, X and XI the top 4 teams will face off against the top 4 teams of Group XI as shown above.

Round of 32

In this round the remaining 32 teams will be split into 2 groups of 16. Teams qualified from Groups I to VII will make up Zone 1 and teams qualified from Groups VIII to XIV will make up Zone 2. The teams will be repositioned into these groups depending on their final overall record in regular season play.

Round of 16

For the Round of 16 the teams will remain in the same group, the only difference being is the repositioning of the qualified teams.

Quarter-finals

Same format as the Round of 16.

Semi-finals

Same format as Quarter-finals.

Final

The final will be disputed between the winning team of Zone 1 and the winning team of Zone 2.

Promotion

The team that wins in the aggregate score will be crowned champion and will be promoted to the Liga Premier de Ascenso and the runner-up of the final will be promoted to the Liga de Nuevos Talentos.

Certification Requirements

For Tercera Division Profesional Certificate be considered, you must meet the social, sporting, financial and legal requirements; Clubs who win promotion and get the support settlement letter from the Division to participate in the Segunda Division de Mexico complying with the following:

• Having full legal rule and membership record with the corporate documents, legal and financial sport under the Rules of Affiliation, name and headquarters.
• Facilities must comply with the guidelines by the Rules of Membership, Name and Headquarters and the Segunda Division de Mexico.
• I have no debt in the Statement of the Division or at the FMF.

List of Champions

Tercera División champions^[2]

References

External links

• Tercera División de México Official Website (Spanish)

Football in Mexico
Federación Mexicana de Fútbol Asociación
National teams	Men National team Olympic (U-23) U-20 U-17 Women National team U-20 U-17
League system	Men Liga MX Ascenso MX Segunda División Tercera División Women Super Liga Femenil
Domestic cups	Men Copa MX Supercopa MX Campeón de Campeones Pre Libertadores Cup (defunct) InterLiga (defunct) International 1985 Ciudad de México Cup Tournament 1985 Azteca 2000 Tournament
Awards	Balón de Oro Top scorers
Lists	Champions Clubs Venues El Clásico Clásico Regiomontano
Men's players Women's players Expatriate players Managers Referees Venues Seasons