# 2017–18 Guatemalan Liga Nacional

The 2017–18 Liga Nacional de Fútbol de Guatemala season is the 20th season in which the Apertura and Clausura season is used. The season began on 28 July 2017 and will ended in May 2018.

## Format

The format for both championships are identical. Each championship will have two stages: a first stage and a playoff stage. The first stage of each championship is a double round-robin format. The teams that finish first and second in the standings will advance to the playoffs semifinals, while the teams that finish 3–6 will enter in the quarterfinals. The winner of each quarterfinal will advance to the semifinals. The winners of the semifinals will advance to the finals, which will determine the tournament champion.

## Managerial changes
### Beginning of the season

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Replaced by | Date of appointment | Position in table |
| Malacateco | | Resigned | May 2017 | Mauricio Wright | May 2017 | th (Clausura 2018) |

### During the Apertura season

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Replaced by | Date of appointment | Position in table |
| Sanarate | Héctor Julián Trujillo | Resigned | October 2017 | Horacio Cordero | October 2017 | th (Apertura 2015) |
| Deportivo Marquense | Óscar Ulises Sosa | Sacked | September 2017 | Gabriel Castillo | September 2017 | th (Apertura 2015) |
| Cobán Imperial | Ariel Sena | Sacked | August 2017 | Fabricio Benitez | August 2017 | th (Apertura 2015) |
| Municipal | Gustavo Machaín | Sacked | Oct 2017 | Ever Hugo Almeida | Oct 2017 | th (Apertura 2015) |
| C.D. Suchitepequez | Walter Claverí | Sacked | Oct 2017 | Erick González | Oct 2017 | th (Apertura 2015) |

### Between Apertura and Clausura seasons

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Replaced by | Date of appointment | Position in table |
| Municipal | Éver Hugo Almeida | Contract finished | December 2017 | Hernan Medford | December 2017 | and Runners up (Apertura 2017) |
| Suchitepéquez | Erick González | Contract finished | December 2017 | Agustin Castillo | December 2017 | (Apertura 2017) |
| Sanarate | Horacio Cordero | Resigned | December 2017 | Pablo Centrone | December 2017 | th (Apertura 2015) |
| Siquinalá | Jairo Pérez | Sacked | December 2017 | Daniel Berta | December 2017 | (Apertura 2017) |

### During the Apertura season

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Replaced by | Date of appointment | Position in table |
| Suchitepéquez | Agustin Castillo | Sacked | February 2018 | Eduardo Méndez | 2018 | th (Clausura 2018) |
| Xelaju MC | Ronald Gómez | Sacked | February 2018 | Walter Claveri | February 2018 | th (Clausura 2018) |
| Malacateco | Mauricio Wright | Resigned | February 2018 | Ronald Gómez | February 2018 | th (Clausura 2018) |
| Comunicaciones | Ronald González | Sacked | February 2018 | Willy Coito Olivera | February 2018 | (Apertura 2017) |
| Marquense | Gabriel Castillo | Sacked | April 2018 | Aldo Da Pozzo | April 2018 | th (Clausura 2018) |

## Apertura

The 2017 Torneo Apertura began on 28 July 2017 and will end in December 2017.

### Personnel and sponsoring

| Team | Chairman | Head Coach | Kitmaker | Shirt sponsor |
| Antigua GFC | Rafael Arreaga | Mauricio Tapia | TBD | Banrural, Horcalba, Pepsi |
| Cobán Imperial | Irasema Meléndez | Ariel Sena | TBD | TBD |
| Comunicaciones | Pedro Portilla | Ronald González | Puma | TBD |
| Guastatoya | | Amarini Villatoro | TBD | TBD |
| Malacateco | TBD | Mauricio Wright | TBD | TBD |
| Marquense | TBD | Néstor Emilio Soria | TBD | TBD |
| Municipal | TBD | Gustavo Machaín | TBD | TBD |
| Deportivo Petapa | Mynor Morales | Ramiro Cepeda | TBD | TBD |
| Sanarate | TBD | Héctor Julián Trujillo | | |
| Siquinalá | TBD | Jairo Pérez | | |
| Suchitepéquez | TBD | Walter Claverí | TBD | TBD |
| Xelajú | TBD | Ronald Gómez | RetoSports | TBD |

### Table
#### Standings

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Antigua GFC | 22 | 11 | 5 | 6 | 35 | 16 | +19 | 38 | Qualified to the Semifinals |
| 2 | Petapa | 22 | 11 | 5 | 6 | 35 | 19 | +16 | 38 | Qualified to the Semifinals |
| 3 | Municipal | 22 | 9 | 8 | 5 | 24 | 18 | +6 | 35 | Qualified to the Quarterfinals |
| 4 | Xelajú MC | 22 | 10 | 5 | 7 | 30 | 27 | +3 | 35 | Qualified to the Quarterfinals |
| 5 | Cobán Imperial | 22 | 9 | 8 | 5 | 28 | 25 | +3 | 35 | Qualified to the Quarterfinals |
| 6 | Guastatoya | 22 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 33 | 21 | +12 | 34 | Qualified to the Quarterfinals |
| 7 | Comunicaciones | 22 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 28 | 20 | +8 | 34 | |
| 8 | Malacateco | 22 | 7 | 5 | 10 | 29 | 29 | 0 | 26 | |
| 9 | Sanarate | 22 | 7 | 5 | 10 | 14 | 22 | −8 | 26 | |
| 10 | Suchitepéquez | 22 | 6 | 4 | 12 | 24 | 43 | −19 | 22 | |
| 11 | Siquinalá | 22 | 6 | 2 | 14 | 19 | 38 | −19 | 20 | |
| 12 | Marquense | 22 | 5 | 5 | 12 | 18 | 39 | −21 | 20 | |

#### Results

| Home \ Away | ANT | COB | COM | GUA | MAL | MAR | MUN | PET | SAN | SIQ | SUC | XEL |
| Antigua GFC | | 2–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 4–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 5–0 | 2–0 |
| Coban Imperial | 1–1 | | 3–2 | 4–2 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 |
| Comunicaciones | 2–1 | 0–0 | | 1–0 | 3–0 | 5–1 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–1 |
| Guastatoya | 0–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | | 3–1 | 4–2 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 4–1 | 3–0 |
| Malacateco | 0–3 | 5–0 | 2–0 | 2–2 | | 4–0 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 1–2 |
| Marquense | 2–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | | 1–0 | 0–4 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 |
| Municipal | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | | 0–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 0–1 |
| Petapa | 2–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | | 1–1 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 3–0 |
| Sanarate | 0–2 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 0–2 | | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 |
| Siquinalá | 3–2 | 0–2 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 4–0 | 1–2 | 1–4 | 1–0 | | 2–0 | 2–1 |
| Suchitepéquez | 1–0 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 1–0 | 2–0 | | 4–1 |
| Xelajú MC | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 4–1 | 4–0 | 4–1 | |

## Playoffs

| Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Final | Final | Final | Final |
| | | | | | | Cobán Imperial | 1 | 0 | 1 | | | | |
| 4 | Guastatoya | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | Antigua GFC | 0 | 1 | 1 | | | | |
| 5 | Municipal | 1 | 2 | 3 | | | | | | Municipal | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| | | | | | | | | | | Antigua GFC | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| | | | | | | Municipal | 2 | 3 | 5 | | | | |
| 3 | Cobán Imperial | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | Petapa | 1 | 0 | 1 | | | | |
| 6 | Xelajú MC | 1 | 2 | 3 | | | | | | | | | |

### Quarterfinals

| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| Guastatoya | 1 – 3 | Municipal | 1 – 1 | 0 – 2 |
| Cobán Imperial | 3 – 3 | Xelajú MC | 1 – 1 | 2 – 2 |
^ Cobán Imperial wins on away goals

#### Second leg
### Semifinals

| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| Cobán Imperial | 1 – 1 | Antigua GFC | 1 – 0 | 0 – 1 |
| Municipal | 5 – 1 | Petapa | 2 – 1 | 3 – 0 |
^ Antigua GFC wins on away goals

#### Second leg
### Finals

| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| Municipal | 2 – 3 | Antigua GFC | 1 – 1 | 1 – 2 |

#### Second leg

* Apertura 2017 champions
* Antigua GFC 3rd title

## Clausura

The 2018 Torneo Clausura is expected to begin in January 2018 and end in May 2018.

### Personnel and sponsoring

| Team | Chairman | Head Coach | Kitmaker | Shirt sponsor |
| Antigua GFC | Rafael Arreaga | Mauricio Tapia | TBD | Pegamex |
| Cobán Imperial | TBD | Fabricio Benítez | Puma | TBD |
| Comunicaciones | Pedro Portilla | Willy Coito Olivera | TBD | TBd |
| Guastatoya | Lester Rodríguez | Amarini Villatoro | TBD | TBD |
| Malacateco | TBD | Ronald Gomez | TBD | TBD |
| Marquense | TBD | Aldo Da Pozzo | TBD | TBD |
| Municipal | Gerardo Villa | Hernán Medford | TBD | TBD |
| Deportivo Petapa | TBD | Ramiro Cepeda | TBD | TBD |
| Sanarate | TBD | Pablo Centrone | | |
| Siquinalá | TBD | Daniel Berta | | |
| Suchitepéquez | TBD | Othoniel Arce | TBD | TBD |
| Xelajú | TBD | Wálter Claverí | RetoSports | TBD |

### Table
#### Standings

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Sanarate | 22 | 11 | 7 | 4 | 29 | 14 | +15 | 40 | Qualified to the Semifinals |
| 2 | Cobán Imperial | 22 | 12 | 3 | 7 | 32 | 21 | +11 | 39 | Qualified to the Semifinals |
| 3 | Guastatoya | 22 | 11 | 5 | 6 | 27 | 18 | +9 | 38 | Qualified to the Quarterfinals |
| 4 | Antigua GFC | 22 | 11 | 4 | 7 | 42 | 34 | +8 | 37 | Qualified to the Quarterfinals |
| 5 | Xelajú MC | 22 | 9 | 4 | 9 | 31 | 31 | 0 | 31 | Qualified to the Quarterfinals |
| 6 | Siquinalá | 22 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 20 | 22 | −2 | 31 | Qualified to the Quarterfinals |
| 7 | Comunicaciones | 22 | 8 | 5 | 9 | 22 | 26 | −4 | 29 | |
| 8 | Petapa | 22 | 9 | 2 | 11 | 27 | 33 | −6 | 29 | |
| 9 | Municipal | 22 | 8 | 4 | 10 | 34 | 28 | +6 | 28 | |
| 10 | Suchitepéquez | 22 | 7 | 4 | 11 | 29 | 36 | −7 | 25 | |
| 11 | Malacateco | 22 | 7 | 4 | 11 | 25 | 32 | −7 | 25 | |
| 12 | Marquense | 22 | 4 | 5 | 13 | 16 | 39 | −23 | 17 | |
(May 07, 2018) Publication of the date=15/04/2018 page 60

#### Results

| Home \ Away | ANT | COB | COM | GUA | MAL | MAR | MUN | PET | SAN | SIQ | SUC | XEL |
| Antigua GFC | | 1–3 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 4–3 | 4–1 | 3–2 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–3 | 3–1 |
| Cobán Imperial | 2–1 | | 2–1 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 4–2 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 4–2 | 2–1 |
| Comunicaciones | 0–2 | 1–0 | | 0–2 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 |
| Guastatoya | 3–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | | 3–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 3–1 |
| Malacateco | 0–1 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 2–1 | | 2–0 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 3–3 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–2 |
| Marquense | 2–2 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | | 0–7 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 1–2 |
| Municipal | 1–2 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 4–1 | | 4–0 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 2–3 |
| Petapa | 2–2 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | | 1–0 | 3–0 | 2–3 | 2–0 |
| Sanarate | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 4–0 | | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 |
| Siquinalá | 1–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | | 2–0 | 2–1 |
| Suchitepéquez | 1–3 | 1–0 | 3–2 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 2–3 | 1–3 | 1–1 | | 1–1 |
| Xelajú MC | 3–0 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 4–3 | |

## Playoffs

| Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Final | Final | Final | Final |
| | | | | | Sanarate | 1 | 1 | 2 | | | | |
| 4 | Antigua GFC | 0 | 0 | 0 | Xelajú MC | 2 | 1 | 3 | | | | |
| 5 | Xelajú MC | 2 | 1 | 3 | | | | | Xelaju MC | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| | | | | | | | | | Guastatoya | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| | | | | | Cobán Imperial | 0 | 0 | 0 | | | | |
| 3 | Guastatoya | 1 | 4 | 5 | Guastatoya | 1 | 0 | 1 | | | | |
| 6 | Siquinalá | 1 | 0 | 1 | | | | | | | | |

### Quarterfinals

| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| Antigua GFC | 0 – 3 | Xelajú MC | 0 – 2 | 0 – 1 |
| Guastatoya | 5 – 1 | Siquinalá | 1 – 1 | 4 – 0 |

#### Second leg

Xelaju won 3-0 on aggregate.
Guastatoya won 5-1 on aggregate.

### Semifinals

| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| Sanarate | 2 – 3 | Xelajú MC | 1 – 2 | 1 – 1 |
| Cobán Imperial | 0 – 1 | Guastatoya | 0 – 1 | 0 – 0 |

#### Second leg

Xelajú MC won 3-2 on aggregate.
Guastatoya won 1-0 on aggregate.

### Finals

| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| Xelaju MC | 1 – 3 | Guastatoya | 1 – 1 | 0 – 2 |

#### Second leg

* Clausura 2018 champions
* Guastatoya 1st title

## List of foreign players in the league

This is a list of foreign players in 2017-2018 season. The following players:
* have played at least one apertura game for the respective club.
* have not been capped for the Guatemala national football team on any level, independently from the birthplace
A new rule was introduced a few season ago, that clubs can only have five foreign players per club and can only add a new player if there is an injury or player/s is released.

## Aggregate table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Antigua GFC | 44 | 22 | 9 | 13 | 77 | 50 | +27 | 75 | |
| 2 | Cobán Imperial | 44 | 21 | 11 | 12 | 60 | 46 | +14 | 74 | |
| 3 | Guastatoya | 44 | 20 | 12 | 12 | 60 | 39 | +21 | 72 | 2019 CONCACAF Champions League |
| 4 | Petapa | 44 | 20 | 7 | 17 | 62 | 52 | +10 | 67 | |
| 5 | Sanarate | 44 | 18 | 12 | 14 | 43 | 36 | +7 | 66 | |
| 6 | Xelajú MC | 44 | 19 | 9 | 16 | 61 | 58 | +3 | 66 | |
| 7 | Municipal | 44 | 17 | 12 | 15 | 58 | 46 | +12 | 63 | |
| 8 | Comunicaciones | 44 | 17 | 12 | 15 | 50 | 46 | +4 | 63 | |
| 9 | Malacateco | 44 | 14 | 9 | 21 | 54 | 61 | −7 | 51 | |
| 10 | Siquinalá | 44 | 14 | 9 | 21 | 39 | 60 | −21 | 51 | |
| 11 | Suchitepéquez | 44 | 13 | 8 | 23 | 53 | 79 | −26 | 47 | Relegation to 2017-2018 Primera División de Ascenso |
| 12 | Marquense | 44 | 9 | 10 | 25 | 34 | 78 | −44 | 37 | Relegation to 2017-2018 Primera División de Ascenso |

## CONCACAF Champions League playoff

After the suspension of the National Football Federation of Guatemala was lifted by FIFA in June 2018, it was decided that the representative of Guatemala in the 2019 CONCACAF Champions League would be decided by a two-legged playoff between the 2017 Apertura champions (Antigua GFC) and the 2018 Clausura champions (Guastatoya). The draw for the order of legs was held on 27 June 2018.