The InterLiga is a football competition between Mexican clubs to determine qualifying spots in South America's premier club competition, the Copa Libertadores. The InterLiga began in 2004 when Mexico was granted 2 automatic entries to the Copa Libertadores for the 1st time.
For neutrality and to maximize income, all matches are held in the USA in January, during the off-season of the Mexican Primera DivisiĆ³n. The 8 qualifying clubs are selected based on their combined results in the Apertura and Clausura phases of the Primera DivisiĆ³n, and divided into 2 groups of 4. The Mexican league champions are excluded from InterLiga as they must play in the CONCACAF Champions' Cup, which comes into scheduling conflict with Copa Libertadores.