Argentina to combine top two leagues

The Argentinian Football Association are to implement a radical change to the country’s domestic competition with the top two divisions combining to make a 38-team tournament from 2012/13.

The motion, put forward by AFA president Julio Humberto Grondona, has been passed by 15 of the 20 top-flight teams.

The new competition will see the teams split into two zones of 19. Traditional rivals like River Plate and Boca Juniors will be kept apart but would then face each other in ’inter-zone’ matches.

The top five teams in each zone will advance to the Championship Stage, to define the league winners, while the other 28 will play to avoid relegation.

It means River, who suffered relegation for the first time in their illustrious history in the recently-completed Clausura season, will spend just one season in the second tier before the new format comes into play.