Division Profesional - Apertura (Paraguay) 2026/27

The Apertura forms one half of the dual-championship system that defines Paraguayan football. Since 2008, the season has been split into two independent tournaments, with the Apertura running from February to July. Each tournament crowns its own separate champion, and no final is played between the two winners. This structure distinguishes the league from most other South American competitions, which typically decide a single overall winner.

The competition sits at the top tier of the Paraguayan football pyramid, organized by the Asociación Paraguaya de Fútbol. It was founded in 1906 and turned professional in 1935. The current season features twelve teams competing in a double round-robin regular season. Following this stage, an eight-team knockout playoff phase determines the victor. Continental qualification for the Copa Libertadores and Copa Sudamericana is determined by the aggregate table combining points from both the Apertura and the Clausura.

Among the participants are Cerro Porteño, Club Guaraní, and Libertad Asunción. Club Olimpia remains the most successful club in the league's history with 48 official titles, followed by Cerro Porteño with approximately 34. The current holder of the Apertura title is Club Libertad, which won the 2024 tournament. Relegation involves the two teams with the lowest points averaged over the previous three seasons dropping to the División Intermedia. The league returned to twelve teams in 2022 after a brief reduction to ten in 2021.