This article needs additional citations for verification. (June 2020) |
The Liga de Expansión MX, officially known as Liga BBVA Expansión MX for sponsorship reasons, is a Mexican football league founded in 2020 as part of the Mexican Football Federation's "Stabilization Project", which has the primary objective of rescuing the financially troubled teams from the Ascenso MX and prevent the disappearance of a second-tier league in Mexico.[7] The project also attempts for Liga MX and former Ascenso MX teams to consolidate stable projects with strong administration, finances, and infrastructure.
 | |
| Founded | 24 April 2020 |
|---|---|
| Country | Mexico |
| Confederation | CONCACAF |
| Number of teams | 15 |
| Level on pyramid | 2 |
| Current champions | Atlante (3rd title) (Clausura 2024) |
| Most championships | Atlante (3 titles) |
| TV partners | Claro[1] ESPN[2] Fox Sports[3] Hi Sports Televisa[4] TV Azteca[5] TVC Deportes[6] |
| Website | ligabbvaexpansion.mx |
| Current: 2024–25 Liga de Expansión MX season | |
History
editOn 20 February 2020, the presidents of the Liga MX clubs, the Ascenso MX clubs and Mexican Football Federation executives had a meeting, in which different topics were discussed with the intent of strengthening the two main leagues in the country.[8]
On 26 June 2020, the league was officially presented, with the participation of 16 teams: Alebrijes de Oaxaca, Atlante, Atlético Morelia, Cancún, Celaya, Cimarrones de Sonora, Correcaminos UAT, Dorados de Sinaloa, Leones Negros UdeG, Mineros de Zacatecas, Tampico Madero, and Venados F.C. as Ascenso MX teams. Pumas Tabasco and Tapatío entered to the league as Liga MX affiliates.[9] Finally, on 17 July 2020, Tepatitlán and Tlaxcala were invited as Liga Premier expansion teams.[10]
On 22 May 2023, the Liga MX owners assembly approved a reform for the league that should have been carried out in 2024. This reform planned that the 18 member teams of the Liga MX should have had a U-23 team in the Liga de Expansión, which would have represented a merger between the Expansión MX and the Liga MX U–23.[11] However, in May 2024 the proposal was scrapped due to opposition from the owners of the Liga de Expansión teams, as they considered that the project represented a degradation of the participating clubs.[12]
Clubs
edit| Team | City | Stadium | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Atlante | Mexico City | Ciudad de los Deportes | 33,000 |
| Atlético La Paz | La Paz, Baja California Sur | Guaycura | 5,209 |
| Atlético Morelia | Morelia, Michoacán | Morelos | 35,000 |
| Cancún | Cancún, Quintana Roo | Andrés Quintana Roo | 18,844 |
| Celaya | Celaya, Guanajuato | Miguel Alemán Valdés | 23,182 |
| Jaiba Brava | Tampico and Ciudad Madero, Tamaulipas | Tamaulipas | 19,667 |
| Oaxaca | Oaxaca City, Oaxaca | Tecnológico de Oaxaca | 14,598 |
| Sinaloa | Culiacán, Sinaloa | Dorados | 20,108 |
| Tapatío | Zapopan, Jalisco | Akron | 46,232 |
| Tepatitlán | Tepatitlán de Morelos, Jalisco | Gregorio "Tepa" Gómez | 8,085 |
| Tlaxcala | Tlaxcala City, Tlaxcala | Tlahuicole | 11,135 |
| UAT | Ciudad Victoria, Tamaulipas | Marte R. Gómez | 10,520 |
| U. de G. | Guadalajara, Jalisco | Jalisco | 55,020 |
| Venados | Mérida, Yucatán | Carlos Iturralde | 15,087 |
| Zacatecas | Zacatecas City, Zacatecas | Carlos Vega Villalba | 20,068 |
On hiatus
edit| Team | City | Stadium | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sonora | Hermosillo, Sonora | Héroe de Nacozari | 18,747 |
Champions
edit| Club | Winners | Runner-Up | Winning Seasons |
|---|---|---|---|
| Atlante | 3 | 2 | Grita México 2021, Apertura 2022, Clausura 2024 |
| Atlético Morelia | 1 | 2 | Clausura 2022 |
| Tampico Madero | 1 | 1 | Guardianes 2020 |
| Tapatío | 1 | 0 | Clausura 2023 |
| Tepatitlán | 1 | 0 | Guardianes 2021 |
| Cancún | 1 | 0 | Apertura 2023 |
| Celaya | 0 | 1 | |
| Sonora | 0 | 1 | |
| UdeG | 0 | 1 |
Campeón de Campeones
edit| Club | Winners | Runner-Up | Winning Seasons |
|---|---|---|---|
| Atlante | 1 | 2 | 2021–22 |
| Tepatitlán | 1 | 0 | 2020–21 |
| Tapatío | 1 | 0 | 2022–23 |
| Cancún | 1 | 0 | 2023–24 |
| Tampico Madero | 0 | 1 | |
| Atlético Morelia | 0 | 1 |
Managers
editThe current managers in the Liga de Expansión MX are:
| Nat. | Name | Team | Appointed | Time as manager |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alfonso Sosa | U. de G. | 7 September 2021 | 2 years, 345 days | |
| Gastón Obledo | Jaiba Brava | 22 June 2022 | 2 years, 56 days | |
| Nacho Castro | Zacatecas | 7 May 2023 | 1 year, 102 days | |
| Luis Arce | Cancún | 1 June 2023 | 1 year, 77 days | |
| Arturo Ortega | Tapatío | 15 June 2023 | 1 year, 63 days | |
| Carlos Gutiérrez | Oaxaca | 15 June 2023 | 1 year, 63 days | |
| Raúl Rico | Atlético La Paz | 10 December 2023 | 251 days | |
| Daniel Alcántar | Atlante | 20 December 2023 | 241 days | |
| Paco Ramírez | Tlaxcala | 23 December 2023 | 238 days | |
| Mario García | Atlético Morelia | 17 April 2024 | 122 days | |
| Rigoberto Esparza | Venados | 16 May 2024 | 93 days | |
| Francisco Cortéz | UAT | 22 May 2024 | 87 days | |
| Sebastián Abreu | Sinaloa | 30 May 2024 | 79 days | |
| Sergio Blanco | Celaya | 30 May 2024 | 79 days | |
| Jair Real | Tepatitlán | 23 July 2024 | 25 days |
Top scorers
edit| Year | Name | Team | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Guardianes 2020 | UAT Atlante Celaya Atlético Morelia |
7 | |
| Guardianes 2021 | Oaxaca | 10 | |
| Apertura 2021 | Sinaloa | 12 | |
| Clausura 2022 | Tepatitlán Raya2 Sonora |
8 | |
| Apertura 2022 | Sonora | 12 | |
| Clausura 2023 | Celaya | 10 | |
| Apertura 2023 | Zacatecas | 10 | |
| Clausura 2024 | Cancún | 9 |
References
edit- ^ includes Claro Sports
- ^ includes ESPN 2 and ESPN 3
- ^ includes Fox Sports 2
- ^ includes TUDN
- ^ Includes Azteca Digital
- ^ includes TVC Deportes 2
- ^ Enrique Martínez Villar (24 April 2020). "¡Se confirma! No habrá ascenso ni descenso en 6 años; aprueban Liga de Desarrollo". Mediotiempo. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
- ^ "Comunicado de la LIGA MX / ASCENSO MX y la FMF". LIGA MX. 20 April 2020. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
- ^ "Asamblea Ordinaria de Clubes del 26 de Junio del 2020". Liga BBVA MX (in Spanish). 26 June 2020. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
- ^ "Comunicado de la LIGA MX sobre la LIGA de Expansión". Liga BBVA MX (in Spanish). 17 July 2020. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
- ^ "Por unanimidad, la Asamblea de Clubes designa a Juan Carlos Rodríguez". ligamx.net (in Spanish). 22 May 2023. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
- ^ "Descartan fusión de la Liga de Expansión con la Sub-23". Mediotiempo.com (in Spanish). 22 May 2024. Retrieved 12 July 2024.