Liga de Expansión MX
The Liga de Expansión MX, also known as Liga de Desarrollo (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, for which there will be no promotion and relegation for six years.[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 | Tapatío (1st title) (Clausura 2023) |
| Most championships | Atlante (2 titles) |
| TV partners | Claro[1] ESPN[2] Fox Sports[3] Hi Sports Televisa[4] TV Azteca[5] TVC Deportes[6] |
| Website | LigaBBVAExpansion.mx |
| Current: 2023–24 Liga de Expansión MX season | |
History edit
On 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 will be carried out in 2024. As a consequence of this reform, all the member teams of Liga MX must have a team in the Liga de Expansión MX, which will be made up of Under-23 footballers, who will compete together with the teams that were already part of the category, the new league will replace to Liga MX U–20 and will be called Expansión Sub–23.[11]
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 |
| Oaxaca | Oaxaca City, Oaxaca | Tecnológico de Oaxaca | 14,598 |
| Sinaloa | Culiacán, Sinaloa | Dorados | 20,108 |
| Sonora | Hermosillo, Sonora | Héroe de Nacozari | 18,747 |
| 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 |
Champions edit
| Club | Winners | Runner-Up | Winning Seasons |
|---|---|---|---|
| Atlante | 2 | 1 | Grita México 2021, Apertura 2022 |
| Atlético Morelia | 1 | 2 | Clausura 2022 |
| Tampico Madero | 1 | 1 | Guardianes 2020 |
| Tapatío | 1 | 0 | Clausura 2023 |
| Tepatitlán | 1 | 0 | Guardianes 2021 |
| Celaya | 0 | 1 | |
| Sonora | 0 | 1 |
Campeón de Campeones edit
| Club | Winners | Runner-Up | Winning Seasons |
|---|---|---|---|
| Atlante | 1 | 1 | 2021–22 |
| Tepatitlán | 1 | 0 | 2020–21 |
| Tapatío | 1 | 0 | 2022–23 |
| Tampico Madero | 0 | 1 | |
| Atlético Morelia | 0 | 1 |
Managers edit
The current managers in the Liga de Expansión MX are:
| Nat. | Name | Team | Appointed | Time as manager |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mario García Covalles | Atlante | 20 July 2020 | 3 years, 128 days | |
| Rafael García | Sinaloa | 21 December 2020 | 2 years, 339 days | |
| Alfonso Sosa | U. de G. | 7 September 2021 | 2 years, 79 days | |
| Jaime Durán | Atlético La Paz | 6 June 2022 | 1 year, 172 days | |
| Roberto Hernández | Sonora | 15 June 2022 | 1 year, 163 days | |
| Nacho Castro | Zacatecas | 7 May 2023 | 202 days | |
| Luis Arce | Cancún | 1 June 2023 | 177 days | |
| Rafael Fernández | Venados | 9 June 2023 | 169 days | |
| Arturo Ortega | Tapatío | 15 June 2023 | 163 days | |
| Carlos Gutiérrez | Oaxaca | 15 June 2023 | 163 days | |
| Enrique López Zarza | Tepatitlán | 20 June 2023 | 158 days | |
| Cristian Paulucci | Celaya | 29 August 2023 | 88 days | |
| Raúl Gutiérrez | UAT | 7 October 2023 | 49 days | |
| Javier Contreras (Interim) | Tlaxcala | 10 October 2023 | 46 days | |
| José Roberto Muñoz (Interim) | Atlético Morelia | 20 October 2023 | 36 days |
Top scorers edit
| Year | Name | Team | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Guardianes 2020 | Alberto Alvarado Morín Lizandro Echeverría Guillermo Martínez Gustavo Ramírez | UAT Atlante Celaya Atlético Morelia | 7 |
| Guardianes 2021 | Julio Cruz | Oaxaca | 10 |
| Apertura 2021 | Raúl Zúñiga | Sinaloa | 12 |
| Clausura 2022 | David Angulo Juan Machado Óscar Villa | Tepatitlán Raya2 Sonora | 8 |
| Apertura 2022 | Diego Jiménez | Sonora | 12 |
| Clausura 2023 | Ricardo Marín | Celaya | 10 |
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.
External links edit
- Official website