Football in Mexico

Football in Mexico
The Estadio Azteca, the home of América, Cruz Azul and the Mexico national football team
CountryMexico
Governing bodyFederación Mexicana de Fútbol (FMF)
National team(s)Mexico
Nickname(s)El Tri
First played1923
Clubs18 in Liga MX
National competitions
Men's:
Liga MX (Top level)
Campeón de Campeones
Liga de Expansión MX (Second level)
Campeón de Campeones de la Liga de Expansión MX
Liga Premier (Third level)
Campeón de Campeones de la Liga Premier
Copa Conecta
Liga TDP (Fourth level)
Women's:
Liga MX Femenil (Top level)
Campeón de Campeones Femenil
Liga TDP Femenil (Second level)
International competitions
Part of a series on the
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Symbols

Mexico's most popular sport is football (called fútbol in Mexico).[1][2] The first level leagues in Mexico are Liga MX for men and Liga MX Femenil for women.

In Mexico, football became a professional men's sport in 1943. Since then, Mexico's most successful men's club has been América, with fifteen Liga MX titles.[3]

The first women's professional football league in Mexico was established in 2016, the first season was in 2017-2018. It set new world records for attendances at women's professional football matches.[4][5]

Antonio Carbajal was the first player to appear in five World Cups, and Hugo Sánchez was named best CONCACAF player of the 20th century by IFFHS.

Mexico's largest capacity stadiums are Estadio Azteca, Estadio Olímpico Universitario and Estadio Jalisco. As of 2006, it was estimated that there were in the nation over 324,000 registered players and approximately 8,155,000 unregistered players.[6]

Professional clubs

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Men's football has been played in Mexico since the early 1900s, and professionally since 1943. The first club founded was Pachuca in 1892. The first women's professional football league Liga MX Femenil was announced in December 2016[7] and the inaugural season (2017-2018) started the following year.[8] The development of women's football has occurred in waves since the 1950s.[9]

Since 1996, the season is divided into two short tournaments (Apertura and Clausura) with a final phase in each tournament, called "liguilla". This system is common throughout Latin America.[10] From 1996 to 2002, the two short tournaments of the regular phase was called "Verano" and "Invierno".

Liga MX formerly called Liga Mayor and Primera División de México changed the names of the tournaments in 2002, and opted for the names Apertura and Clausura. The Apertura tournament is played from July to December, while the Clausura tournament is played from January to May.

Mexico's men's football has four divisions in the following order of competition level: Liga MX, Liga de Expansión MX, Liga Premier, and Liga TDP. The promotion and relegation are used by the FMF to advance (promote) a lesser level club into competition of like quality their aggregate percentage score warrants play in a higher competition level. They replace the club that is relegated to the next lower level based on their aggregate. Promotion and relegation take place after the Clausura tournament has ended.

Mexico's most successful men's clubs have been América with 15 Liga MX titles, Guadalajara with 12, Toluca with 10, Cruz Azul with 9, León and Tigres UANL with 8.[3] On the women's side Tigres UANL are the most successful club, winning six championships since the 2017-2018 season the inaugural season of Liga MX Femenil. Both championship matches in the first season set new world records for attendance at a women's football league match with 32,466 fans in attendance at the Apertura final[11] and 51,211 at the Clausura final match.[12]

The top three most popular football clubs on social media from North America, as of 25 March 2021, are all Mexican clubs.[13] Note that this was before the arrival of Lionel Messi at Inter Miami, which resulted in 12.5 million Instagram followers for Inter Miami in 2023.[14]

# Football club Country Followers
1 América Mexico 36 million
2 Guadalajara Mexico 13 million
3 Cruz Azul Mexico 6.6 million

Association football clubs by city/metro area

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Liga MX is the most important and top level division in Mexico. Liga de Expansión MX (formerly Ascenso MX) is the second level division in Mexican football. The following table shows the teams of these leagues and the cities/metro areas they're based in.

Key to colors and symbols
Metro areas with 3 teams in league
Metro areas with 2 teams in league
Metro areas larger than 500,000 population without a team in these leagues
Region Metro area Population Liga MX (Top level) Liga de Expansión MX (Second level)
Central South Greater Mexico City 21,804,515 América

Cruz Azul

Pumas UNAM 		Atlante
North East Monterrey, Nuevo León 5,341,177 Monterrey

Tigres UANL
West Guadalajara, Jalisco 5,268,642 Atlas

Guadalajara 		UdeG

Tapatío
East Puebla-Tlaxcala, Puebla/Tlaxcala 3,199,530 Puebla
Central South Toluca, State of Mexico 2,353,924 Toluca
North West Tijuana, Baja California 2,157,853 Tijuana
North East León, Guanajuato 1,924,771 León
Central North Querétaro, Querétaro 1,594,212 Querétaro
North West Juárez, Chihuahua 1,512,450 Juárez
North West La Laguna, Coahuila/Durango 1,434,283 Santos Laguna
South East Mérida, Yucatán 1,316,088 Venados
Central North San Luis Potosí, San Luis Potosí 1,271,366 Atlético San Luis
Central North Aguascalientes, Aguascalientes 1,140,916 Necaxa
North West Mexicali, Baja California 1,049,792
North East Saltillo, Coahuila 1,031,779
Central South Cuernavaca, Morelos 1,028,589
North West Culiacán, Sinaloa 1,003,530 Sinaloa
West Morelia, Michoacán 988,704 Morelia
North West Chihuahua, Chihuahua (state) 988,065
East Veracruz, Veracruz 939,046
South East Cancún, Quintana Roo 934,189 Cancún
East Tampico, Tamaulipas/Veracruz 927,379
South West Acapulco, Guerrero 852,622
South West Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Chiapas 848,274
North East Reynosa, Tamaulipas 837,251
South East Villahermosa, Tabasco 833,907
East Xalapa, Veracruz 789,157
Central North Celaya, Guanajuato 767,104 Celaya
South West Oaxaca, Oaxaca 713,925 Oaxaca
North West Durango, Durango 688,697
East Pachuca, Hidalgo 665,929 Pachuca
Central North Irapuato, Guanajuato 592,953 [15]
East Tlaxcala–Apizaco, Tlaxcala 570,308 Tlaxcala
North West Ensenada, Baja California 561,375 [16]
North East Matamoros, Tamaulipas 541,979
East Poza Rica, Veracruz 521,530
North West Mazatlán, Sinaloa 501,441 Mazatlán
Central North Zacatecas-Guadalupe, Zacatecas 405,285 Zacatecas
North East Ciudad Victoria, Tamaulipas 349,688 UAT
North West La Paz, Baja California Sur 292,241 La Paz[17]
West Tepatitlán, Morelos 150,190 Tepatitlán

National teams

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Main articles: Mexico national football team and Mexico women's national football team

The Mexico national football team has 17 participations in the FIFA World Cup, reaching the quarter-finals twice (both times as hosts) and finishing in the round of 16 at seven consecutive tournaments. They also finished as runners-up at the Copa América twice. Mexico won the 1999 FIFA Confederations Cup as hosts, beating Brazil 4–3 in the final to win its first world-class senior tournament organized by FIFA. The olympic team were gold medalists at the 2012 Olympic Football Tournament in London, once again beating Brazil 2-1 in the final. The under-17 team were world champions twice, winning in Peru 2005 and at home in Mexico 2011.

Players from Mexico have joined teams in Europe, including Jared Borgetti, Rafael Márquez, Gerardo Torrado, Cuauhtémoc Blanco, Nery Castillo, Carlos Salcido, Ricardo Osorio, Pável Pardo, Andrés Guardado, Guillermo Franco, Carlos Vela, Giovani dos Santos, Omar Bravo, Aaron Galindo, Héctor Moreno, Francisco Javier Rodríguez, Francisco Fonseca, Javier Hernández (commonly referred to as "Chicharito"), Pablo Barrera, Efraín Juárez, Guillermo Ochoa, Jesús Corona, Héctor Herrera, Miguel Layún, Raúl Jiménez, Marco Fabián, Diego Reyes, Hirving Lozano, Edson Álvarez, Alexis Vega and Diego Lainez the most recents.

Mexico's men's national team has achieved other significant feats such as the most CONCACAF Championship/CONCACAF Gold Cup titles with 12. Mexico has hosted two times the FIFA World Cup (1970 and 1986). Estadio Azteca is the biggest stadium in the world to have hosted two World Cup finals and is one of the largest stadiums in the world. Mexico will co-host the 2026 FIFA World Cup along with Canada and the United States. Several matches will take place in Mexico City, Monterrey and Guadalajara.

The Mexico women's national football team was officially formed in 1991 to compete in the 1991 CONCACAF Women's Championship and its first participation in the World Cup was in USA 1999. However, in 1970 an unofficial team Mexico finished third in an unofficial Women's World Cup held in Italy.[9][18] In 1971, the team hosted an unofficial women's World Cup and reached the final, only to lose to Denmark 3–0. An estimated 110,000 people attended the final at Estadio Azteca.[19]

History

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Football was introduced to Mexico by emigrant miners from Cornwall, England at the end of the 19th century.[20] In the early 1900s, football was used as a method to "indoctrinate modern labor practices" such as teamwork and competition within a set of rules upon the Mexican workers.[20] By 1902 a five-team league emerged with a strong English influence.[21][22] Many of the early football teams were affiliated with corporations.[23]

The first amateur league held in Mexico was the Liga Mexicana de Football Amateur Association in the 1902-03 season, organized by the Asociación de Aficionados de México en la Liga de Football.

The first football federation in Mexico was created in 1922, called "Federación de Foot-ball Asociación". The following year changed its name to "Federación Central de Fútbol". The current Federación Mexicana de Fútbol (FMF) was established in 1927 and later affiliated with FIFA in 1929.

Mexican football stadiums

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Stadiums with a capacity of 40,000 or higher are included.

# Stadium Capacity City State Team(s) Surface Year Opened Owner League division Image
1 Azteca 81,070 Tlalpan Mexico City América, Cruz Azul, Mexico national team Grass 1966 Grupo Televisa Liga MX
2 Olímpico Universitario 69,000[24] Coyoacán Mexico City Pumas UNAM Grass 1952 UNAM Liga MX
3 Jalisco 55,020[25] Guadalajara Jalisco Atlas, UdeG Grass 1960 Clubes Unidos de Jalisco Liga MX, Liga de Expansión MX
4 BBVA 51,348[26] Guadalupe Nuevo León Monterrey Grass 2015 FEMSA Liga MX
5 Cuauhtémoc 47,417 Puebla City Puebla Puebla Grass 1968 State of Puebla Liga MX
6 Akron 46,232 Zapopan Jalisco Guadalajara Grass 2010 Grupo Omnilife Liga MX
7 Universitario 41,886 San Nicolás de los Garza Nuevo León Tigres UANL Grass 1967 UANL Liga MX

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Mexico Information - Page 2". World InfoZone. Retrieved 27 February 2015.
  2. ^ Schechter, Daniel C.; Quintero, Josephine (2008). Mexico City. Con Pianta - Daniel C. Schechter, Josephine Quintero - Google Books. Lonely Planet. ISBN 9781740591829. Retrieved 1 April 2014.
  3. ^ a b "Mexico - List of Champions". Rec.Sports.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 27 February 2015.
  4. ^ "News Roundup: Union lose, Steel in, LAFC fail to impress, and USOC kicks off". The Philly Soccer Page. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
  5. ^ "For Liga MX Femenil, an impressive start to an infant league • Copa90". Copa90. Archived from the original on 26 August 2018. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
  6. ^ Dunmore, Tom (16 September 2011). Historical Dictionary of Soccer - Tom Dunmore - Google Books. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 9780810871885. Retrieved 1 April 2014.
  7. ^ MX, LIGA MX / ASCENSO. "LIGA MX - Página Oficial de la Liga del Fútbol Profesional en México .: Bienvenido". www.ligamx.net (in Mexican Spanish). Retrieved 16 May 2018.
  8. ^ FIFA.com. "New horizons in the development of Mexican football". FIFA.com. Archived from the original on January 23, 2018. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
  9. ^ a b L’Hoeste, H. Fernández; Irwin, R.; Poblete, J. (6 May 2015). Sports and Nationalism in Latin / o America. Springer. ISBN 9781137518002.
  10. ^ Fellerath, David. "A thought experiment: What would NASL's split-season plan look like this season?". Indy Week. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
  11. ^ "Chivas wins inaugural Liga MX Femenil title". ESPN.com. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
  12. ^ "Femenil final shows women's football is thriving in Mexico". ESPN.com. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
  13. ^ "Digital impact of Latin American football teams". 25 March 2021.
  14. ^ "Inter Miami surpasses Brazilian clubs and becomes the MLS team with the most followers on Instagram". 28 July 2023.
  15. ^ "Irapuato (Municipality, Mexico)". citypopulation.de.
  16. ^ "MEXICO: Metropolitan Areas". citypopulation.de.
  17. ^ "Club Atlético La Paz confirma su llegada a la Liga de Expansión MX". Soy Fútbol.
  18. ^ Kessel, Anna (4 June 2015). "Women's World Cup: from unofficial tournaments to record-breaking event". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
  19. ^ "Mundial (Women) 1971". RSSSF. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
  20. ^ a b Coerver, Don M.; Pasztor, Suzanne B.; Buffington, Robert (2004). Mexico: An Encyclopedia of Contemporary Culture and History - Don M. Coerver, Suzanne B. Pasztor, Robert Buffington - Google Books. Bloomsbury Academic. ISBN 9781576071328. Retrieved 1 April 2014.
  21. ^ "Introduction". Federacion Mexicana de Futbol. Archived from the original on 11 October 2018. Retrieved 27 February 2015.
  22. ^ "Mexico - List of Final Tables". Rec.Sports.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 27 February 2015.
  23. ^ Standish, Peter; Bell, Steven M. (2004). Culture and Customs of Mexico - Peter Standish, Steven M. Bell - Google Books. Bloomsbury Academic. ISBN 9780313304125. Retrieved 1 April 2014.
  24. ^ "Estadio Olímpico Universitario". Archived from the original on 2016-05-12. Retrieved 2016-05-21.
  25. ^ "Football stadiums of the world – Stadiums in Mexico | Football stadiums of the world".
  26. ^ "Estadio BBVA (Estadio de Futbol de Monterrey) –". Stadiumdb.com. Retrieved 2022-08-22.
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