The Mexican football league system is organized by the Mexican Football Federation, except for the Liga MX and the Ascenso MX that are organized independently; The tournaments consist of five levels, male and female professional levels. In addition to having the Copa MX which is also organized independently to the Femexfut.
Men
Liga MX, known as the Primera División (First Division) before the 2012–13 season, is the highest level of Mexican football and consists of 18 clubs. Each calendar year is split into two short tournaments, the Apertura (Opening) and the Clausura (Closing). In each short tournament, a club plays the other 17 clubs once. The home team switches, depending on the current short tournament.
A new champion is crowned for each short tournament through a playoff system consisting of eight teams. The top eight clubs qualify for the playoffs. The clubs are arranged before each round so that the highest seeded team remaining always plays the lowest seed remaining. The clubs play in a two-legged tie, with one match occurring at each club's home ground, and whichever club has the better aggregate score advances. If the two clubs are tied after both legs in the quarterfinals and semifinals, the higher seed advances automatically. In the finals, if the two clubs are tied after both legs, two 15-minute halves of extra time are added. If the clubs are still tied after extra time the champion is determined by kicks from the penalty mark.
One club is relegated to Ascenso MX each year (two short tournaments). To determine the club to be relegated, the ratio of points to games is kept for each team. The club that has the worst points to games ratio over the previous three years (six short tournaments) is relegated to Ascenso MX.
It is organized by the Mexican Football Federation and consists of four levels.
- Liga MX (18 clubs)
- Liga de Expansión MX (16 clubs)
- Liga Premier de México (25 clubs) (2 groups)
- Liga TDP, 196 clubs (14 groups)
| Level | League(s)/Division(s) |
|---|---|
| 1 | Liga MX 18 clubs |
| ↓↑ 1 club | |
| 2 | Liga de Expansión MX 16 clubs |
| ↓↑ 1 club | |
| 3 | Liga Premier 25 clubs (in two groups) |
| ↓↑ 2 clubs | |
| 4 | Liga TDP 196 clubs (in fourteen groups) |
International Competitions
The champions and runners-up of the Apertura and Clausura tournaments earn a spot in the CONCACAF Champions League. Between 2005 and 2008, 2 Mexican teams were invited to participate in the Copa Sudamericana. Beginning in Apertura 2014 (2015 edition), two Mexican clubs that qualify to the Copa Libertadores are the best eligible teams in Apertura tournament not participating in the CONCACAF Champions League and one Mexican club that qualifies to the Copa Libertadores are the champions of SuperCopa MX.
Women
Established in 2007, the women's league consists of two levels – the top division Super Liga and the lower division Liga Premier. As of Apertura 2012, there were 19 clubs participating in the Super Liga and 11 clubs in Premier. In September 2017 the Liga MX Femenil started. It's an under-23 league for Mexican nationals.[1] It's unconnected to the SuperLiga. There also is a Liga Mayor Femenil, which established in 2012 is also unconnected to those two others.
| Level | Leagues (parallel) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Organizer | Mexican Football Federation | LIMEFFE | LMF |
| 1 | Liga MX Femenil 18 clubs | Superliga 23 clubs | Liga Mayor Femenil |
| 2 | n/a | Premier 27 clubs (in two groups) | n/a |
| 3 | n/a | Segunda División 26 clubs (in two groups) | n/a |
See also
- Football in Mexico
References
- ^ "Mayoría de clubes preparan visorías para Liga Femenil". mediotiempo.com.