Liga de Expansión MX
 | |
| Organising body | Federación Mexicana de Fútbol |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2020 |
| Country | Mexico |
| Confederation | CONCACAF |
| Number of clubs | 16 |
| Level on pyramid | 2 |
| Promotion to | Liga MX (Suspended) |
| Relegation to | Liga Premier (Suspended) |
| Domestic cup | Campeón de Campeones de la Liga de Expansión MX |
| Current champions | Tepatitlán (2nd title) |
| Most championships | Atlante (3 titles) |
| Broadcaster(s) | AYM Sports[1] ESPN[2] |
| Website | ligabbvaexpansion.mx |
| Current: Apertura 2026 Liga de Expansión MX season | |
Liga de Expansión MX, officially as Liga BBVA Expansión MX for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Mexico and the second tier of the Mexican football league system. The league is contested by 16 participating clubs. The season is divided into two tournaments: Apertura (from July to December) and Clausura (from January to May). The champions of each tournament are decided by a final knockout phase, commonly known as Liguilla. Promotion and relegation are suspended.
The league has held 12 editions. The inaugural edition was the Guard1anes 2020 tournament, with Tampico Madero crowned as the first champions.
Founded as part of the FMF's Stabilization Project, with the primary objective of rescuing the financially troubled clubs from the Ascenso MX and prevent the disappearance of a second tier.[3]
Seven clubs have won the title at least once. Atlante is the most successful club with three titles, Jaiba Brava, Tapatío and Tepatitlán with two titles each.
History
On 20 February 2020, the presidents of the Liga MX clubs, the Ascenso MX clubs and the FMF executives had a meeting, in which different topics were discussed with the intent of strengthening the two main leagues in the country.[4]
On 26 June 2020, the league was officially presented, the inaugural tournament had sixteen founding clubs: Alebrijes de Oaxaca, Atlante, Atlético Morelia, Cancún, Celaya, Cimarrones de Sonora, Correcaminos UAT, Dorados de Sinaloa, Leones Negros UdeG, Mineros de Zacatecas, Pumas Morelos, Tampico Madero, Tapatío, Tepatitlán, Tlaxcala and Venados.[5][6]
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.[7] 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.[8]
In May 2025, a group of ten league member clubs filed a lawsuit before the Court of Arbitration for Sport seeking the reinstatement of promotion and relegation between the Liga de Expansión and Liga MX;[9] four teams subsequently dropped the lawsuit, the six remaining teams formed an opposing bloc within the league, which was formed with the aim of combating some of the measures that had occurred previously,[10] their first triumph was the rejection of the relocation of Celaya F.C. to Veracruz and the sale of the affiliation certificate between Cimarrones de Sonora and Club Jaiba Brava.[11]
On 4 September 2025, the Court of Arbitration for Sport issued its verdict on the dispute filed by the six Liga de Expansión clubs seeking to reinstate promotion to Liga MX. The ruling established the return of promotion starting with the 2026–27 season;[12] however, the CAS allowed the Mexican Football Federation to retain the authority to establish the requirements for clubs to be promoted to the top flight of Mexican football, returning to a situation similar to that in place before the creation of the Liga de Expansión in 2020.[13]
In April 2026, Atlante became the first club from the league to secure a place in Liga MX, after purchasing the Mazatlán F.C. franchise.[14] In addition, there were changes in the participants of the Liga de Expansión for the 2026–27 season: Celaya sold its place to a new team called Piratas; Cimarrones de Sonora sold its place to Jaiba Brava, which became a full member of the league and Cruz Azul Hidalgo requested its entry as an affiliate team of a Liga MX club.[15]
Prior to the start of the 2026–27 season, the Mexican Football Federation finalized new competition regulations, indefinitely suspending the promotion and relegation system between Liga MX and Liga de Expansión MX and formalizing a closed-league model.[16] This move sparked a fierce backlash from second-tier clubs, as it bypassed a Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) directive to reinstate promotion.[17]
On 20 August 2026, the Mexican Football Federation unveiled the new competition model to be implemented starting in 2027; under this plan, the Liga de Expansión will become the top tier of the league system organized by the Federation. However, this model also marks the definitive end of sporting promotion to Liga MX, as the aim is to transform the latter into a closed-league, separate from the Federation's system, accessible only through the purchase of franchises. Meanwhile, a promotion and relegation system would remain in place between Liga de Expansión and Liga Premier. Additionally, the new model seeks to strengthen the presence of reserve teams from Liga MX clubs within the leagues operated by the Federation.[18][19]
Competition format
Regular phase
Liga de Expansión MX uses a single table of 15 clubs that play two short tournaments each season (Apertura and Clausura), resulting in two champions per year. The season begins with the Apertura (from July to December), and ends with the Clausura (from January to May), similar to the Liga MX calendar. This format corresponds with FIFA's world footballing calendar, which opens in July/August and closes in April/May. The top eight clubs advances to the final phase for each tournament.
Final phase
The final phase, commonly known as Liguilla, consisting of eight clubs that qualify for the tournament based on regular phase point total — the eight highest-placed advance to the quarter-finals. The clubs are paired according to seeding, with the highest-seeded club playing with the lowest-seeded. Each tie is played over two legs with the winners on aggregate score advancing to the next round. In case of a tie on aggregate, the highest-seeded club advances, extra time and penalties in case of a tie will only be played in the final. At the end of the season, the two champions of the year (Apertura and Clausura) compete in the Super cup of the division, which is named Campeón de Campeones de la Liga de Expansión MX, similar to the Super cup held for Liga MX.
Participating clubs
2026–27 season
The 2026–27 Liga de Expansión MX season has the following participating clubs.
| Club | Position in Clausura 2026 | First season | Total seasons | First season of current spell | Consecutive seasons | Titles | Last title |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atlético La Paz | 4th | 2022–23 | 8 | 2022–23 | 8 | 0 | — |
| Atlético Morelia | 3rd | 2020–21 | 12 | 2020–21 | 12 | 1 | Clausura 2022 |
| Cancún | 2nd | 2020–21 | 12 | 2020–21 | 12 | 1 | Apertura 2023 |
| Cruz Azul Hidalgo | — | 2026–27 | 0 | 2026–27 | — | 0 | — |
| Correcaminos UAT | 14th | 2020–21 | 12 | 2020–21 | 12 | 0 | — |
| Durango | — | 2022–23 | 1 | 2026–27 | — | 0 | — |
| Jaiba Brava | 5th | 2020–21 | 8 | 2024–25 | 4 | 2 | Apertura 2025 |
| Leones Negros UdeG | 15th | 2020–21 | 12 | 2020–21 | 12 | 1 | Clausura 2025 |
| Oaxaca | 12th | 2020–21 | 12 | 2020–21 | 12 | 0 | — |
| Piratas | — | 2026–27 | 0 | 2026–27 | — | 0 | — |
| Sinaloa | 13th | 2020–21 | 12 | 2020–21 | 12 | 0 | — |
| Tapatío | 7th | 2020–21 | 12 | 2020–21 | 12 | 2 | Apertura 2024 |
| Tepatitlán | 1st | 2020–21 | 12 | 2020–21 | 12 | 2 | Clausura 2026 |
| Tlaxcala | 10th | 2020–21 | 12 | 2020–21 | 12 | 0 | — |
| Venados | 11th | 2020–21 | 12 | 2020–21 | 12 | 0 | — |
| Zacatecas | 6th | 2020–21 | 12 | 2020–21 | 12 | 0 | — |
Stadiums and locations
| Club | City | Stadium | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Atlético La Paz | La Paz | Guaycura | 5,209 |
| Atlético Morelia | Morelia | Morelos | 35,000 |
| Cancún | Cancún | Andrés Quintana Roo | 18,844 |
| Correcaminos UAT | Ciudad Victoria | Marte R. Gómez | 10,520 |
| Cruz Azul Hidalgo | Ciudad Cooperativa | Refundación | 7,761 |
| Durango | Durango | Francisco Zarco | 18,000 |
| Jaiba Brava | Tampico & Ciudad Madero | Tamaulipas | 19,667 |
| Leones Negros UdeG | Guadalajara | Jalisco | 56,713 |
| Oaxaca | Oaxaca | Tecnológico de Oaxaca | 14,598 |
| Piratas | Boca del Río | Luis "Pirata" Fuente | 28,703 |
| Sinaloa | Mazatlán | El Encanto | 20,195 |
| Tapatío | Zapopan | Akron | 49,850 |
| Tepatitlán | Tepatitlán | Gregorio "Tepa" Gómez | 8,085 |
| Tlaxcala | Tlaxcala | Tlahuicole | 11,135 |
| Venados | Mérida | Carlos Iturralde | 15,087 |
| Zacatecas | Zacatecas | Carlos Vega Villalba | 20,777 |
Performances
| Rank | Club | Titles | Runners-up | Winning years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Atlante1 | 3 | 2 | Ape–2021, Ape–2022, Cla–2024 |
| 2 | Tampico Madero/Jaiba Brava | 2 | 3 | Guard–2020, Ape–2025 |
| Tepatitlán | 2 | 0 | Guard–2021, Cla–2026 | |
| Tapatío | 2 | 0 | Cla–2023, Ape–2024 | |
| 5 | Atlético Morelia | 1 | 2 | Cla–2022 |
| Leones Negros UdeG | 1 | 1 | Cla–2025 | |
| Cancún | 1 | 0 | Ape–2023 | |
| 8 | Celaya4 | 0 | 2 | — |
| Sonora3 | 0 | 1 | — | |
| Irapuato2 | 0 | 1 | — |
- Notes
- Clubs currently in Liga MX.
- Clubs currently in Liga Premier.
- Clubs currently on hiatus.
- Defunct clubs.
Campeón de Campeones
Campeón de Campeones de la Liga de Expansión MX is a domestic Super cup contested by two clubs: the Liga de Expansión MX champions of the Apertura and Clausura tournaments.
The trophy has held six editions. The inaugural edition was contested in 2021, with Tepatitlán crowned as the first champions.
Four clubs have won the title at least once. Tepatitlán and Tapatío are the most successful clubs with two titles each, Atlante and Cancún with one title each.
Performances
| Rank | Club | Titles | Runners-up | Winning years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tepatitlán | 2 | 0 | 2021, 2026 |
| Tapatío | 2 | 0 | 2023, 2025 | |
| 3 | Atlante | 1 | 2 | 2022 |
| Cancún | 1 | 0 | 2024 | |
| 5 | Tampico Madero/Jaiba Brava | 0 | 2 | — |
| Atlético Morelia | 0 | 1 | — | |
| Leones Negros UdeG | 0 | 1 | — |
Sponsorship
BBVA México has been the official main sponsor of the league since its founding in 2020, hence it is officially known as Liga BBVA Expansión MX. The official ball of the league is manufactured by Voit.
Managers
Current managers of Liga de Expansión MX clubs:
| Manager | Club | Appointed | Time as manager |
|---|---|---|---|
 Alfonso Sosa | Leones Negros UdeG | 7 September 2021 | 4 years, 359 days |
 Miguel Bravo | Cancún | 22 May 2025 | 1 year, 102 days |
 Hugo Norberto Castillo | Atlético La Paz | 31 May 2025 | 1 year, 93 days |
 Nacho Castro | Venados | 21 August 2025 | 1 year, 11 days |
| Luis Ángel Muñoz | Zacatecas | 23 September 2025 | 343 days |
| José Luis Meléndez | Tapatío | 4 December 2025 | 271 days |
| Héctor Jair Real | Durango | 10 December 2025 | 265 days |
| Mario García | Piratas | 19 May 2026 | 105 days |
| Gabriel Pereyra | Correcaminos UAT | 6 June 2026 | 87 days |
| Daniel Alcántar | Jaiba Brava | 13 June 2026 | 80 days |
| Gonzalo Bolaños | Oaxaca | 1 July 2026 | 62 days |
 Esteban Landazábal | Cruz Azul Hidalgo | 16 July 2026 | 47 days |
| Luis Orozco | Sinaloa | 24 July 2026 | 39 days |
| Hugo Colace | Atlético Morelia | 6 August 2026 | 26 days |
| Arturo Ortega | Tlaxcala | 11 August 2026 | 21 days |
| Vacant | Tepatitlán |
Player records
Top goalscorers
| Season | Player | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Guard–2020 | Alberto Alvarado Morín Lizandro Echeverría Guillermo Martínez Gustavo Ramírez | Correcaminos UAT Atlante Celaya Morelia | 7 |
| Guard–2021 | Julio Cruz | Oaxaca | 10 |
| Ape–2021 | Raúl Zúñiga | Sinaloa | 12 |
| Cla–2022 | David Angulo Juan Machado Óscar Villa | Tepatitlán Raya2 Sonora | 8 |
| Ape–2022 | Diego Jiménez | Sonora | 12 |
| Cla–2023 | Ricardo Marín | Celaya | 10 |
| Ape–2023 | Luis Razo | Zacatecas | 10 |
| Cla–2024 | José Rodriguez | Cancún | 9 |
| Ape–2024 | Vladimir Moragrega | Atlante | 11 |
| Cla–2025 | Jesús Ocejo | Leones Negros UdeG | 13 |
| Ape–2025 | Juan José Calero | Venados | 15 |
| Cla–2026 | Vladimir Moragrega José Rodriguez | Tapatío Cancún | 10 |
See also
References
- ↑ includes AYM Sports 2, AYM Sports 3 and AYM Sports YouTube channel.
- ↑ includes ESPN 2, ESPN 3, ESPN 4 and Disney+.
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ "TAS confirma recurso de clubes de Expansión contra FMF por ascenso/descenso". RÉCORD (in Spanish). 21 May 2025. Retrieved 11 July 2025.
- ↑ "¡No hay unión! Un cuarto club de la Liga de Expansión se baja del barco tras demandar a la FMF ante el TAS para exigir el regreso del ascenso". LatinUS (in Spanish). 10 June 2025. Retrieved 11 July 2025.
- ↑ "Liga de Expansión MX niega mudanzas de Celaya y Cimarrones a Veracruz y Tampico". TUDN (in Spanish). 9 July 2025. Retrieved 11 July 2025.
- ↑ "TAS confirma regreso del ascenso y descenso en la Liga MX a partir de 2026–27". TUDN (in Spanish). 4 September 2025. Retrieved 4 September 2025.
- ↑ "TAS rechaza apelación de clubes de la Liga de Expansión, pero ascenso y descenso en Liga MX ya tiene fecha de REGRESO". Mediotiempo.com (in Spanish). 4 September 2025. Retrieved 4 September 2025.
- ↑ Aldana, Omar Flores (9 December 2025). "Liga MX da visto bueno al proceso para el regreso del Atlante". ESPN.com.mx (in Spanish). Retrieved 16 April 2026.
- ↑ "Cruz Azul Hidalgo, Veracruz y Tampico regresan a Liga Expansión". ESPN México (in Spanish). 22 April 2026. Retrieved 24 April 2026.
- ↑ "Liga MX scraps promotion and relegation, ends payouts to second-tier clubs". 16 July 2026.
- ↑ Nicholson, Paul (5 September 2025). "CAS rules out early return of LigaMX promotion and relegation until 2026-27 season".
- ↑ "La FMF anuncia nuevo modelo deportivo". El Informador (in Spanish). 20 August 2026. Retrieved 20 August 2026.
- ↑ "FMF anuncia nuevo modelo deportivo: Liga Expansión MX encabezará la nueva pirámide del futbol mexicano". RÉCORD (in Spanish). 20 August 2026. Retrieved 20 August 2026.
External links
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