The ownership groups of Mexican soccer’s Liga MX clubs have voted to reshape the landscape of the sport in the country, separating the competition from the FMF governing body.
Liga MX will, going forward, operate as an independent organization, a move in line with most of the globe’s other top-tier soccer properties, such as Spain's LaLiga and the English Premier League, which are not tethered to the country’s governing bodies.
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Similarly, Liga MX will also install a new president independent of any individual club to oversee the division.
The primary candidate for that role, reportedly, is Francisco Iturbide, currently the director general of competitions, operations, and development for Liga MX at the FMF.
In a statement, the FMF said: “Representatives of the 18 Liga MX teams unanimously approved a new corporate governance model based on best practices from European leagues. A historic step that strengthens the institutional structure.
"This corporate reorganization aims to pave the way for Liga MX to become a global league, more competitive in sporting terms and more efficient commercially.”
With the establishment of the league as an independent organization, Liga MX will also create four new committees: sports, investment and certification, ethics, and commercial, to oversee the operation of the competition.
In terms of changes to the competition itself, Liga MX will do away with the play-in format, which has been active since the Apertura part of the 2023 campaign, returning to an eight-team playoff model that had been the prior standard.
These changes will take effect at the beginning of the Apertura 2026 on July 16.
What this means for the league regarding promotion and relegation, which has been suspended since 2020, remains to be seen, with the league possibly adopting a franchise approach similar to that of Major League Soccer.
At present, promotion and relegation will be reinstated for the 2026-27 campaign (with promoted teams required to pass a set of financial criteria to gain ascension), but with the move to separate the league from the FMF, there could potentially be more pressure from the 18-member teams to do away with the concept again.
Traditionally, only one team has been relegated, and one team promoted between the tiers, but that was suspended at the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic for a six-season period to insulate the clubs from the financial impacts of lost revenue during the enforced lockdown.
The 18 Liga MX sides had requested that the move be made permanent, turning the competition into a closed league, but the outcome at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (the tribunal called on by representatives of the second-tier sides) was that promotion and relegation should return as promised for the 2026-27 season.
Regardless, at the meeting, the clubs voted to allow second-tier Liga Expansion leaders Atlante entry to the top-flight, at the expense of Mazatlan, from which it has purchased a league membership certificate (effectively franchise rights), while the latter will be dissolved.
Mazatlan, which only entered Liga MX in 2020, was owned by TV Azteca, which also owns top-flight side Pueblo, and with the end of the club coming, the league is going some way towards resolving its multi-club ownership issues.
Indeed, the Liga MX ownership meeting also voted through the sale of Atlas, taking a large step towards eliminating multi-club ownership from the division.
Atlas has been acquired by development and infrastructure firm PRODI, which has reportedly paid $250 million to acquire the three-time Liga MX champions from Grupo Orlegi, which also owns top-flight side Santos Laguna.
Having been approved, the move will take effect in advance of the Liga MX Apertura 2026.
Atlas boasts one of the biggest stadiums in Mexico, the 53,937-capacity Estadio Jalisco, and in 2021 ended a 70-year trophy drought with the capture of that year’s Apertura championship, followed by the 2022 Clausura and the 2021-22 Champion of Champions trophy. However, in both the Apertura and Clausura sections of last season's Liga MX, the club finished in 17th position – out of 18.
Orlegi had reportedly been seeking $400 million, a valuation that seemed high for a club that is not in regular contention for a league title, nor in consistent continental competition, and it seems now that a lower asking price was more fitting.
Now, only one multi-club group remains in Liga MX, Grupo Pachuca, which owns Pachuca and Leon.
In 2025, Leon were prevented from competing in the inaugural FIFA Club World Cup due to Pachuca also being a participant in the competition, drawing scrutiny on the practice in Mexico that has likely led to the quick-fire sale of Queretaro and now Atlas.
At that time, Grupo Pachuca said it was prepared to sell Leon, which may come to pass with the league’s new direction, likely a move to attract greater investment.
