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Football in Mexico

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Football in Mexico
Estadio Azteca, the Mexico's largest capacity stadium and the home of América, Cruz Azul, Atlante and the Mexico national football team.
CountryMexico
Governing bodyFederación Mexicana de Fútbol (FMF)
National teamMexico
NicknameEl Tri
First played1923
Clubs18 in Liga MX
National competitions
International competitions

The most popular sport in Mexico is association football, known as fútbol in Spanish language,[1][2] 73% of the Mexican population consider themselves football fans.[3] The top professional football leagues in the country are Liga MX for men and Liga Femenil for women.

In 1943, football became a professional men's sport in Mexico. Since then, the most successful men's club is América.[4] In 2016, the first women's professional football league was established in the country, starting with the 2017–18 season. It set new world records for attendances at women's professional football matches.[5][6] Since then, the most successful women's club is Tigres UANL.

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.[7]

Professional clubs

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Men's football has been played in Mexico since the late nineteenth century, and professionally since 1943. Pachuca was the first football club founded in Mexico, established in 1892.[8] Liga MX Femenil was the first women's professional football league, starting in the Apertura 2017.[9][10] The development of women's football has occurred in waves since the 1950s.[11]

Since 1996, the season is divided into two short tournaments (Apertura and Clausura) with a final knockout phase in each tournament, known as liguilla. This system is common throughout Latin America.[12] From 1996 to 2002, the two short tournaments of the regular phase was named Verano and Invierno.

Liga MX formerly named 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.

Mexican football league system is organized in six professional leagues, four men's leagues and two women's leagues. Liga MX, Liga de Expansión MX, Liga Premier, and Liga TDP for men. Liga Femenil and Liga TDP Femenil for women.

The most successful clubs in Liga MX are América with sixteen titles, Guadalajara and Toluca with twelve titles each, Cruz Azul with ten titles, León and Tigres UANL with eight titles each.[4] The most successful clubs in Liga Femenil are Tigres UANL with seven titles, Monterrey with four titles, América with three titles, Guadalajara with two titles and Pachuca with one title. Both final 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[13] and 51,211 at the Clausura final match.[14]

The top three most popular football clubs on social media from North America, as of 25 March 2021, are all Mexican clubs.[15] 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.[16]

#Football clubCountryFollowers
1AméricaMexico36 million
2GuadalajaraMexico13 million
3Cruz AzulMexico6.6 million

Clubs by federative entity of Mexico

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The following table shows the clubs currently competing in the three most important professional leagues in Mexico, Liga MX, Liga de Expansión MX and Liga Premier (Primera Premier). Mexico's 32 federative entities are orderer by population size, from largest to smallest.

Key to colors
Federative entities with two or more clubs in a league
Federative entities without clubs in the leagues
Region Federative entity Liga MX Liga de Expansión MX Liga Premier
(Primera Premier)
Central South State of Mexico Toluca—Cordobés
Central South Mexico City América
Atlante
Cruz Azul
Pumas UNAM		—
West Jalisco Atlas
Guadalajara		 Leones Negros UdeG
Tapatío
Tepatitlán		 Tritones Vallarta
East Veracruz —PiratasMontañeses
East Puebla Puebla—
North Central Guanajuato León—Atlético Celaya
Irapuato
Lobos ULMX
North East Nuevo León Monterrey
Tigres UANL		—
South West Chiapas —Jaguares
Tapachula Soconusco
West Michoacán —Atlético MoreliaH2O Purépechas
La Piedad
South West Oaxaca —Alebrijes de OaxacaChapulineros de Oaxaca
Racing
North West Baja California Tijuana—
North West Chihuahua Juárez—
South West Guerrero —
North East Tamaulipas — Jaiba Brava
Correcaminos UAT		—
North East Coahuila Santos Laguna—
East Hidalgo PachucaCruz Azul Hidalgo—
North West Sinaloa —Dorados de Sinaloa—
North West Sonora —
North Central San Luis Potosí Atlético San Luis—
South East Tabasco —
North Central Querétaro Querétaro—
South East Yucatán —VenadosDeportiva Venados
South Central Morelos —Zacatepec
South East Quintana Roo —CancúnInter Playa del Carmen
Pioneros de Cancún
North West Durango —Alacranes de Durango—
North Central Zacatecas —Mineros de Zacatecas—
North Central Aguascalientes Necaxa—
East Tlaxcala —Tlaxcala—
West Nayarit —Tigres de Álica
South East Campeche —
North West Baja California Sur —Atlético La Paz[17]Los Cabos United
West Colima —

National teams

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The Mexico national football team has qualified for the FIFA World Cup eighteen times and has qualified consecutively since 1994, reaching the quarter-finals twice (1970 and 1986). Mexico has hosted the World Cup three times (1970, 1986, and 2026).[18][19] Mexico won the 1999 FIFA Confederations Cup as hosts, defeating Brazil 4–3, becoming the only non-European or South American team to have won an official global competition organized by FIFA for senior national teams.

Mexico is the most successful CONCACAF national team, winning 15 continental titles (13 CONCACAF Championship/Gold Cup titles, one CONCACAF Nations League and one CONCACAF Cup). The team finished as runners-up twice in the Copa América (1993 and 2001), and also finished in third place three times (1997, 1999 and 2007).

The under-23 has been Olympic medalists twice, winning the gold medal at the 2012 Olympic Games in London, defeating Brazil 2–1, and winning the bronze medal at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, defeating the hosts Japan 3–1.

The under-20 team finished as world runners-up in 1977, and also finished in third place in 2011. The under-17 team has been world champions twice (2005 and 2011), and also finished as runners-up twice (2013 and 2019).

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, Pablo Barrera, Efraín Juárez, Guillermo Ochoa, Jesús Corona, Héctor Herrera, Miguel Layún, Raúl Jiménez, Marco Fabián, Diego Reyes, Hirving Lozano, Edson Álvarez, Alexis Vega, Diego Lainez and Santiago Giménez the most recents.

The Mexico women's national football team was officially formed in 1991 to compete in the 1991 CONCACAF Women's Championship, its first appearance in the World Cup was in 1999. The team finished in third place in the 1970 unofficial World Cup held in Italy,[11][20] and also finished as runners-up in the 1971 unofficial World Cup as hosts, with an estimated 110,000 people attended the final at Estadio Azteca.[21]

History

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Football was introduced to Mexico by emigrant miners from Cornwall and other parts of the United Kingdom at the end of the 19th century.[8][22] In 1892, Pachuca was the first football club founded in Mexico.[22] 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.[23] In 1902, a five-clubs league emerged with a strong English influence.[24][25] Many of the early football clubs were affiliated with corporations.[26] The first amateur football league created in Mexico was the Liga Mexicana de Football Amateur Association in 1902, organized by the Asociación de Aficionados de México en la Liga de Football (English: The Mexico Amateur Association in the Football League). In 1920, the Liga Nacional was the second amateur football league in Mexico.

The first Mexican football federation was founded in 1922, named Federación Mexicana de Football Asociación, and the following year changed its name to Federación Central de Fútbol. The first competition organized by the federation was the Campeonato de Primera Fuerza in 1922, later renamed Liga Mayor in 1931.

The current Federación Mexicana de Fútbol (FMF) was officially organized and established in 1927, later affiliated with FIFA in 1929 and a founding member of CONCACAF in 1961. Mexico hosted the 1970 and 1986 FIFA World Cup. Mexico later co-hosted the 2026 FIFA World Cup with the United States and Canada, marking the third time Mexico hosted the competition.

Stadiums

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Stadiums with a capacity of 40,000 or higher:

#StadiumCapacityCityStateTeam(s)SurfaceYear openedOwnerLeague divisionImage
1Azteca81,070TlalpanMexico CityMexico national team, América, Cruz Azul, AtlanteGrass1966Grupo TelevisaLiga MX
2Olímpico Universitario69,000[27]CoyoacánMexico CityPumas UNAMGrass1952UNAMLiga MX
3Jalisco55,020[28]GuadalajaraJaliscoAtlas, Leones Negros UdeGGrass1960Clubes Unidos de JaliscoLiga MX, Liga de Expansión MX
4BBVA51,348[29]GuadalupeNuevo LeónMonterreyGrass2015FEMSALiga MX
5Cuauhtémoc47,417Puebla CityPueblaPueblaGrass1968State of PueblaLiga MX
6Akron46,232ZapopanJaliscoGuadalajara, TapatíoGrass2010Grupo OmnilifeLiga MX, Liga de Expansión MX
7Universitario41,886San Nicolás de los GarzaNuevo LeónTigres UANLGrass1967UANLLiga MX

Attendances

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The average attendance per Liga MX season and the club with the highest average attendance:

SeasonTournamentLeague averageBest clubBest club average
2024–25Clausura21,548América44,821
2024–25Apertura20,105América42,702
2023–24Clausura23,342Monterrey43,356
2023–24Apertura20,651Tigres UANL39,904
2022–23Clausura23,160Monterrey43,588
2022–23Apertura20,533Tigres UANL40,831
2018–19Clausura22,680Monterrey42,505
2018–19Apertura22,896Tigres UANL40,995
2017–18Clausura25,368Monterrey42,840
2017–18Apertura23,345Monterrey48,017
2016–17Clausura27,774Monterrey48,960
2016–17Apertura26,600Monterrey48,392
2015–16Clausura27,757Monterrey49,903
2015–16Apertura24,768Monterrey45,134

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. ↑ "(Soccer) Football Fans by Country 2026". 4 April 2024.
  4. 1 2 "Mexico – List of Champions". Rec.Sports.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 27 February 2015.
  5. ↑ "News Roundup: Union lose, Steel in, LAFC fail to impress, and USOC kicks off". The Philly Soccer Page. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
  6. ↑ "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.
  7. ↑ Dunmore, Tom (16 September 2011). Historical Dictionary of Soccer – Tom Dunmore – Google Books. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 9780810871885. Retrieved 1 April 2014.
  8. 1 2 Schwartz, Sharron (9 March 2026). "Mexico's "Little Cornwall", Cradle of Football". Cousin Jacks World. Retrieved 10 March 2026.
  9. ↑ 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.
  10. ↑ FIFA.com. "New horizons in the development of Mexican football". FIFA.com. Archived from the original on 23 January 2018. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
  11. 1 2 L’Hoeste, H. Fernández; Irwin, R.; Poblete, J. (6 May 2015). Sports and Nationalism in Latin / o America. Springer. ISBN 9781137518002.
  12. ↑ Fellerath, David. "A thought experiment: What would NASL's split-season plan look like this season?". Indy Week. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
  13. ↑ "Chivas wins inaugural Liga MX Femenil title". ESPN.com. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
  14. ↑ "Femenil final shows women's football is thriving in Mexico". ESPN.com. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
  15. ↑ "Digital impact of Latin American football teams". GSIC. 25 March 2021.
  16. ↑ "Inter Miami surpasses Brazilian clubs and becomes the MLS team with the most followers on Instagram". 28 July 2023.
  17. ↑ "Club Atlético La Paz confirma su llegada a la Liga de Expansión MX". Soy Fútbol.
  18. ↑ FIFA (27 March 2025). "How Mexico have fared as World Cup hosts". www.fifa.com. Retrieved 23 April 2026.
  19. ↑ FIFA (15 July 2025). "The FIFA World Cup 2026 stadiums". www.fifa.com. Retrieved 23 April 2026.
  20. ↑ Kessel, Anna (4 June 2015). "Women's World Cup: from unofficial tournaments to record-breaking event". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
  21. ↑ "Mundial (Women) 1971". RSSSF. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
  22. 1 2 Ellison, Hannah (3 July 2026). "In Mexico, before tacos came Cornish pasties — and football". Reuters. Retrieved 3 July 2026.
  23. ↑ 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.
  24. ↑ "Introduction". Federacion Mexicana de Futbol. Archived from the original on 11 October 2018. Retrieved 27 February 2015.
  25. ↑ "Mexico – List of Final Tables". Rec.Sports.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 27 February 2015.
  26. ↑ 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.
  27. ↑ "Estadio Olímpico Universitario". Archived from the original on 12 May 2016. Retrieved 21 May 2016.
  28. ↑ "Football stadiums of the world – Stadiums in Mexico | Football stadiums of the world".
  29. ↑ "Estadio BBVA (Estadio de Futbol de Monterrey) –". Stadiumdb.com. Retrieved 22 August 2022.
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