Liga de Expansión MX
The Liga de Expansión MX, also known as Liga de Desarrollo (Liga BBVA Expansión MX for sponsorship reasons), is a Mexican football league founded in 2020 as part of the Mexican Football Federation's "Stabilization Project", which has the primary objective of rescuing the financially troubled teams from the Ascenso MX and prevent the disappearance of a second-tier league in Mexico, for which there will be no promotion and relegation for six years.[7] The project also attempts for Liga MX and former Ascenso MX teams to consolidate stable projects with strong administration, finances, and infrastructure.
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Founded | 24 April 2020 |
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Country | Mexico |
Confederation | CONCACAF |
Number of teams | 18 |
Level on pyramid | 2 |
Current champions | Atlante (2nd title) (Apertura 2022) |
Most championships | Atlante (2 titles) |
TV partners | Claro[1] ESPN[2] Fox Sports[3] Hi Sports Televisa[4] TV Azteca[5] TVC Deportes[6] |
Website | LigaBBVAExpansion.mx |
Current: 2022–23 Liga de Expansión MX season |
History
On 20 February 2020, the presidents of the Liga MX clubs, the Ascenso MX clubs and Mexican Football Federation executives had a meeting, in which different topics were discussed with the intent of strengthening the two main leagues in the country.[8]
On 26 June 2020, the league was officially presented, with the participation of 16 teams: Alebrijes de Oaxaca, Atlante, Atlético Morelia, Cancún, Celaya, Cimarrones de Sonora, Correcaminos UAT, Dorados de Sinaloa, Leones Negros UdeG, Mineros de Zacatecas, Tampico Madero, and Venados F.C. as Ascenso MX teams. Pumas Tabasco and Tapatío entered to the league as Liga MX affiliates.[9] Finally, on 17 July 2020, Tepatitlán and Tlaxcala were invited as Liga Premier expansion teams.[10]
Clubs

Team | City | Stadium | Capacity |
---|---|---|---|
Atlante | Mexico City | Ciudad de los Deportes | 33,000 |
Atlético La Paz | La Paz, Baja California Sur | Guaycura | 5,209 |
Atlético Morelia | Morelia, Michoacán | Morelos | 35,000 |
Cancún | Cancún, Quintana Roo | Andrés Quintana Roo | 18,844 |
Celaya | Celaya, Guanajuato | Miguel Alemán Valdés | 23,182 |
Durango | Durango City, Durango | Francisco Zarco | 18,000 |
Oaxaca | Oaxaca City, Oaxaca | Tecnológico de Oaxaca | 14,598 |
Pumas Tabasco | Villahermosa, Tabasco | Olímpico de Villahermosa | 12,000 |
Raya2 | Guadalupe, Nuevo León | BBVA | 53,500 |
Sinaloa | Culiacán, Sinaloa | Dorados | 20,108 |
Sonora | Hermosillo, Sonora | Héroe de Nacozari | 18,747 |
Tapatío | Zapopan, Jalisco | Akron | 46,232 |
Tepatitlán | Tepatitlán de Morelos, Jalisco | Gregorio "Tepa" Gómez | 8,085 |
Tlaxcala | Tlaxcala City, Tlaxcala | Tlahuicole | 11,135 |
UAT | Ciudad Victoria, Tamaulipas | Marte R. Gómez | 10,520 |
U. de G. | Guadalajara, Jalisco | Jalisco | 55,020 |
Venados | Mérida, Yucatán | Carlos Iturralde | 15,087 |
Zacatecas | Zacatecas City, Zacatecas | Carlos Vega Villalba | 20,068 |
Status TBD
Team | City | Stadium | Capacity |
---|---|---|---|
Tampico Madero | Tampico/Ciudad Madero, Tamaulipas | Estadio Tamaulipas | 19,667 |
Champions
Club | Winners | Runner-Up | Winning Seasons |
---|---|---|---|
Atlante | 2 | 1 | Grita México 2021, Apertura 2022 |
Atlético Morelia | 1 | 1 | Clausura 2022 |
Tampico Madero | 1 | 1 | Guardianes 2020 |
Tepatitlán | 1 | 0 | Guardianes 2021 |
Celaya | 0 | 1 | |
Sonora | 0 | 1 |
Campeón de Campeones
Club | Winners | Runner-Up | Winning Seasons |
---|---|---|---|
Tepatitlán | 1 | 0 | 2020–21 |
Atlante | 1 | 0 | 2021–22 |
Tampico Madero | 0 | 1 | |
Atlético Morelia | 0 | 1 |
Managers
The current managers in the Liga de Expansión MX are:
Nat. | Name | Team | Appointed | Time as manager |
---|---|---|---|---|
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Mario García Covalles | Atlante | 20 July 2020 | 2 years, 299 days |
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Rafael García | Sinaloa | 21 December 2020 | 2 years, 145 days |
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Alfonso Sosa | U. de G. | 7 September 2021 | 1 year, 250 days |
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Jorge Manrique | Oaxaca | 1 October 2021 | 1 year, 226 days |
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Jorge Villalpando | Tlaxcala | 25 March 2022 | 1 year, 51 days |
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Nicolás Sánchez | Raya2 | 17 May 2022 | 363 days |
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Paco Ramírez | Celaya | 27 May 2022 | 353 days |
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Gerardo Espinoza | Tapatío | 3 June 2022 | 346 days |
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Jaime Durán | Atlético La Paz | 6 June 2022 | 343 days |
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Roberto Hernández | Sonora | 15 June 2022 | 334 days |
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Edgar Solano | UAT | 6 November 2022 | 190 days |
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Israel Hernández | Pumas Tabasco | 12 November 2022 | 184 days |
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Bruno Marioni | Venados | 22 November 2022 | 174 days |
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Daniel Guzmán | Tepatitlán | 27 November 2022 | 169 days |
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Carlos Adrián Morales | Atlético Morelia | 27 February 2023 | 77 days |
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Nacho Castro | Zacatecas | 7 May 2023 | 8 days |
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Vacant | Durango | 0 days | |
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Vacant | Cancún | 0 days |
Top scorers
Year | Name | Team | Goals |
---|---|---|---|
Guardianes 2020 | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
UAT Atlante Celaya Atlético Morelia |
7 |
Guardianes 2021 | ![]() |
Oaxaca | 10 |
Apertura 2021 | ![]() |
Sinaloa | 12 |
Clausura 2022 | ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Tepatitlán Raya2 Sonora |
8 |
Apertura 2022 | ![]() |
Sonora | 12 |
Clausura 2023 | ![]() |
Celaya | 10 |
References
- includes Claro Sports
- includes ESPN 2 and ESPN 3
- includes Fox Sports 2
- includes TUDN
- Includes Azteca Digital
- includes TVC Deportes 2
- 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.