Liga de Expansion expands to 18 teams

The FMF has announced that the Liga de Expansion will expand to 18 teams in this new season as they also announced the calendar. Also announced was that champions Tepatitlan have moved up from an invitee team to an official member. One of the two new clubs will be Rayados de Monterrey’s affiliate team, while the other will be a Liga Premier team after passing certification. Irapuato, the Liga Premier champions, should be the club that will need to pass those test to be certified, however there is no word yet on which team would it be should they fail.

The Liga de Expansion started last summer to replace the Ascenso League as Mexico’s second division. With no relegation in Liga MX for a considerable time, it was expected for it to build up in the meantime. With an expansion to 18 teams, it seems like it’s on the right path. Monterrey’s affiliate will be the new team, as they join other teams to have an affiliated youth team. UNAM Pumas has Pumas Morelos in the Liga de Expansion as well as Chivas de Guadalajara who has Tapatio. The team is set to be called Raya2. The other team is from the Liga Premier (Mexico’s third division) and it should be Irapuato, who defeated Cruz Azul Hidalgo to be crowned champion. Liga de Expansion has yet to certify the team, although with Irapuato playing in Estadio Sergio Leon Chavez, a stadium that hosted games in the 1986 World Cup, at least in terms of a stadium they should be able to get certified.

The Liga de Expansion Apertura season will start on July 27. The final will be held on December on December 18 or 19. The Clausura season will start on January 4, 2022 and end on May 15th or 16th. The winners of the Apertura and Clausura season titles will then play in the Campeon de Campeones final on May 21st or 22nd.