History of Liga MX in Timeline
Liga MX is the top professional football league in Mexico, composed of 18 clubs. The league calendar consists of two annual tournaments: Apertura (July-December) and Clausura (January-May). The league champions are determined through a playoff tournament known as 'liguilla'. Promotion and relegation have been suspended since 2020, and will last until 2026.
1922: Creation of Campeonato de Primera Fuerza
In 1922, the Campeonato de Primera Fuerza, the first amateur league organized by a national football federation in Mexico, was created.
1940: First Matches Outside Mexico City
In the 1940–41 season, the first matches of the Campeonato de Primera Fuerza held outside of Mexico City were played.
1943: End of Campeonato de Primera Fuerza
In 1943, the Campeonato de Primera Fuerza ended.
1943: Establishment of the first professional league
In 1943, the first true national and professional league in Mexico was established.
1943: Liga Mayor Founding
In 1943, the league was initially established as Liga Mayor.
1949: Name Change to Primera División
In 1949, Liga Mayor was renamed to Primera División de México.
1970: Start of La Liguilla
The start of La Liguilla in 1970 modernized the league.
1986: Voit Becomes Official Match Ball Manufacturer
Since 1986, Voit has been the official match ball manufacturer of Liga MX.
1996: Introduction of Short Tournaments
From 1996 to 2002, the league followed a two short tournaments in the season, schedule with Invierno and Verano tournaments.
2002: Group Format Introduction
From 2002 to 2011, the 18 teams were divided into three groups of six.
2011: Rule Change for Final Game Timeslot
In 2011, a rule was introduced requiring teams to play the final game of every season on Sunday during prime time.
2011: End of Group Format
In 2011, the league stopped using the group format.
2012: Cancellation of Television Rights Agreement
In 2012, Liga MX canceled an agreement regarding television rights negotiations between promoted and relegated teams due to a dispute with Club León and Televisa.
2012: Name Change to Liga MX
In 2012, Primera División de México was rebranded to Liga MX.
2012: Creation of Liga MX/Ascenso MX and Rebranding
Prior to the start of the 2012-13 season, the organization Liga MX/Ascenso MX was created to replace the FMF as the organizing body of the competition, and the league announced a rebranding with a new logo.
2012: End of Unbranded Era
Up until its rebranding in 2012, Liga MX did not have a title sponsor.
July 2013: BBVA Bancomer Becomes Official Sponsor
In July 2013, league president Decio de María announced BBVA Bancomer as the official sponsor of Liga MX.
2013: Telemundo Broadcasts Liga MX
From 2013-16, Telemundo broadcasts Liga MX matches in the United States.
2014: Highest Average Attendance in the Americas
During the 2014-15 season, Liga MX had the highest average attendance of any football league in the Americas, with 25,557 attendees.
2014: Contract Extension with Voit
In 2014, the contract with Voit as the official match ball manufacturer was extended for four years.
September 2015: Sponsorship Deal Extended
On 18 September 2015, the sponsorship deal with BBVA Bancomer was extended until 2019.
2016: Chivas Home Matches Exclusively on Chivas TV
For the Apertura 2016, Guadalajara home matches in Mexico were exclusively shown on an internet streaming service called Chivas TV.
February 13, 2017: Univision Deportes to Live Stream Games on Facebook
On February 13, 2017, Univision Deportes announced it would live stream 46 games in English on Facebook in the United States.
April 8, 2017: Chivas Home Matches Shown on Televisa Deportes Network (TDN) and Chivas TV
As of April 8, 2017, Guadalajara matches were shown on both Televisa's Televisa Deportes Network (TDN) and Chivas TV.
July 2017: Liga MX Matches Broadcast in Chile
In July 2017, Televisión Nacional de Chile (TVN) announced it would show Liga MX matches involving Chilean players in Chile.
September 2017: Univision Holds Rights to all 18 Teams
In September 2017, Univision began airing Lobos BUAP's home matches, thus holding the rights to all 18 Liga MX teams.
October 2017: Fox Sports Acquires Rights to Tijuana and Santos Laguna Home Matches
In October 2017, Fox Sports announced that it acquired the long-term exclusive Spanish-language rights to Tijuana and Santos Laguna home matches in the United States, Mexico, and the rest of Latin America.
2017: Changes to Relegation and Promotion Rules
Prior to the start of the 2017-18 season, the rules for relegation and promotion changed, including financial penalties for teams that win promotion but do not meet Liga MX requirements.
May 26, 2018: Fox Sports Acquires Rights to Monterrey Home Matches
On May 26, 2018, Fox Sports announced it acquired the rights of C.F. Monterrey's home matches in the United States and Latin America.
August 2018: VAR Technology Testing
On August 2018, Liga MX announced that it would begin testing the use of VAR technology.
2018: Teams Meeting Promotion Requirements
As of the 2018-19 season, only six teams met the full requirements to be promoted to Liga MX.
2018: Fox Sports to air Tijuana Home Matches
In Apertura 2018, Fox Sports started to air Tijuana home matches in the United States, Mexico, and the rest of Latin America.
2018: Univision Holds Rights to all 18 Teams
Through the end of the Clausura 2018 season, Univision held the rights to all 18 Liga MX teams.
June 2019: Liga Renamed Liga BBVA MX
On 18 June 2019, the league was renamed as Liga BBVA MX.
July 2019: Sponsorship Contract Renewed
On 4 July 2019, the sponsorship contract with BBVA was renewed until 2021.
2019: ESPN Deportes Airs Regular Season Home Matches
As of the Apertura 2019 season, ESPN Deportes airs the majority of León, Necaxa, Pachuca, Querétaro, and UANL regular season home matches in the United States.
2019: OneSoccer Broadcasts Liga MX in Canada
From 2019, OneSoccer began broadcasting Liga MX for Canadian viewers.
2019: DAZN Broadcasts Liga MX in Brazil
In 2019, DAZN began broadcasting Liga MX for two seasons in Brazil.
2019: Start of the Coronavirus Pandemic
In 2019, the 2019-20 coronavirus pandemic started, which had a significant impact on the Ascenso MX and Liga MX.
2019: Fox Sports to air Santos Laguna Home Matches
In Apertura 2019, Fox Sports started to air Santos Laguna home matches in the United States, Mexico, and the rest of Latin America.
April 16, 2020: Ascenso MX Folded and Suspension of Promotion and Relegation
On April 16, 2020, Ascenso MX was folded and promotion and relegation were suspended for six years due to the coronavirus pandemic and lack of financial resources.
2020: DAZN Broadcasts Liga MX in Brazil
In 2020, DAZN broadcasted Liga MX in Brazil.
2020: Suspension of Promotion and Relegation
In 2020, promotion and relegation were suspended in Liga MX.
July 2021: OneFootball to Broadcast Live Matches
On 15 July 2021, OneFootball announced it would broadcast between two and five live matches in selected international markets.
August 2021: Eleven Sports to Broadcast Guadalajara Home Matches
On 16 August 2021, Eleven Sports announced it would broadcast the home Liga MX matches of C.D. Guadalajara for the 2021-22 season in more than 100 countries.
2021: OneSoccer Broadcasts Liga MX in Canada
In 2021, OneSoccer broadcasts Liga MX for Canadian viewers.
2021: Sponsorship Contract Renewed
In 2021, the sponsorship contract with BBVA was renewed.
2024: Liga MX Season
The following 18 clubs will compete in the Liga MX during the 2024–25 season.
2026: Planned End to Suspension of Promotion and Relegation
The suspension of promotion and relegation in Liga MX is scheduled to last until 2026.
