What Is The Most Popular Football League in the United States?

It’s a very interesting question. Which football league is the most popular in terms of TV viewership in the United States? The Bundesliga? No. Major League Soccer? No. English Premier League? No. The answer is the top tier of Mexican football, Liga MX.

Television ratings data suggest that there are more viewers, on a week to week basis, of Liga MX football in the United States then there are in Mexico. The league with its colorful kits with 43 random sponsors each has had an explosion in both countries in the last few years as streaming TV services have made matches more accessible in the U.S. then in years past. For example, according to World Soccer Talk, there were 23 matches that attracted more than 500,000 viewers in the U.S. between November 14th and December 1st, 2019. Nine of those matches were Liga MX matches. This included the 2nd, 3rd, 8th, and 12th most watched matches. The number one watched match during that two-week span featured the Mexican national team. Five of those 23 matches involved the English Premier League. The Mexican first division league has become so popular in the U.S. that Major League Soccer (MLS) has made attempts at partnerships with their southern colleagues for several years with some success. So, it’s time to talk about Mexico.

This is all you need to know about Liga MX (to the theme of ESPN’s 30 for 30):

1. What if I told you that your team’s schedule has your team playing every other league team just once and if you are in the top eight, you go to the play-offs. When the season ends, you start a whole new season a month later.

2. What if I told you that in the first two rounds of the play-off, your team plays two legs. And if at the end of the two legs, your team is tied in aggregate and away goals you don’t go to extra time or penalties. The winner is decided by whoever the highest seeded team was.

3. What if I told you that if you are lucky enough to make the play-off final, then everything in #2 is abandoned.

4. What if I told you that there is promotion/relegation, however, it is based on the team’s average number of points earned per match over the last three years.

5. What if I told you that the team slated for relegation last spring could remain in the league by simply paying a “fine.”

Football fans, welcome to Mexican first division soccer.

If you are still with me and you are still able to read this, then let me further explain. Liga MX has two seasons each year. The first “season” is called the Apertura and each team plays each team in the league one time. At the conclusion of the Apertura the top eight teams engage in a play-off to determine the league winner. In the first two rounds of the play-offs, called La Liguilla (“The Little League”), the competing teams play two legs in less than a week. The away goals rule is in effect, however, if both teams are drawn on aggregate and on away goals, then the highest seeded team advances. The Liguilla final is determined through two legs and if the teams are tied on aggregate, then there are two 15-minute extra time periods. If at the end of extra time, the teams are still drawn then the winner is decided on penalty kicks. At the end of the Apertura final, the season ends and a new season (La Clausura) begins with a clean slate. Each team plays every other league team one time and the site of the match is reversed from the previous season (the home team in the fall season becomes the away team in the spring). At the end of the regular season, a new round of the play-offs begins with the same format.

There is promotion/relegation in Mexico, but there are a few twists. First, relegation from Liga MX is based on a team’s average number of points earned each match for the last six seasons (three years) at the end of the Clausura. The play-off winner from the second tier is slated to be promoted. Sounds simple, right? No. There’s more. If the promoted team does not have the required infrastructure and youth academy (amongst other pre-requisites) in place to the Mexican football association’s (FMF) satisfaction, then the relegated team pays a “fine” to the team to be promoted. That money is meant to used by that team to put everything in place, so they can meet the association requirements. Meanwhile, each team remains where they were for the following year. If the relegated team doesn’t pay the “fine”, then they get relegated, but the promoted team does not get promoted either. Luckily, at the end of the Clausura this spring, the team that had won the second-tier play-off, Atletico San Luis, had the required infrastructure in place and could be promoted with no money changing hands for this year’s Apertura.

Speaking of money changing hands, Liga MX has been planning to expand the league from 18 to 20 teams. At the end of the Clausura this spring, Veracruz (Los Tiburones Rojos or the Red Sharks), who had earned ten points in the Apertura and a total of zero points in the spring season, was scheduled for relegation. They had not won a league match since August 28th, 2018. Their point totals the previous six “seasons” were 12, 21, 14, 18, 10, and 0. The Red Sharks goal differential during the time period was -99 in 102 matches. The Red Sharks owner, Fidel Kuri, chose to pay the “fine” of 120 million pesos in order to remain in the first division. There was no provision in Liga MX rules allowing for this transaction to occur. Atletico San Luis, winners of the Ascenso play-off could be promoted and Liga MX was magically one team away from reaching their expansion goal. FIFA should have taken lessons at this turn of events. Mr. Kuri, who bought the franchise in 2013, promised to keep the team in La Piedad, Michoacán. He broke that deal weeks later by moving the team to his home state in Veracruz. This was the first of many issues that the Sharks owner has had with Mexican football authorities. The morally ambiguous owner was close friends with former Veracruz governor Javier Durante who is in prison on corruption charges. In 2015, Mr. Kuri was awarded a contract from then Governor Durante to “reap” all the benefits from the Red Sharks state owned stadium in Veracruz. The same year, he was suspended for punching the league’s referee association president at a Tiburones Rojos match. This suspension ended up being extended due to Fidel’s repeated violations of its conditions.

In activities that even Manchester United owners would be proud of, the Veracruz owner has been sued by former coaches and players due to not being paid for months. FIFA, the bastion of ethical management, docked the Sharks six points and fined them for not paying training fees to a club in South America per transfer guidelines in the spring. When you are punished by FIFA you have truly elevated to medical bio-hazard waste dumpster fire level. Two coaches have resigned in the last year due to not being paid as the team’s winless streak reached close to 40 league matches.

Veracruz players filed a complaint with the Mexican players association in October stating that they had not been paid in two months. Mr. Kuri had agreed upon paying the “fine” to stay in the first division that back payments would be made to players, coaches, and staff. It never happened. The player’s association union is notoriously weak and Liga MX authorities would not take action until a formal complaint was made to them directly. Things reached Death Star Armageddon level when the Veracruz players threatened to boycott their home match against Tigres on October 18th if their demands to be paid were not met by the team. The boycott threatened to be league wide as players across the league initially rallied to support their beleaguered colleagues.

On October 18th in Veracruz, one of the most bizarre football moments that I have ever seen occurred. As the whistle blew to start the match, the Tiburones stood in their marked spots as Tigres kicked the ball off. Both teams remained standing in place as one minute went by. Moments later, the visiting players advanced the ball forward eventually kicking the ball into the Shark’s net as the defenders and goalie remained standing in place. As their teammates on the bench stood in the technical area on the sidelines, Veracruz players refused to move for the next three minutes as the visitors scored another goal into an empty net. A shoving match between players of both teams ensued while the crowd furiously whistled. It turns out that there was confusion amongst the players on both teams about how long the protest would take place on the pitch. Many Tigres players stated that the agreement between the two teams was to refuse to play the first minute while others reported that the agreement was for the protest to be for the first three minutes. Fun times.

Two weeks later, the Red Sharks won their first game in 14 months (41 matches) by beating Puebla 1-0. It was their only victory during the Apertura. In the last 52 matches, Veracruz won three matches.

Though Liga MX and the Mexican football association had the legal authority to force Fidel Kuri to sell the team back in 2016, they finally acted last week. In another bizarre moment, video from Mexican TV, showed attorneys at the gates of the Shark’s offices with “divorce” papers being turned away – twice in two days. Last Thursday, the Mexican Football Federation (FMF) excommunicated Veracruz from Mexican football. Sadly, the shutting of the doors of the Red Sharks included all their youth programs and the women’s team.

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The issues of players not being paid by the Veracruz management was just part of the story. Players complained about lack of appropriate dressing rooms, medical care, practice pitches, and even water at the team’s facilities. These concerns were magnified within the women’s team and the youth academy squads. The fact that the FMF and Liga MX had the authority three years ago to force a change in ownership of the team and did nothing while the situation continued to deteriorate is the definition of pure negligence by a reported sporting regulatory authority. Sadly, none of this is of any surprise as the Federation is under the umbrella of FIFA which over the years (especially in CONCACAF) has demonstrated themselves as a role model of graft and moral bankruptcy.

The swirling soap opera and Armageddon Dumpster Fire surrounding the Sharks has almost overshadowed a frenzied and exciting play-off. The quarter finals featured the following fixtures:

1. Santos Laguna - 8. Monterrey

2. León- 7. Monarcas

3. Tigres UANL - 6. Club América

4. Querétaro - 5. Necaxa

Typically, play-offs end up being defensively tight affairs with goals being as precious as a good Nicolas Cage movie in the last decade. In the quarters of the Apertura, all the teams played an open free flowing attacking style. The result was thirty-five goals over eight games and all the top seeds losing.

Monterrey, who snuck into the Liguilla on the back of a five match unbeaten run to make the last slot, used its home field advantage to demoralize the number one seed, Santos Laguna, 5-2 in the first leg on their way to advancing to the semi-finals.

Despite multiple stoppages of play due to fan misbehavior in Morelia, the seventh seed drew against heavy favorites Leon before shocking them on their home pitch 2-1 on a late Edison Flores goal.

Most every pundit predicted that the winner of the #3 versus #6 seed would be in the grand final. Tigres who were the Clausura title holders from last spring faced off against the “Dallas Cowboys of Liga MX”, Club América . The sixth seeded América rolled to a 3-0 lead away from home in the first half of the second leg to take control of the series, however, they needed a Victor Aguilera controversial penalty in the 80th minute to seal the deal.

Querétaro stormed back against Necaxa on their home pitch to nearly even the series, but goals in the 79th minute (Cristian Calderon), 86th minute (Luis Gallegos), and 90th minute (Maximiliano Salas) sent the fifth seed through.

The remaining teams were re-seeded in the semi-finals, which led to Necaxa playing Monterrey and America playing minnow darlings, Monarcas. The semi-finals were tighter affairs with less open play dictating both series. The Rayados took a 2-1 advantage at home before heading to Necaxa for the second leg. The second leg featured Monterrey furiously attacking Morelia’s goal only to be repelled like Dippy the Pirate Bear at a salad bar – until the 90th minute. Rogelio Funes Mori’s last-minute header clinched the eighth seed’s trip to the finals.

Monarcas Morelia, known as the Canarios (Canaries), was truly a minnow team going against giants, Club América in the semi-final. The Canaries have one league title to their credit – in 2000. They have been runner-up three times. Monarcas has one domestic cup title, which they won in 2013. Transfermarkt reports the combined value of their players is $33.1 million. Club América has thirteen league titles and twelve domestic cup titles – all records. They are owned by Grupo Televisa, which is a gigantic mass media corporation who recorded $7.6 billion in revenues in 2018. This is Manchester City territory except for the fact that Televisa’s owners, the Azcarraga family, are Mexicans. Transfermarkt states that the combined player value of Club América is $71.3 million. América is currently coached by Miguel Herrera who is best known as the former Mexican national team manager during the 2014 World Cup who became a sensation for his jumping ability on the sidelines and for assaulting reporters at the airport.

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Morelia hosted the first leg of the semi-final and their fans remained calmer than in the quarter-final round. The fans were rewarded as their team’s aggressive counterattacking paid off and they took a 2-0 lead before heading to Mexico City. The Estadio Azteca is probably the most famous (or infamous in the eyes of American football fans) in Mexico. The pitch in the second leg of the series on Sunday was an absolute disgrace. Pitches in the far reaches of the Clumpy Cat Litter Cup (Europa) in fourth world eastern Europe are in better condition. For a league semi-final in the country’s most famous stadium, it was embarrassing and genuinely unsafe. One wonders if América’s understanding of how the pitch affects ball movement and footing played an advantage in the match. Alex Ibarra (37’) and Federico Vinas (44’) scored to put the host up 2-0, tying the series on aggregate. América had dominated the match through the first half and into the start of the second. Morelia looked like they would get the critical away goal when Jose Ortiz knocked in a header off a set piece in the 70th minute. However, this goal was taken off the board by VAR. Then Monarcas started to get even more unlucky. In the dying minutes, a wayward shot hit the post and a Fernando Aristeguieta header was saved by Guillermo Ochoa in the final minutes. The match ended at 2-2 on aggregate. If you were not familiar with Mexican football, then you would think that the match would go to extra time or penalties. However, in Liga MX in the semi-final the highest seed advances if the match is tied on both aggregate and away goals. Club América was the sixth seed, Morelia was the seventh. América advanced to their 762th league final.

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Club América will meet Monterrey in the two-leg final in two and a half weeks. The first leg will take place in Monterrey on December 26th and the final leg will take place on December 29th at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City.

Despite being the eighth seed, Monterrey being in the final is no major surprise given their run of form entering La Liguilla. Known as the Rayados (The Striped Ones), they have four Liga MX trophies (their last in 2010) and two domestic cup trophies (most recently in 2017) in their cabinet. Notably, they are the current title holders of the CONCACAF Champions League. Like Club América , they are owned by another large corporation, Fomento Económico Mexicano, S.A.B. de C.V., also known as FEMSA. In 2015, FEMSA reported revenues of $311.5 billion and a net income of $23.2 billion making them the fifth largest corporation in Mexico. They operate the largest independent Coca-Cola bottling company in the world and own the largest convenience store chain in Mexico (known as Oxxo). The company is based in Monterrey, Mexico and is publicly offered on the New York Stock Exchange. The Transfermarkt value of the Rayados player roster is $95.9 million, highest in Liga MX. After a poor start to the Apertura, Monterrey turned to their former manager, Antonio Mohamed, who had coached 159 matches for the team from February 2015 to May 2018. The 49-year-old Argentine has a strong career coaching in Liga MX with three league trophies on his resume. Since his re-appointment during the October international break, the Rayados have been undefeated in all 11 matches with a goal differential of +18. He has preferred a 4-2-3-1 formation but has switched to a 4-3-3 attacking formation from time to time. Despite being a +1800 odds to win the league play-offs (compared to Club América sitting at +350), Monterrey is the favorite to win the opening leg at home on Boxing Day. I expect Rayados to use the same attacking strategy against América as they did in the first leg against Santos (who played a similar style to América), which resulted in a ruthless 5-2 win against a solid squad. My concern is the second leg being played in Estadio Azteca. I suspect the pitch will be about the same if not worse then the semi-final played on Monday. This is an edge that the home team can easily take advantage of. América has a strong history of finishing out final victories for trophies in the Azteca and I would not put it past them to win on aggregate at the end.

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It is quite likely that Mexican league soccer will continue to grow in the United States given the demographic and cultural shifts that have been occurring over many years. As the Latino population grows in numbers and their economic power increases, their demand for more access to football from Mexico will likely increase as well. Major League Soccer will be best served to continue to partner with Liga MX as they are both seeking the same values intrinsically and extrinsically. Resources from MLS and the Mexican first division could be pooled together to make both more marketable to fans and sponsors alike. One important step would be for the MLS to adopt the same schedule format as all the other leagues. It is understood that they do not want to directly compete with other major U.S. sports, however this is a near-sighted view. From a regional and global perspective, it would be better for the U.S. first division football league to be aligned timing wise with other leagues.

Many in Mexico have expressed concern that as large corporations are owning Liga MX teams and as a result are able to pour additional resources into a very small group of teams that parity will continue to be diminished. This also is a narrow and unrealistic view. In England, for example, initially a few number of teams were supported by people with large pockets. In the Premier League era, through the lure of lucrative media deals, more and more rich benefactors have jumped into owning PL teams. This has made the Premier League the best in the world top to bottom. The steps that other leagues in the world, Mexico included, to improve parity have slowed the progress of their leagues in terms of money and talent. A more laissez-fare system with checks in place to weed out fraud (like in Veracruz though it was too little too late) would be more beneficial to everyone in the long term. It must be remembered that whatever checks and balances that are in place, these teams are still businesses and must make money to survive and prosper. Trying to ignore this is pretending to deny reality.

Liga MX is worth the time to watch a league that has the same color, flair, style, idiosyncrasy, and talent as the country that it represents.

Author: Keith Lisenbee, mental health professional, writer, and soccer enthusiast is from Atlanta, Georgia by way of Virginia. I was in love with soccer until Agüero destroyed my soul and Manchester United's title hopes in 2012. I came back for the World Cup in 2014 and through the use of DVR, I am back with the force of orange Tic Tacs and IPAs covering the EPL, Bundesliga, MLS, and La Liga. You can follow me on Twitter @keith_lisenbee and Instagram @lisenbeekeith got more random soccer thoughts.