Enrique Bonilla, president of Mexico’s Liga MX, has confirmed that the decision has been made to suspend all relegation and promotion to and from the country’s top-flight for the coming 5 seasons.
Mexican league system altered
Liga MX, like the vast majority of top football leagues across the globe, has been suspended for just over a month now.
This of course comes as the COVID-19 crisis continues to wreak havoc worldwide.
The scale of the situation means that club representatives cannot actually meet in person, forcing all discussions over plans moving forward to take place via large-scale conference calls.
All 20 Premier League clubs, for example, yesterday decided following lengthy negotiations that June 8th stands as the earliest date upon which football could realistically be given the green light to resume in England.
June 8 has emerged as the best-case scenario for when the Premier League season could restart.
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) April 17, 2020
A similar meeting, meanwhile, took place in Mexico last night.
Representatives from the 18 Liga MX clubs came together on a video call, to run through all available options for the months to come.
The results of these discussions, however, unlike in England, could well shape the future of Mexican club football as a whole.
As outlined above, a vote conducted during the meeting saw the groundbreaking decision made to scrap the promotion/relegation system to and from Liga MX for the next 5 seasons.
President Enrique Bonilla confirmed the news earlier today, after all 12 Ascenso MX (Mexico’s 2nd-tier) clubs gave their blessing to such a course of action earlier this week.
The agreement will now see Ascenso MX utilised to promote young Mexican talent, with the 12 participating sides set to be handed annual payments of $845,000 from their Liga MX counterparts.
The remainder of the Ascenso campaign, meanwhile, has been definitively cancelled.
Liga MX suspends pro/rel for next five years https://t.co/iwW73HGEz9
— Tom Marshall (@mexicoworldcup) April 17, 2020
Big news coming out from Liga MX’s president. No more pro/rel for the league for the next 5 years. No more youth minutes rule. Ascenso’s 2020 Clausura season is cancelled. #LigaMXeng
— Cesar Hernandez (@cesarhfutbol) April 17, 2020
Backlash ensues
Mexican football’s controversial decision, which is no doubt set to fuel speculation over the potential merging of Liga MX with MLS in the near future, has since been met with heavy criticism.
Former Arsenal star Carlos Vela is one of those to have made his frustrations with ongoings in his home country clear, with others having suggested that a promotion/relegation system is unlikely to ever be reintroduced at the top level of the Mexican game:
Mi apoyo para todas las personas que están sufriendo con esta muy mala decisión de @LigaBBVAMX @AscensoBBVAMX pero sobre todo a mi hermano @alexvelag11 💪🏽 pic.twitter.com/gQjXrkiuUr
— carlos vela (@11carlosV) April 17, 2020
If you think that Liga MX will let promotion/relegation come back in 5 years, you are being naive. There is no turning back from this.
— Liga MX Reddit (@LigaMXreddit) April 17, 2020
So Liga mx no longer having relegation/promotion and 2nd division becoming a development league! Terrible decision
— teto gonzalez (@AnthonySoSaucy) April 17, 2020
Best Netflix, Amazon & YouTube football documentaries & movies to watch during coronavirus isolation
9 best football documentaries to watch on ESPN+ during COVID-19 quarantine
