Liga MX Femenil
The Liga BBVA MX Femenil is the highest division of women's football in Mexico. Supervised by the Mexican Football Federation, this professional league has 18 teams, each coinciding with a Liga MX squad. Following the same schedule as the men's league, each season has two halves: an apertura tournament, which takes place from July to December, and a clausura tournament, which takes place from January to May. The league's first official competitions took place in May 2017 via the Copa MX Femenil, while the inaugural season began in July 2017. Liga MX CEO Enrique Bonilla stated the league was created in order to nurture the stars of the Mexico women's national football team and build an infrastructure for women's football nationwide.
The current champions are Monterrey who defeated UANL 2–1 on aggregate in the Apertura 2019 final on 07 December 2019.
History
Liga Mexicana de Fútbol Femenil
In 2007, there was an attempt to professionalize women's football in Mexico via the Liga Mexicana de Fútbol Femenil. While the league did foster some success, particularly when Mexico's national team beat the United States for the first time in 2010, it did not have a major sponsorship and lacked media coverage. Likewise, major clubs, such as Chivas de Guadalajara, pulled their support. As a result, the league was relegated to semi-professional status.NWSL
In 2012, the United States Soccer Federation, the Canadian Soccer Association, the Mexican Football Federation, the USL W-League, and the Women's Premier Soccer League met to form the National Women's Soccer League. With its inaugural season in 2013, during which Mexican player Renae Cuéllar scored the first ever goal for the league, Mexico allocated players in an effort to build talent in North America. However, by 2016, the Mexican Football Federation announced it would no longer allocate players, which foreshadowed the Liga MX Femenil.First team
an enthusiastic football advocate interceded with Xolos of Tijuana to persuade them to create a women's team in 2014. They had to travel to the USA to find similar teams to play.A New Mexican League
Preparation
In December 2016, during a general assembly meeting with all Liga MX club owners in the new Mexican Football Federation headquarters, Liga MX CEO Enrique Bonilla announced the formation of the new Liga MX Femenil. In an effort to grow and build talent within Mexico, he announced that 16 Liga MX clubs would field U-23 rosters with four U-17 players and up to two overage players.Before the inaugural season the teams took part in a domestic cup called Copa MX Femenil in May 2017. The tournament took place between 3 May and 6 May 2017 with only 12 of the 16 teams participating due to four not having a team ready. Pachuca won the final 9–1 against Club Tijuana.
First season
The first Apertura matches were played on 28 July 2017. The Chivas won the league championship on November 24, 2017, defeating Pachuca in the last match of a two-match playoff. The two matches drew record-setting crowds of 28,955 and 32,466 spectators, respectively.Commentator Glenn Moore declared the Liga MX Femenil to have concluded a "very successful debut campaign."
Regulations
During the inaugural season, teams were expected to field U-23 rosters; four slots were reserved for U-17 players, while two were for overage players. All players had to be born in Mexico. Additionally, the sixteen teams were split into two groups. Teams in each group played each other twice per season. The top two teams from each group advanced to the playoffs, which would be a semifinal of two matches followed by a final, also of two matches.After the first season, the rules mostly stayed the same. However, the U-23 limit was raised to U-24. As for the playoffs, they were expanded to eight teams. The top four teams from each group moved on to the liguilla, with the top team from one group playing the fourth ranked team from the other in the quarterfinals.
For the third season, the age limit was raised to 25, but each team was allowed to field up to 6 overage players at a time. In addition, the groups were undone, so each team would play each other at least once during the season. Foreign-born Mexican players were also allowed to play, with up to six allowed per team. This decision brought in more players from the NCAA as well as from the NWSL and Spain's Primera División. Previously, only Alejandría Godínez, Pachuca's goalkeeper, represented the NCAA as an alumna of DePaul.
Notable Results
The league set history as the final between Monterrey and Tigres was the highest attended club match in women's soccer history, with a total of 51,211 fans attending the match played at the Estadio Tomateros. After the Spanish final of 2019, that record was broken, but Mexico still holds 7 out of the 10 highest attendance records for club games. This is in addition to Mexico's record for highest attendance of any women's sporting event, which took place during the 1971 Women's World Cup Final in the Estadio Azteca.Club Changes
During the inaugural season, 16 out of 18 of the Liga MX teams fielded a women's squad. Chiapas and Puebla were given a pass given their financial struggles. However, by the second season, all 18 teams fielded a squad. By then, Chiapas had been relegated to Ascenso MX, while Lobos BUAP had been promoted to the top division. As such, Lobos BUAP and Puebla both had women's squads.For the third season, the field expanded to 19 teams, as Atlético San Luis was promoted to Liga MX while no team was relegated. Their promotion also introduced Atlético San Luis Femenil. Additionally, Lobos BUAP was bought by then-second division FC Juárez, so the women's team moved from Puebla to Juárez to form FC Juárez Femenil. After the Apertura 2019, Veracruz folded, and with it meant the Tiburonas were now a defunct club as well, bringing the league back down to 18 teams.
Sponsorship
Just before the third season, BBVA México announced that it would sponsor the Liga MX Femenil in addition to Liga MX and Ascenso MX. With the sponsorship, which is slated for at least three years, the league's name was changed to Liga BBVA MX Femenil in June 2019.Lower Divisions
In addition to the Liga Mexicana de Fútbol Femenil, which facilitates the SuperLiga and the segunda división, Mexico is also home to the . Most players in the Liga MX Femenil previously played in either of these existing leagues, as well as in various Mexican or US college teams and the Women's Premier Soccer League.Teams
The following 18 clubs will compete in the Liga MX Femenil during the 2020–21 season.| Club | City | Ground | Capacity | Ref |
| América | Mexico City | Azteca | 81,070 | |
| Atlas | Guadalajara | Jalisco | 55,020 | |
| Atlético San Luis | San Luis Potosí City | Alfonso Lastras | 25,709 | |
| Cruz Azul | Ciudad Cooperativa Cruz Azul | 10 de Diciembre | 14,500 | |
| Guadalajara | Zapopan | Akron | 46,232 | |
| Juárez | Ciudad Juárez | Olímpico Benito Juárez | 19,703 | |
| León | León | León | 31,297 | |
| Mazatlán | Mazatlán | Mazatlán | 25,000 | |
| Monterrey | Guadalupe | BBVA | 51,348 | |
| Necaxa | Aguascalientes City | Victoria | 23,851 | |
| Pachuca | Pachuca | Hidalgo | 27,512 | |
| Puebla | Puebla City | Cuauhtémoc | 47,417 | |
| Querétaro | Querétaro City | Corregidora | 34,107 | |
| Santos Laguna | Torreón | Corona | 29,237 | |
| Tijuana | Tijuana | Caliente | 27,333 | |
| Toluca | Toluca | Nemesio Díez | 31,000 | |
| UANL | San Nicolás de los Garza | Universitario | 41,886 | |
| UNAM | Mexico City | Estadio Olímpico Universitario | 48,297 |
Format
For the 2019 Apertura, teams were in one group of nineteen, while for the Clausura they were in a group of eighteen. After playing each other, the top eight teams advance to the "liguilla", the league's version of the playoffs. However, due to COVID-19, both the men's and women's leagues have been indefinitely suspended.Champions
| Season | Champions | Result | Runners-up |
| Apertura 2017 | Guadalajara | 0–2 3–0 | Pachuca |
| Clausura 2018 | UANL | 2–2 2–2 ' | Monterrey |
| Apertura 2018 | América | 2–2 1–1 ' | UANL |
| Clausura 2019 | UANL | 1–1 2–1 | Monterrey |
| Apertura 2019 | Monterrey | 1–1 1–0 | UANL |
| Clausura 2020 | America | 1-1/1-1 | UANL |
Media coverage
| Team | Mexico Broadcaster | U.S. Broadcaster | Day | Time* |
| América | Televisa | Univision | Monday | 8:00 PM |
| Atlas | TVC Deportes | — | Saturday | 11:00 AM |
| Atlético San Luis | TBA | TBA | Monday | 8:00 PM |
| Cruz Azul | Televisa | Univision | Friday | 4:00 PM |
| Guadalajara | Fox Sports | NBCUniversal | Monday | 7:00 PM |
| Juárez | Televisa | Univision | Friday | 8:00 PM |
| León | Fox Sports / Claro | — | Monday | 7:00 P |
| Mazatlán | AYM Sports | AYM Sports | Monday | 4:00 PM |
| Monterrey | Fox Sports | — | Monday | 9:00 PM |
| Necaxa | Claro | Nuestra Visión | Friday | 4:00 PM |
| Pachuca | Fox Sports / Claro | — | Monday | 7:00 PM |
| Puebla | TVC Deportes | — | Sunday | 12:00 PM |
| Querétaro | TVC Deportes | — | Friday | 4:00 PM |
| Santos Laguna | Fox Sports | — | Monday | 9:00 PM |
| Tijuana | Fox Sports | — | Monday | 9:00 PM |
| Toluca | Televisa | Univision | Monday | 6:00 PM |
| UANL | Televisa | Univision | Monday | 8:00 PM |
| UNAM | Televisa | Univision | Saturday | 12:00 PM |
- All match times are.
Attendance
Managers
The current managers in the Liga MX Femenil are:| Nat. | Name | Club | Appointed | Time as manager |
| Pachuca | 25 01 2017 | |||
| América | 28 02 2017 | |||
| UNAM | 08 03 2017 | |||
| Monterrey | 04 12 2017 | |||
| León | 20 06 2018 | |||
| Necaxa | 05 07 2018 | |||
| Atlas | 12 07 2018 | |||
| Puebla | 10 12 2018 | |||
| UANL | 31 05 2019 | |||
| Cruz Azul | 03 06 2019 | |||
| Santos Laguna | 30 11 2019 | |||
| Toluca | 09 12 2019 | |||
| Juárez | 10 12 2019 | |||
| Tijuana | 27 05 2020 | |||
| Querétaro | 11 06 2020 | |||
| Atlético San Luis | 12 06 2020 | |||
| Mazatlán | 18 06 2020 | |||
| Guadalajara | 31 07 2020 |