Reforming promotion and relegation: Why the Liga MX’s rules are bad for the league

by Dan Price

The Liga MX regular season ended last weekend. While there were tears of joy from the sides who managed to finish in the top eight and qualify for the post-season, there were also tears of sorrow at the other end, as Guadalajara-based Leones Negros faced demotion back to the Ascenso MX after just one year in the top flight.

It was harsh on the historic club. A look at the combined Apertura/Clausura table reveals that although they only had the seventeenth best record, they amassed twelve more points than Morelia over the course of the thirty eight games, and just one less than Puebla and three less than 2014’s back-to-back champions Club Leon.



Liga MX table as of 14th May 2015

The practice of relegating the team that was the worst record over the previous three years is a Latin American concept, mainly designed as a ruse to protect the biggest clubs against one bad season. It was originally instituted in Argentina in 1983 following San Lorenzo’s demotion in 1981, and at first it appeared to work well – within its first two years of operation both River Plate and Boca Juniors were spared relegation when they would have both been sent down under a more ‘traditional’ system.

Given the volatility of Latin American leagues compared to European leagues, however, flaws have started to appear – it’s now clear the system isn’t working for its primary purpose. River Plate were eventually relegated in 2011 after years of off-field mismanagement, while Mexican giants Chivas have only just survived this season after a long period of chronic underachievement.

Not only is it not working – but it’s actively harming the league. By failing to relegate the worst side every twelve months, the average standard of the league is slowly being dragged down – especially when combined with the fact that there is no automatic promotion for the winners of the Ascenso.

It also makes it incredibly difficult for a newly promoted team to flourish – meaning investment from the team’s owners becomes more of a risk and is less likely to happen. Less investment in a single team is ultimately less investment in the league, and less investment in the league harms standards for everyone.

Of the four sides who went into this campaign in serious danger of being relegated – Leones Negros, Puebla, Chivas, and Veracruz – only ‘Los Tiburones Rojos’ had finished any of the previous six campaigns in last place, ending up two points behind Atlante in last season’s Clausura. Even then, in the combined table they were comfortably mid-table.

It means that in the 2015-16 season Morelia will still be in the division despite only winning five games all season, collecting a mere 23 points from 34 games, and ending with a goal difference of -26. They will take the place of a demonstrably better side in Leones Negros.

The problem is compounded by the Ascenso’s promotion rules. This season will see either Necaxa or Dorados move up to the top flight. In the combined 26-game Ascenso table, Necaxa finished fifth while Dorados only finished seventh. The best side, Coras de Tepic, were beaten by Necaxa in the Apertura final, while the second best side (Correcaminos) were beaten in the quarter-finals and semi-finals of the Apertura and Clausura respectively.



Ascenso MX table as of 14th May 2015

Playoffs for promotion and relegation are not uncommon in world football. They add excitement for the fans, pull in a lot of sponsorship money and TV revenue, and add a neat bookend to domestic seasons – but they need to be used effectively.

The Liga MX is still a major global league. Many of its players, both past and present, have left the league to forge a successful career in Europe. For European fans, the Liga MX sits alongside the Brazilian and Argentine leagues as having a certain ‘Latin America mystique’. Nonetheless, with growth of football in the US meaning Mexico’s North American hegemony is threatened for the first time in a generation, it cannot afford to handicap itself.

It needs to maximise its chances for success both on and off the field – and part of that means ensuring its best and strongest clubs are in the top flight. Fans point to the promotion/relegation rules, and instances such as the league’s reluctance to move fixtures to help Club America in the CONCACAF Champions League or Tigres UANL in the Copa Libertadores, as evidence of an insular and inward looking organisation. An organisation that operates like that is only going to see one result, and it’s not a favourable one.

So what can be done? It depends how far the league are willing to go. There is a strong case for abandoning the Liguilla, reverting to a typical long-season, and reformatting the Copa MX – but such radical change is unlikely.

A good first step would be to increase the number of teams promoted and relegated to two. It would allow the side with the best record in the Ascenso each year to swap places with the worst side in the Liga MX and would start to move the overall standard of teams in the league back in a positive direction. This season that would have meant Coras taking Morelia’s place.

The other place then gives the league some leeway for commercial purposes – perhaps a four-way playoff with the sides in 2nd and 3rd in the Ascenso and 17th and 16th in the Liga MX, or simply keeping the existing Ascenso playoffs and a playoff between the two Liga MX sides with the worst three year coefficient to determine the other relegated side.

Something needs to change and reform is vital. Without it, a complacent Mexican league will soon find itself swept aside in the increasingly important fight for global prominence.