Juan Carlos Rodriguez named new FMF president
This past Monday, the owners council decided unanimously to hand the reins of the FEMEXFUT to former TV executive Juan Carlos Rodriguez Bas.
Rodriguez is known for his time at TDN, Televisa Deportes Network, and for the brokering he did during the merger of TDN and Univision to form TUDN. Rodriguez substitutes Yon de Luisa, who also was an executive at Televisa and Club America. Rodriguez was also part of the organizing committee of the 1986 World Cup played in Mexico, as well as the Copa America Centenario in 2016.
It has been reported that Rodriguez’s close ties with Emilio Azcarraga will allow the latter to wield a stronger influence in the FEMEXFUT, given that groups such as Grupo Orlegui and Grupo Pachuca have seen a growing influence in the last years. The move however does not mean that Televisa will reign unchecked via Rodriguez, but rather that the influence of Televisa will not be eroded as other soccer conglomerates gain power.
According to Ruben Rodriguez, from Fox Sports, many owners have expressed their concern in the oversized agency that Televisa holds in the Femexfut, and as such, it is part of Rodriguez’s mandate to conciliate the owner’s interests, specially the emerging forces like Orlegui and Pachuca.
A number of good and other questionable changes
The owners have also announced a number of changes to the Liga MX. The most important of which will be the reduction of foreign player slots from eight to seven per team.
Another important announcement is the continuation of the Liga MX without promotion and relegation. At least until four teams can be certified at the beginning of the competition to be able to ascend to Liga MX. Alleging a lack of financial insolvency in the second division, the FMF is opting to not allow the winner of the Campeón de Campeones—the trophy played between the Clausura and the Apertura champions in the second division–to get promoted to the Liga MX.
This continues to be an outrageous decision given the importance of certain clubs in the so-called Liga de Expansion, such as Atlante, Morelia and the recent champions Tampico Madero. Also, a number of teams that have been promoted in the last decade have shown a strong presence in the first division, in both financial and sporting terms, such as Leon and Tijuana. This despite the rules that inherently damage the team that gets the promotion such as the percentage rule to decide the relegation, which mathematically benefits teams of the Liga MX and disproportionately affects the team that just got into the top tier.
Liga MX also announced that the lack of relegation will continue until two years after the first promotion from the Liga de Expansion.
Another announcement that seems to be counterproductive to the developments of soccer in Mexico is the disappearance of the U20 tournament, which will be replaced by the merger of the Liga de Expansion and U23 teams. This measure is announced as a way to promote youth players, but it really comes off as counterintuitive given that the U20 tournament will cease to exist.
One more important announcement is a plan to grow the export of young players to Europe, the intention is for young players to get a EU passport in two years. No further details of the plan were announced.
Lastly, two measures will be implemented in the top flight. The repechaje will give way to an NBA inspired ‘play-in’. The first six teams will go to the playoffs directly and the eighth and seventh places will decide in a single game who gets the seventh spot in the liguilla. Whoever loses that game, will play against the winner of the game between the ninth and the tenth teams of the regular season, so as to determine the last spot in the playoffs.
Additionally, a monetary prize will be given to the leader of the regular season.
At least they are making money
In terms of money, the league has been able to rebound successfully after the effects of the COVID pandemic. Mikel Arriola, Liga MX’s top man, announced an increment of 213% in revenues and 18% in the value of the league in the last two years. He also mentioned that the league has seen a record number of attendance and goals scored.
Other changes were announced, however these were the most noteworthy. You can find a full list here. (In Spanish)
