Mexican Senate Takes Up Bill to Restore Promotion and Relegation in Liga MX

Senator Clemente Castañeda is set to bring a proposal to the Senate floor that would write promotion and relegation into Mexican law.

A roundtable convened Monday in Mexico's Senate to discuss a reform that would clear the way for promotion and relegation to return to Liga MX. Senator Clemente Castañeda is responsible for carrying the proposal forward and said a bill could be put on the table as soon as Tuesday, September 22.

The legislation, according to Castañeda, would add sporting merit to the obligations required of national sports associations, effectively putting promotion and relegation into Mexican law. He stressed that the law is not intended to run soccer, but to strike a balance across sports organizations built on competition, merit and opportunity.

Players from Liga de Expansión attended the session, and Roberto Galán delivered some of the sharpest criticism of the current system. He argued the change is necessary rather than a preference, saying clubs in Liga MX have gone winless deep into a season without consequence, while Expansion clubs have no path upward unless an investor pays a large sum for a first-division place.

Galán also said players in the second tier have lost most of their salary over the past six years while continuing to work at the same level of effort. Notably absent from the meeting were Mexican Football Federation commissioner Mikel Arriola and Liga MX president Francisco Iturbide, who are reported to hold an opposing view.