Liga MX promotion and relegation: Senate move that could spark FIFA row | OneFootball

The return of promotion and relegation in Mexican soccer is no longer just a sporting debate. The Senate of the Republic has introduced an initiative to incorporate sporting merit into Mexican law, a proposal that, if it moves forward, would have direct consequences for Liga MX and could open a new front between the Mexican authorities, the FMF, and international governing bodies.

The proposal seeks to amend the General Law on Physical Culture and Sport to establish mechanisms allowing promotion and relegation between professional categories whenever there is a structure of two or more divisions.

The bill states that sporting merit must be the main criterion for determining a club’s promotion, relegation, or continued place in a league, and that the rules must be objective, clear, transparent, and public. It also aims to prevent unjustified barriers that block new participants from entering a professional category.

What does the Senate want to change?

The initiative seeks to ensure that sporting results once again have consequences within professional structures.

In the case of Mexican soccer, this would directly affect the current Liga MX and Liga de Expansión model, in which there is currently no promotion or relegation. The regulations for the 2026-27 season maintain that Liga MX clubs will not be relegated and Expansión MX clubs will not be promoted.

During the presentation of the proposal, Senator Clemente Castañeda said that the goal is not to directly run soccer, but to establish rules that guarantee competition, merit, and opportunity.

The initiative also provides that promotion and relegation mechanisms be determined at the end of each championship or season based on sporting results.

The issue that could create conflict with FIFA

The main legal debate centers on the autonomy of sports federations.

FIFA’s Statutes establish that its member associations must manage their affairs independently and without influence from third parties. In addition, their bodies must be elected or appointed according to procedures that guarantee their independence.

For that reason, the way a Mexican law is ultimately applied will be decisive.

FIFA has recent precedents of suspensions over what it considers improper third-party interference. In 2025, for example, it suspended the Congolese Football Federation due to a situation it described as third-party interference in the association’s affairs.

This means that any possible sanction against the FMF would not be automatic simply because an initiative is introduced or approved, but would depend on whether FIFA considers the legislation to interfere in a way that is incompatible with the Federation’s autonomy.

The FMF and FIFA face a new scenario

The debate becomes even more relevant because the initiative is not limited to soccer: it proposes establishing sporting merit as a principle for professional sports associations that have different categories.

During the discussions in the Senate, representatives of the FMF and Liga MX were invited, although they did not take part in the discussion.

The proposal must still continue through the legislative process, so the effective return of promotion and relegation is not yet decided.

What has changed is the context: for the first time, the debate over movement between Liga MX and Liga de Expansión has formally reached the legislative arena. From now on, the central issue will be determining how far Mexican sports legislation can go without coming into conflict with the autonomy that FIFA’s statutes recognize for its member federations.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.