Mexico Liga de Expansion
Teams
Atlante
Mineros de Zacatecas
Universidad Guadalajara
Venados FC
Oaxaca
Dorados
Correcaminos
Club Celaya
Atletico Morelia
Cimarrones de Sonora FC
Tapatio
Tepatitlan FC
Jaiba Brava
Cancun FC
Tlaxcala FC
Club Atletico La Paz
Pumas Tabasco
Cafetaleros de Tapachula FC
Raya2 Expansion
Juarez FC
Atletico San Luis
Murcielagos FC
Zacatepec 1948
Lobos BUAP
Potros UAEM
Coras FC
Necaxa
Alacranes de Durango
Irapuato
Loros de Colima
Estudiantes Tecos
Wikipedia - Liga de Expansión MX
Liga de Expansión MX, officially named as Liga BBVA Expansión MX for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Mexico and the second level of the Mexican football league system. It has 15 participating clubs, the season is divided into two short tournaments (Apertura and Clausura), the champions of each tournament are decided by a final phase (Liguilla).
Founded in 2020 as part of the FMF's Stabilization Project, which has the primary objective of rescuing the financially troubled teams from the Ascenso MX and prevent the disappearance of a second level league in Mexico. The project also attempts for Liga MX and former Ascenso MX teams to consolidate stable projects with strong administration, finances, and infrastructure.
Atlante is the most successful club with 3 titles, followed by Tapatío and Jaiba Brava with 2 titles each. In all, seven clubs have won the Liga de Expansión MX at least once.
History
On 20 February 2020, the presidents of the Liga MX clubs, the Ascenso MX clubs and the FMF executives had a meeting, in which different topics were discussed with the intent of strengthening the two main leagues in the country.
On 26 June 2020, the league was officially presented, with the participation of 16 teams: Alebrijes de Oaxaca, Atlante, Atlético Morelia, Cancún, Celaya, Cimarrones de Sonora, Correcaminos UAT, Dorados de Sinaloa, Leones Negros UdeG, Mineros de Zacatecas, Tampico Madero, and Venados F.C. as Ascenso MX teams. Pumas Tabasco and Tapatío entered to the league as Liga MX affiliates. Finally, on 17 July 2020, Tepatitlán and Tlaxcala were invited as Liga Premier expansion teams.
On 22 May 2023, the Liga MX owners assembly approved a reform for the league that should have been carried out in 2024. This reform planned that the 18 member teams of the Liga MX should have had a U-23 team in the Liga de Expansión, which would have represented a merger between the Expansión MX and the Liga MX U–23. However, in May 2024 the proposal was scrapped due to opposition from the owners of the Liga de Expansión teams, as they considered that the project represented a degradation of the participating clubs.
In May 2025, a group of ten league member clubs filed a lawsuit before the Court of Arbitration for Sport seeking the reinstatement of promotion and relegation between the Liga de Expansión and Liga MX; four teams subsequently dropped the lawsuit, the six remaining teams formed an opposing bloc within the league, which was formed with the aim of combating some of the measures that had occurred previously, their first triumph was the rejection of the relocation of Celaya F.C. to Veracruz and the sale of the affiliation certificate between Cimarrones de Sonora and Club Jaiba Brava.
On 4 September 2025, the Court of Arbitration for Sport issued its verdict on the dispute filed by the six Liga de Expansión clubs seeking to reinstate promotion to Liga MX. The ruling established the return of promotion starting with the 2026–27 season; however, the CAS allowed the Mexican Football Federation to retain the authority to establish the requirements for clubs to be promoted to the top flight of Mexican football, returning to a situation similar to that in place before the creation of the Liga de Expansión in 2020.