The Mexican Football Federation (), abbreviated as FMF is the official governing body of

football in Mexico The most popular sport in Mexico is association football, known as wikt:fútbol, fútbol in Mexico. The top professional leagues in Mexico are Liga MX for men and Liga MX Femenil for women. In Mexico, football became a professional men's spo ...

. It administers the men's and women's national teams with all its youth teams, the national teams of

futsal Futsal is a variant of association football played between two teams of five players each on a court smaller than a football pitch. Its rules are based on the Laws of the Game (association football), Laws of the Game of association football, and i ...

and

beach soccer Beach soccer, also known as beach football, sand football or sand soccer, is a variant of association football played on a beach or some form of sand between two teams of five players each. Association football has long been played informally on ...

Liga MX Liga MX, also known as Liga BBVA MX for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Mexico and the highest level of the Mexican football league system. Formerly known as Liga Mayor (1943–1949) and also as Primera Divis ...

with all its professional divisions, all affiliated amateur sectors, and controls promoting, organizing, directing, expanding, and supervising competitive football in Mexico. The FMF was established on 23 August 1927 to replace the ''Federación Central de Fútbol'' and its first president was Humberto Garza Ramos. It is an affiliate member of

FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...

since 1929 and one of the founding members of

CONCACAF The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football, abbreviated as CONCACAF ( ; typeset for branding purposes since 2018 as Concacaf), is one of FIFA's six continental governing bodies for association football. Its 4 ...

since 1961. Subject to policies, statutes, objectives and ideals of those international governing bodies. Its headquarters are located in

Toluca Toluca , officially Toluca de Lerdo , is the States of Mexico, state capital of the State of Mexico as well as the seat of the Municipality of Toluca. Toluca has a population of 910,608 as of the 2020 census. The city forms the core of the Grea ...

, State of Mexico.

History

In 1919, the Mexican amateur league was divided into two leagues (Liga Mexicana and Liga Nacional). Due to the expulsion of Tigres México shortly before the start of the season,

Real Club España Real Club España, A.C., simply known as Real España or Club España, is a Mexican sports club based in Mexico City. The club hosted a large variety of sports and other activities such as aerobics, basque pelota, cue sports, billiards, canoein ...

and España Veracruz withdrew in solidarity and founded their own league. The separation of the leagues took place in the 1920–21 season. After only two seasons, in 1922 under the president Ulises Garza Ramos, the two leagues were unified to found the ''Federación Mexicana de Football Asociación'' and creating the ''Campeonato de Primera Fuerza'' which was the highest level of Mexican football at that time. The following year it was renamed ''Federación Central de Fútbol'' due to its greater national influence, and it was its members who promoted the creation of Mexico's first national team. Finally in 1927 the current Federación Mexicana de Fútbol Asociación was reorganized and established. The Federation was renewed by the clubs: Club México, RC España,

Necaxa Impulsora del Deportivo Necaxa S.A. de C.V. (); often simply known as Club Necaxa, is a Mexican professional Association football, football club based in Aguascalientes (city), Aguascalientes. It competes in Liga MX, the top division of Mexican ...

, América,

Asturias Asturias (; ; ) officially the Principality of Asturias, is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in northwest Spain. It is coextensive with the provinces of Spain, province of Asturias and contains some of the territory t ...

, Aurrerá and

Germania Germania ( ; ), also more specifically called Magna Germania (English: ''Great Germania''), Germania Libera (English: ''Free Germania''), or Germanic Barbaricum to distinguish it from the Roman provinces of Germania Inferior and Germania Superio ...

, with the president Humberto Garza Ramos, the general secretary Juan B. Orraca and the treasurer Manuel Alonso who registered and affiliated the FMF with FIFA in 1929. The first national championship endorsed and organized by the new FMF was held in the 1927–28 season still in the considered league's amateur era until 1942. The Federation has three operational centres: the Central Office, the High Performance Centre (, CAR) and the Training Centre (, CECAP).

Structure

The governing body of the Federation is the General Assembly that conforms with the participation of the Liga MX with 55% of the votes; Liga de Expansión MX with 5%; Liga Premier, with 18%; Liga TDP, with 13%, and the Amateur sector, with 9%. The executive and administrative body is the National Council, which comprises five members, one from each of the divisions mentioned, and are elected every four years.

Association staff

Source
FMF

National teams

Mexico national team

The first Mexican national team was established in 1923, its first match was that same year with a victory against

Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...

and its first international participation was in the 1928 Olympic Football Tournament in Amsterdam. The national team has participated in the

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...

17 times, the first participation was in the first edition in Uruguay 1930 playing the opening match against

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. The best participations are reaching the quarterfinals (1970 and 1986) both as hosts. The first senior titles achieved by the national team were in the football tournament in the

multi-sport event A multi-sport event is an organized sporting event, often held over multiple days, featuring competition in many different sports among organized teams of athletes from (mostly) nation-states. The first major, modern, multi-sport event of intern ...

of the

Central American and Caribbean Games The Central American and Caribbean Games (CAC or CACGs) are a multi-sport regional championship event, held quadrennial (once every four years), typically in the middle (even) year between Summer Olympics. The games are for 32 countries and ...

, winning two gold medals (

1935 Events January * January 7 – Italian premier Benito Mussolini and French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval conclude an agreement, in which each power agrees not to oppose the other's colonial claims. * January 12 – Amelia Earhart ...

and

1938 Events January * January 1 – state-owned enterprise, State-owned railway networks are created by merger, in France (SNCF) and the Netherlands (Nederlandse Spoorwegen – NS). * January 20 – King Farouk of Egypt marries Saf ...

). The first official senior titles achieved by the national team were in the NAFC Championship, winning both editions (

1947 It was the first year of the Cold War, which would last until 1991, ending with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Events January * January–February – Winter of 1946–47 in the United Kingdom: The worst snowfall in the country i ...

and

1949 Events January * January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2025 * January 2 – Luis ...

). After the merger of the NAFC and CCCF, Mexico was one of the founding members of

in 1961, winning its first title in the new North American confederation in the

1965 CONCACAF Championship The 1965 CONCACAF Championship, was the 2nd edition of the CONCACAF Championship, the tournament was held in Guatemala from 28 March to 11 April. It had 6 participating teams. Qualifying round Caribbean Zone Jamaica, Trinidad, Dominican Republ ...

. Mexico is also the only non-UEFA or CONMEBOL member national team to win an official senior title organized by FIFA, winning the

1999 FIFA Confederations Cup The 1999 FIFA Confederations Cup was the fourth FIFA Confederations Cup, and the second organised by FIFA. The tournament was hosted by Mexico between 24 July and 4 August 1999. The tournament was won by Mexico, who beat Brazil 4–3 in the fina ...

at home, after defeating Brazil 4–3 in the final. The honours of the senior national team consists of 16 official titles: 1

FIFA Confederations Cup The FIFA Confederations Cup was an international association football tournament for men's national teams, held every four years by FIFA. It was contested by the holders of each of the six continental championships ( AFC, CAF, CONCACAF, CONMEBO ...

, 12

CONCACAF Championship The CONCACAF Championship, also known as CONCACAF Nations Championship, was an association football competition organized by CONCACAF as its top continental tournament for men's senior national teams from North America, Central America and the C ...

/ Gold Cup, 1

CONCACAF Cup The CONCACAF Cup (officially the CONCACAF Cup presented by Scotiabank for sponsorship reasons) was an international soccer play-off match to determine CONCACAF's entry into the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup. The 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup winner Unit ...

and 2 NAFC Championship.

Mexico women's national team

The first women's national team was originally established in 1963, but its first FIFA-recognized match was in 1991. Its first match was in 1970 with a victory against

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

, although its first FIFA-recognized match was in the

1991 CONCACAF Women's Championship The 1991 CONCACAF Women's Championship was the first staging of the CONCACAF Women's Championship, the international women's association football tournament for North American, Central American and Caribbean nations organized by CONCACAF. The tour ...

against

USA The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...

. The women's national team has participated in the

FIFA Women's World Cup The FIFA Women's World Cup is an international association football competition contested by the senior list of women's national association football teams, women's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internationale de Footb ...

3 times, the first participation was in USA 1999. The first senior titles achieved by the women's national team were in the football tournament in the Central American and Caribbean Games, winning three gold medals (2014, 2018 and 2023). They also won the gold medal in the

2023 Pan American Games The 2023 Pan American Games (), officially the XIX Pan American Games () and commonly known as Santiago 2023, were an international multi-sport event governed by the Panam Sports Organization, held in Santiago, Chile from 20 October to 5 Novem ...

Mexico olympic team

The under-23 team/olympic team, is an intermediate category between the senior team and the youth teams. Implemented by FIFA since 1992 to participate in the Olympic Football Tournament to replace amateur teams. The under-23 team won the gold medal in the 2012 Olympic Football Tournament in London and bronze medal in the 2020 Olympic Football Tournament in Tokyo.

Men's youth teams

The under-20 team has participated in the

FIFA U-20 World Cup The FIFA U-20 World Cup is the biennial football world championship tournament for FIFA members' men's national teams with players under the age of 20. The competition has been staged every two years since the inaugural tournament in 1977 when i ...

17 times and were world runners-up in

1977 Events January * January 8 – 1977 Moscow bombings, Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (no ...

and third place in

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

. The under-17 team has participated in the

FIFA U-17 World Cup The FIFA U-17 World Cup, founded as the FIFA U-16 World Championship, later changed to U-17 in 1991 and to its current name in 2007, is the annual world championship of association football for male players under the age of 17 organized by ''Fé ...

15 times and were two-time world champions (

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

and

) and two-time world runners-up (

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

and

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

Women's youth teams

The women's under-20 team has participated in the

FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup The FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup is an international association football tournament, organized by FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association), for national teams of women under the age of 20. The tournament is held biennially. ...

10 times, the best participations are reaching the quarterfinals (2010, 2012 and 2022). The women's under-17 team has participated in the

FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup The FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup is an annual (biennial until 2024) international women's association football tournament for female players under the age of 17. It is organized by ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' (FIFA) ...

7 times and were world runners-up in

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

Professional divisions

The Mexican football is composed of four men's professional divisions: *

: First season of the professional era in 1943, as ''Liga Mayor'' *

Liga de Expansión MX Liga de Expansión MX, also known 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 was founded in 2020 as part of the Mexi ...

: Founded in 2020 *

Liga Premier The Malaysia Premier League () was the second-tier professional Association football, football league in Malaysia. It replaced the Liga Perdana 2 in the Malaysian football league system. The Malaysia Premier League was contested by 12 clubs. T ...

: Founded in 1950, as ''Segunda División de México'' *

Liga TDP Liga TDP is a professional association football league in Mexico and the fourth level of the Mexican football league system. Formerly known as Tercera División de México (1967–2017). It has 223 participating clubs, divided into 17 regional gro ...

: Founded in 1967, as ''Tercera División de México'' The first professional women's league in the country was the Liga MX Femenil, the top level of women's football in Mexico. *

Liga MX Femenil Liga MX Femenil, also known as Liga BBVA MX Femenil for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league and the highest level of women's football in Mexico. Supervised by the Mexican Football Federation, Federación Mexicana d ...

: Founded in 2016, first season in 2017 * Liga TDP Femenil: Founded in 2024

Competitions

Men's competitions

Top division

Campeón de Campeones Campeón de Campeones () is an association football competition in Mexico and the domestic super cup between the Liga MX champions of the ''Apertura'' and ''Clausura'' tournaments. It was initially a super cup match between the league and cup cha ...

Supercopa de la Liga MX Supercopa can refer to: *Supercopa de España (disambiguation) *Supercopa do Brasil, a Brazilian football (soccer) competition. *Supercopa Honduras, a defunct Honduran football (soccer) competition. *Supercopa de Costa Rica, a Costa Rican Football ...

Promotion divisions

* Campeón de Campeones de la Liga de Expansión MX *

* Campeón de Campeones de la Liga Premier *

* Copa Conecta

Reserves and academy

* Torneo de Filiales de la Liga Premier² * Torneo de Filiales de la Liga TDP² * Liga MX Sub-23 * Liga MX Sub-19 * Liga MX Sub-17 * Liga MX Sub-15 * Torneo Internacional de Fuerzas Básicas³

Women's competitions

* Campeón de Campeonas * Liga TDP Femenil

Discontinued competitions

Copa MX Copa MX, also known as Copa Corona MX for sponsorship reasons, was an association football competition in Mexico and the domestic cup tournament for clubs at the highest and second levels of Mexican football league system. Formerly known as Copa ...

(1942–1976, 1987–1992, 1994–1997, 2012–2020) *

Supercopa MX Supercopa MX () was an association football competition in Mexico and the domestic super cup between the Copa MX champions of the ''Apertura'' and ''Clausura'' tournaments. Initially played in a two-legged and later with a single final match. It w ...

(2014–2019) *

Pre-Libertadores tournament Pre-Libertadores tournament was an association football competition and the qualification method between two clubs from Venezuela and two clubs from Mexico to determine two clubs qualified for the Copa Libertadores, it was held from 1998 to 2002. T ...

⁴ (1998–2003) *

InterLiga InterLiga was an association football competition and the qualification method between eight Mexican clubs to determine two clubs qualified for the Copa Libertadores, it was held from 2004 to 2010. History From 1998 to 2003, the Mexican clubs c ...

⁴ (2004–2010) *

Ascenso MX Ascenso MX, also known as Ascenso BBVA MX for sponsorship reasons, was a professional association football league in Mexico and the second level of the Mexican football league system. Formerly known as Primera División A de México (1994–2009 ...

(1994–2020) * Campeón de Ascenso (1997–2019) * Copa de la Segunda División de México (1950–1972, 1995–96, 2013–2015) * Copa de Campeones Segunda División de México (2014) * Copa MX Femenil (2017) * Liga MX Sub-20 (2009–2023) * Liga MX Sub-18 (2021–2024) * Liga MX Sub-16 (2021–2024) * Liga MX Sub-14 (2022–2024) * Liga MX Sub-13 (2012–2019) ;Notes: # Trophy contested only when a club automatically wins the Campeón de Campeones for winning both tournaments of the season (Apertura and Clausura). # Reserves tournaments played by teams known as "filiales". # International academy tournament with under-15 teams (2014–2019) and under-17 teams (2022–present). # Qualifying tournaments for Mexican clubs for the Copa Libertadores.

Criticism

Multi-team ownership issue

The issue of multi-team ownership has been a highly debated one within the owners of the professional football clubs and the Femexfut. Of 33 clubs in the top two tiers, about a quarter of the teams are owned by three groups: Grupo Pachuca (

Pachuca Pachuca (; ), formally known as Pachuca de Soto, is the capital and largest city of the east-central Mexico, Mexican States of Mexico, state of Hidalgo (state), Hidalgo, located in the south-central part of the state. Pachuca Municipality, Pach ...

, León),

Grupo Caliente Grupo Caliente is one of the largest sports betting companies in Mexico. In 2021, Grupo Caliente owned around 200 "off-track betting and bookmaking outlets" in Mexico, Austria, Brazil, Ecuador, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela and the C ...

(

Tijuana Tijuana is the most populous city of the Mexican state of Baja California, located on the northwestern Pacific Coast of Mexico. Tijuana is the municipal seat of the Tijuana Municipality, the hub of the Tijuana metropolitan area and the most popu ...

Querétaro Querétaro, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Querétaro, is one of the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 federal entities of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Querétaro, 18 municipalities. Its capital city is Querétaro Cit ...

Dorados de Sinaloa Club Deportivo Dorados de Sinaloa, simply known as Dorados, is a Mexican professional football club based in Culiacán, Sinaloa. It plays in the Liga de Expansión MX, the second level division of Mexican football. History Dorados de Sinaloa ...

) and Grupo Orlegi (

Santos Laguna Club Santos Laguna S.A. de C.V., simply known as Santos Laguna or Santos, is a Mexican professional football club based in Torreón, Coahuila. The club competes in Liga MX, the top division of Mexican football. Founded in 1983 as Club Santos I ...

Atlas An atlas is a collection of maps; it is typically a bundle of world map, maps of Earth or of a continent or region of Earth. Advances in astronomy have also resulted in atlases of the celestial sphere or of other planets. Atlases have traditio ...

). Of those groups that own more than one team, that ownership is usually split between the top two tiers of the league and act as a form of player development. In May 2013, the Liga MX club owners approved banning a person or company from owning more than one team. The issue came to fore when rumor was that

Carlos Slim Carlos Slim Helú (; born 28 January 1940) is a Mexican business oligarch, investor, and philanthropist. From 2010 to 2013, Slim was ranked as the richest person in the world by ''Forbes'' business magazine. He derived his fortune from his e ...

, whose telecommunications company

América Móvil América Móvil, S.A.B. de C.V. is a Mexican telecommunications corporation headquartered in Mexico City, Mexico. It is the 7th largest mobile network operator in the world in terms of equity subscribers, as well as one of the largest corpor ...

owns a 30% stake in Grupo Pachuca, sought to acquire

Guadalajara Guadalajara ( ; ) is the capital and the most populous city in the western Mexican List of states of Mexico, state of Jalisco, as well as the most densely populated municipality in Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population ...

; he would refute the speculation. The ban applied to future acquisitions, not the then current team ownership, and did not require the sale of teams in excess of the one team limitation. The issue reemerged in November 2013 when

TV Azteca Televisión Azteca, S.A.B. de C.V., commonly known as TV Azteca, is a Mexican multimedia conglomerate owned by Grupo Salinas. It is the second-largest mass media company in Mexico after Televisa. It primarily competes with Televisa as well as so ...

, owner of Monarcas Morelia, paid out 124 shareholders of Club Atlas US$50 million to acquire the club, which for years had been struggling financially.

2026 World Cup Bid

In September 2012, former Federación President Justino Compeán confirmed plans to bid. On 4 March 2016, Federación President Decio De Maria announced continued interest after the new

president

Gianni Infantino Giovanni Vincenzo Infantino (); (born 23 March 1970) is a Swiss-Italian Association football, football Administrator (business), administrator and the president of the FIFA, Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) since 26 Febr ...

was elected in the wake of the

Garcia Report The Garcia Report was an investigation produced by U.S. lawyer Michael J. Garcia into allegations of corruption in world football. On 17 July 2012, in the wake of announced anti-corruption reforms by Sepp Blatter, the president of the world ass ...

corruption scandal. In April 2017, the Federación, with

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

and the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, announced a joint bid to host the World Cup. It was awarded on 13 June 2018; 134 votes versus the

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

bid by the

Royal Moroccan Football Federation The Royal Moroccan Football Federation (; Tamazight: ⵜⴰⵙⴷⴰⵡⵉⵜ ⵜⴰⴳⵍⴷⴰⵏⵜ ⵜⴰⵎⵖⵔⴰⴱⵉⵜ ⵏ ⵜⵡⵊⴰ ⵏ ⵓⴹⴰⵔ) is the governing body of football in Morocco. It was established in 1956. It beca ...

with 65 votes. Mexico will host 10 matches,

3 matches, and the United States 60 matches in 10 cities including the final. The shortlist of match cities was selected in June 2022: Guadalajara,

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

, &

Monterrey Monterrey (, , abbreviated as MtY) is the capital and largest city of the northeastern Mexican state of Nuevo León. It is the ninth-largest city and the second largest metropolitan area, after Greater Mexico City. Located at the foothills of th ...

Presidents

Official Federation Defunct Federation

References

External links

*
Mexico
at FIFA.com (archived)
Mexico
at CONCACAF.com {{coord, 19.41779, -99.169887, region:MX_type:landmark, display=title

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

Football in Mexico

Football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

Organizations based in Mexico City Sports organizations established in 1927 Association football governing bodies in North America 1927 establishments in Mexico Sport in Mexico City