Ascenso MX
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(as Primera División "A" de México)
 | |
| Organising body | Federación Mexicana de Fútbol (FMF) |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1994 (as Primera División "A" de México) |
| Folded | 2020 |
| Country | Mexico |
| Confederation | CONCACAF |
| Number of clubs | 12 |
| Level on pyramid | 2 |
| Promotion to | Liga MX |
| Relegation to | Liga Premier |
| Domestic cup(s) | Copa MX (2012–2020) Campeón de Ascenso (1997–2019) |
| Last champions | Oaxaca (2nd title) |
| Most championships | Sinaloa León Irapuato Necaxa (4 titles each) |
| Website | ascensomx |
| Current: Apertura 2019 Ascenso MX season | |
Ascenso MX, officially named Ascenso BBVA MX for sponsorship reasons, was a professional association football league in Mexico and the second level of the Mexican football league system.[1] Formerly named Primera División "A" de México (1994–2009) and Liga de Ascenso de México (2009–2012). The season was divided into two short tournaments, according to FIFA world football calendar: Apertura (from July to December) and Clausura (from January to May). The champions of each tournament were decided by a final knockout phase, commonly known as liguilla. The clubs promoted to Liga MX were the winners of the Campeón de Ascenso between the two league champions of the season. The bottom club was relegated to Liga Premier.
The inaugural edition was the 1994–95 season, with Celaya as the first champions in history. The final edition was the Apertura 2019 tournament, with Oaxaca as the last champions. In all, forty-nine editions of the league were held.
Sinaloa, León, Irapuato and Necaxa were the most successful clubs with four titles each, followed by Querétaro with three titles. In all, twenty-seven clubs won the league at least once.
Primera División "A" de México (1994–2009)
In 1994, the FMF created the Primera División "A" as an intermediate league between the Primera División and Segunda División, to try to reduce the gap between the clubs in the top division and the lower divisions. The project was under the direction of José Antonio García Rodríguez, then president of the Primera División. He envisioned the new division to be joined by the best clubs of the Segunda División and include clubs from the United States, Los Angeles Salsa and San Jose Black Hawks expressed a desire to join. FIFA declined the integration but established a new league with the best Segunda División sides. The inaugural season had fifteen founding clubs: Atlético San Francisco, Atlético Yucatán, Caimanes de Tabasco, Celaya, Gallos Blancos UAQ, Gallos de Aguascalientes, Guerreros de Acapulco, Irapuato, La Piedad, Marte, Pachuca, San Luis, Tepic, Tijuana Stars and Zacatepec. In 2006, the number of clubs increased from 20 to 24, and geographically separated into two groups (A and B).
Liga de Ascenso de México (2009–2012)
In 2009, the division was renamed as Liga de Ascenso de México. The league was reduced to 17 clubs and the groups were eliminated in the regular phase. The Apertura 2010 had 18 participating clubs, the league was rebranded in 2012.[2] In 2013, Alebrijes de Oaxaca was the 16th club to join Ascenso MX, Alebrijes was partly formed by consolidating Segunda División side Tecamachalco which had won promotion to Ascenso MX in 2012, but did not fulfill infrastructural requirements set by the Mexican Football Federation. In August 2013, Zacatepec was promoted to Ascenso MX in place of relegated Pumas Morelos. [3] From 2011 to 2016, there was no relegation to Segunda División. On June 6, 2016, returned the relegation for the 2016–17 season. Loros UdeC and Murciélagos were relegated in the next two seasons. In 2018–19 season, Tampico Madero finished last in the relegation table, but remained in Ascenso MX after paying a bail.[4]
Ascenso MX (2012–2020)
In 2012, the league rebranded its name, logo and competition format as Ascenso MX, the clubs do not need the FMF certification to be promoted and the division no longer used format with groups in regular phase. On 13 April 2020, Liga MX and Ascenso MX President Enrique Bonilla announced the termination of the remainder of the Clausura 2020 season. Two reasons were the 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic and the league's lack of financial resources.[5] The Ascenso MX was replaced by the Liga de Expansión MX on 17 April 2020.
Stadiums and locations
| Club | City | Stadium | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Atlante | Cancún | Andrés Quintana Roo | 17,289 |
| Cafetaleros | Tuxtla Gutiérrez | Víctor Manuel Reyna | 29,001 |
| Celaya | Celaya | Miguel Alemán Valdés | 23,182 |
| UAT | Ciudad Victoria | Marte R. Gómez | 10,520 |
| UdeG | Guadalajara | Jalisco | 55,020 |
| Oaxaca | Oaxaca | Tecnológico de Oaxaca | 14,598 |
| Sinaloa | Culiacán | Dorados | 20,108 |
| Sonora | Hermosillo | Héroe de Nacozari | 18,747 |
| Tampico Madero | Tampico & Ciudad Madero | Tamaulipas | 19,667 |
| Venados | Mérida | Carlos Iturralde | 15,087 |
| Zacatecas | Zacatecas | Carlos Vega Villalba | 20,068 |
| Zacatepec | Zacatepec | Agustín "Coruco" Díaz | 24,313 |
Performances
- Notes
- Clubs currently in Liga MX.
- Clubs currently in Liga de Expansión MX.
- Clubs currently in Liga Premier.
- Defunct clubs.
Campeón de Ascenso
Campeón de Ascenso was the domestic Super cup of the division between the champions of the Apertura and Clausura tournaments, the two champions of each season.
The inaugural edition was held in 1997, with Tigres UANL as the first champions in history. The final edition was held in 2019, with Atlético San Luis as the last champions. In all, twenty-three editions of the trophy were held.
Sinaloa, Irapuato, Querétaro, Necaxa, La Piedad and San Luis were the most successful clubs with two titles each. In all, seventeen clubs won the trophy at least once.
Performances
| Rank | Club | Titles | Runners-up | Winning years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sinaloa | 2 | 2 | 2004, 2015 |
| Irapuato | 2 | 1 | 2000,1 2003 | |
| Querétaro | 2 | 1 | 2006, 2009 | |
| Necaxa | 2 | 1 | 2010,1 2016 | |
| La Piedad | 2 | 0 | 2001, 2013 | |
| San Luis | 2 | 0 | 2002, 2005 | |
| 7 | León | 1 | 3 | 2012 |
| Puebla | 1 | 1 | 2007 | |
| UANL | 1 | 0 | 19971 | |
| Pachuca | 1 | 0 | 1998 | |
| Unión de Curtidores | 1 | 0 | 1999 | |
| Indios de Ciudad Juárez | 1 | 0 | 2008 | |
| Tijuana | 1 | 0 | 2011 | |
| UdeG | 1 | 0 | 2014 | |
| BUAP | 1 | 0 | 2017 | |
| Cafetaleros de Tapachula | 1 | 0 | 2018 | |
| Atlético San Luis | 1 | 0 | 20191 | |
| 18 | Mérida/Atlético Yucatán | 0 | 2 | — |
| Tigrillos UANL | 0 | 1 | — | |
| Gallos de Aguascalientes | 0 | 1 | — | |
| Veracruz | 0 | 1 | — | |
| UAT | 0 | 1 | — | |
| Toros Neza | 0 | 1 | — | |
| Estudiantes Tecos | 0 | 1 | — | |
| Juárez | 0 | 1 | — | |
| Oaxaca | 0 | 1 | — |
- Notes
- Automatic winners of the trophy and promotion for winning both league tournaments of the season.
Sponsorship
BBVA México was the official main sponsor of the league, from its rebranding in 2012 until its abolition in 2019, hence it was officially known as Ascenso BBVA MX. The official ball of the league was manufactured by Voit.
Promotion and relegation
| Club | Promoted | Relegated |
|---|---|---|
| Irapuato | 2 (1999–00, 2002–03) | 1 (2005–06) |
| Pachuca | 2 (1995–96, 1997–98) | — |
| La Piedad | 2 (2000–01, 2012–132) | — |
| San Luis1 | 2 (2001–02, 2004–05) | — |
| Sinaloa | 2 (2014–15) | — |
| Querétaro | 2 (2005–06, 2008–09) | — |
| Necaxa | 2 (2009–10, 2015–16) | — |
| Tijuana | 1 (2010–11) | 1 (2007–08) |
| Celaya | 1 (1994–95) | — |
| UANL | 1 (1996–97) | — |
| Unión de Curtidores1 | 1 (1998–993) | — |
| Veracruz1 | 1 (2001–024) | — |
| Puebla | 1 (2006–07) | — |
| Indios de Ciudad Juárez1 | 1 (2007–08) | — |
| León | 1 (2011–12) | — |
| UdeG | 1 (2013–14) | — |
| BUAP1 | 1 (2016–17) | — |
| Atlético San Luis | 1 (2018–19) | — |
| Cafetaleros de Tapachula1 | 1 (2017–185) | — |
| Halcones de Querétaro1 | — | 2 (1999–00, 2000–01) |
| Jaguares de Tapachula1 | — | 2 (2003–04, 2008–09) |
| Caimanes de Tabasco1 | — | 1 (1994–95) |
| Coras1 | — | 1 (1995–96) |
| Inter de Tijuana1 | — | 1 (1996–97) |
| Marte1 | — | 1 (1997–98) |
| Atlético San Francisco | — | 1 (1998–99) |
| Gavilanes de Nuevo Laredo1 | — | 1 (2002–03) |
| Trotamundos de Tijuana1 | — | 1 (2003–04) |
| Altamira1 | — | 1 (2004–05) |
| Dorados de Tijuana1 | — | 1 (2005–06) |
| Monarcas Morelia "A"1 | — | 1 (2006–07) |
| Pumas Morelos1 | — | 1 (2012–13) |
| Zacatepec | — | 1 (2013–146) |
| UdeC1 | — | 1 (2016–17) |
| Murciélagos1 | — | 1 (2017–18) |
- Notes
- Defunct clubs.
- La Piedad was bought by Veracruz, taking its spot in top division.
- Unión de Curtidores was bought by Puebla, taking its spot in top division.
- Veracruz gained automatic promotion due to expansion in the Primera División.
- Cafetaleros de Tapachula did not obtain certification for promotion.
- Cruz Azul Hidalgo was bought by Zacatepec, taking its spot in Ascenso MX.
