Tepatitlán F.C.

The people's team

Its beginnings were after a selection for Regional Tournament with the aim of reaching if they were victorious to the state championship. The Mission was appointed to Fausto Prieto, this team was called The People's Team.

Some names of players that appear in the years of 1944–1946 are: Luis Veles, Miguel Escoto "El Mugres", Andrés González "The different", Max Prieto, Goyo Franco, Gregorio Gómez, Enrique Estrada, Roberto Estrada "El Rocha", Elio Vázquez, Eleuterio Silva, "Tello Silva the face of a cock", Arnulfo de la Torre "El Casarín" and Rafael Martínez "El Piwe".

Championship Promotion Final 2017–18

On 19 May 2018, Tepatitlán was proclaimed champion of the 2017–18 season of Serie A de México after defeating Loros UdeC by penalty shootout in the promotion final. However, they were not promoted to Ascenso MX and were forced to remain in Serie A after the Mexican Football Federation ruled the club did not meet the necessary requirements.^[4]

1. 1. "We were 20 seconds away from being sad ... but we touched the back of the medal. And now only plan well what will be the next tournament and work as we have been doing with great enthusiasm to do something important and hopefully gave us a next championship to have the direct promotion," said Enrique López Zarza, a Reporter of the Premier League.

More information PROMOTION 2018 SQUAD, No. ...

PROMOTION 2018 SQUAD
No.	Pos.	Nac.	Judador
12	GK		Jesús Montoya
3	DF		Josué Soria
4	DF		Daniel Aguiñaga
5	DF		Javier Medina
23	DF		Jesús Ruiz
6	MF		Román Reynoso
7	MF		Moisés Ramos
8	MF		Antonio Torres
10	MF		Luis Rodríguez
14	MF		Agustín Ojeda
9	FW		Carlos López
25	GK		Cristian Orozco
2	DF		Abraham Chávez
13	DF		Eduardo Castello
77	DF		Oscar De La Mora
11	MF		Fabrizio Diaz
20	MF		Carlos Ponce
17	FW		Oscar Saavedra
1	GJ		Christian López
16	MF		Fernando Cedillo
60	MF		Mauricio Estrada
33	FW		Andrés Ríos
69	FW		Diego Medina
DT			Enrique López Zarza

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New era

On 15 June 2020, the team was renamed as Tepatitlán F.C. and adopted the nickname Alteños, with the aim of representing the entire region, Los Altos de Jalisco.^[5] in addition to a possible integration in the Liga de Expansión MX.^[6] On July 17, Tepatitlán F.C. was accepted at Liga de Expansión as an expansion team.^[7]

On 19 August 2020 the team debuted in the new category, Tepatitlán drew with Atlético Morelia 2–2. Mauricio López scored the club's first goal in the Liga de Expansión.^[8]

2021 Guardians Clausura Tournament Champion

For the Clausura 2021 tournament, the Alteña squad performed a regular tournament in which they finished in 6th. place of the general, already for the league he faced Dorados de Sinaloa, Cimarrones de Sonora and Mineros de Zacatecas.

On May 15, 2021, the team was proclaimed champion of the Liga de Expansión MX. Los Alteños won the title after drawing 2-2 as visitors against Atlético Morelia, the club claimed their 1–0 victory in the first leg and thus won the championship.^[9]

Champion of Champions 2020–21

A week later, on May 22, the team won its second title by winning the 2020–21 Champion of Champions of the Liga de Expansión MX after defeating Tampico Madero in a series of penalties. The Alteños tied at two goals on aggregate after winning 2–0 at home and leveling the series, finally, in the series from eleven steps, the club won 5–3.^[10]

Instability and owners change

During 2023 and 2024, the club's board began to question the continuity of Tepatitlán F.C. due to financial problems derived from off-field situations and the constant changes in the team's roster as a result of the age limitations of the Liga de Expansión players.^[11] In May 2024, the Tepatitlán board received an offer to purchase the franchise from the owners of C.D.S. Tampico Madero and moving to Tampico, Tamaulipas, a team that was active in the Segunda División de México and sought to ensure its return to the second tier in any way, a purchase agreement was not reached, so the team was not ready to change its name or location.^[12]

On July 12, 2024, Tampico Madero was promoted to Liga de Expansión by invitation, however, the Tepatitlán franchise was purchased by the owners of Racing de Veracruz, a team that plays in the Liga Premier – Serie A. With the purchase, the new owners of Tepatitlán planned to move the team to the city of Veracruz, Veracruz for the 2025–26 season.^[13] However, in February 2025, the board announced that the team would remain in Tepatitlán due to the limited chances of receiving the Liga de Expansión approval for the team's relocation to Veracruz.^[14]

On the other hand, due to the operational instability of Tepatitlán F.C. and with the aim of ensuring the continuity of professional football in the city, a group of local businessmen bought the club Acatlán F.C. from Zapotlanejo, Jalisco, a team that plays in the Liga Premier – Serie A.^[15] The owners of Acatlán attempted to move the team to Tepatitlán, however, the management of Tepatitlán F.C. did not grant permission to do so.^[16] Finally, in October 2024 Acatlán was established in Arandas, Jalisco, after receiving support from the city council, so the project to create an alternative team for Tepatitlán was abandoned.^[17]

In June 2025, Racing Sports Holding sold the team to businessman Gustavo García, owner of a motorsports company, thereby ending the existing alliance between Tepatitlán F.C. and Racing de Veracruz, in addition to ending the option of relocating the team to that city.^[2]

2026 Clausura Tournament Champion

For the Clausura 2026 tournament, the Alteño squad achieved the objective set by Gabriel Pereyra, establishing themselves as a standout team during the regular season and finishing at the top of the overall standings; in the playoffs, they faced the newly promoted Atlante F.C. and Mineros de Zacatecas.[27]

On May 16, 2026, the team was crowned champion of the Liga de Expansión MX. The Alteños secured the title after a 0-0 draw away against Tampico Madero, ultimately capitalizing on their 1-0 home victory—achieved via a goal from Omar Islas at the Tepa Gómez stadium—to clinch the championship.

On May 30, the team secured its second Champion of Champions 2025-26 title after defeating the same opponent they had faced for the 2026 Clausura title Tampico Madero in a match decided by a penalty shootout, just like the 2020–21 edition.

Playing away, Los Alteños drew 5–5 on aggregate; this followed a 3–1 victory—featuring a hat-trick by William Guzmán in the first leg at Tepa Gómez. In the ensuing penalty shootout, the club prevailed 4–3, thanks to two remarkable saves by goalkeeper Gustavo Gutiérrez.^[18]

Current squad

As of 15 August 2026^[19]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

More information No., Pos. ...

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  MEX Alain Estrada 2 DF  MEX Gerardo Sánchez 3 DF  MEX Israel Alafi 4 DF  MEX Ricardo Alonso 5 MF  MEX Dieter Villalpando 6 DF  USA Gabriel Báez 7 MF  MEX Erick Ruiz 8 MF  MEX Leonardo Bolaños 9 FW  COL Luis Páez 10 MF  MEX Hugo Vázquez 11 MF  MEX Gustavo Olvera 12 DF  MEX Salvador Rodríguez 13 DF  MEX Neri Martínez 14 DF  MEX Jorge Ríos 15 DF  MEX Jorge Cervantes 16 DF  MEX Hassan Aguilar 17 FW  MEX Samuel González 18 MF  MEX Edson Martínez

No. Pos. Nation Player 19 DF  MEX Said Castañeda 20 MF  MEX Edyairth Ortega 21 DF  MEX Marco Zavala 22 MF  CHI Fernando Sanguinetti (on loan from Universidad de Chile) 23 FW  MEX Jesús Godínez 24 DF  MEX Víctor Hernández 25 MF  MEX Arath Moreno 26 MF  MEX José Carlos García 27 MF  BLZ Horace Ávila 28 DF  MEX Marco López 29 MF  MEX Raúl Ruiz 30 GK  MEX Arturo Gatica 31 DF  MEX Bryan Casas 32 MF  PAR Thobías Arévalo 33 MF  MEX Esteban Alcántar 34 MF  MEX Jesús Henestrosa 35 GK  MEX Diego Rodríguez

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Coaching staff

More information Position, Staff ...

Position	Staff
Manager	Daniel Bartolotta
Assistant managers	Ángel Rodríguez Gustavo Olvera
Fitness coach	Vacant
Goalkeeper coach	Vacant
Physiotherapist	José Vera
Team doctors	Jesús Salcedo José González

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Tepatitlán F.C. "B" (Liga TDP)

Reserve team that plays in the Liga TDP, the fourth level of the Mexican league system.

The Classic Alteño

The club has a local rivalry C.D. Aves Blancas, another team from Tepatitlán de Morelos, Jalisco. Matches between Tepatitlán and the Aves Blancas are known as the "Clásico Alteño", and are regarded as a notable football rivalry within the city.

The sporting rivalry of both clubs is manifested through the numerous confrontations that throughout history, both in corresponding official matches of the Third Division; for several years it was the highest category for the city, hence a rivalry against the town's team was generated; in addition to state tournaments and local league.

Alteños Acatic F.C.

Reserve team that plays in the Liga TDP, the fourth level of the Mexican league system.

Domestic