Alberto Aceves
La Jornada Newspaper
Tuesday, December 19, 2023, p. a10
Mikel Arriola, president of Liga Mx, prepares the last Owners’ Assembly of this year with more hard data and numerical trends than probable measures of change. On the list of pending issues is still the discussion about the return of promotion and relegation, in addition to the merger of the U-20 category with the second division to give way to a U-23 tournament in Expansión.
There will be a lot of unity from all the teams. I don’t want to get ahead of myself, but we are not going to modify the rules, says the manager while the Mexican Soccer Federation, in Toluca, begins preparations to receive today the highest-ranking managers in the professional circuit.
“In sports, we closed a tournament with three goals per game, over 58 minutes of effective time and with a very strong women’s category, which broke its records again in rating. Almost 9 million people watched the matches on open television. In Expansión, in addition, there were 27 debuts that reached first, for that we are working on a development league. The balance is positive,” adds Arriola without clarifying the proposals that are on the table for the following season.
In terms of security in stadiums, the FanID system already has more than 2 million official records. Likewise, the number of public security personnel doubled this season with the collaboration of the clubs, but despite this the images of violence persisted.
The quarrels
On the first date of the Liga Mx, Xolos and Pumas fans got into a fight that lasted several minutes and led to the intervention of the Tijuana authorities, according to videos released on social networks.
Another much more recent case occurred in the quarterfinals between América and León, in the upper area of the south end of the Azteca stadium, with fans of both teams unleashing attacks.
It’s a big challenge. We have already established a zero tolerance policy and, if there is any incident in the stands, it has to be quelled. Today we surpass 2 million FanID records, that is a step forward because the League already has the ability to know its fans. Violent people do not usually give their identity. It is an issue that we must continue working on, but in the second leg final between América and Tigres we were able to open the doors earlier so that at 6:30 p.m. we already had 80 percent of the capacity and much more order. These are things in which we must advance, Arriola explains.
Among the initiatives of owners and managers that have emerged is the possibility of increasing the 2024-25 season to 20 participants, with two guests from the Expansion League.
In addition, clubs that belong to the same owner such as Pachuca, León, Atlas, Santos, Xolos and Querétaro could be acquired by an organization in the silver category to promote by purchasing their place. The future sale of Gallos is one of the most advanced.
2023-12-19 08:47:19
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