Liga MXA Independiente is a Mexican semi-professional football league. Established in 2013, it began as a local league in Fresnillo, Zacatecas, before growing into a nationwide competition with multiple divisions. It is not affiliated with the Mexican Football Federation, but rather the Mexican Semiprofessional Football Federation.[1]
Liga MX Independiente has served both as a hotbed for developing young talent and as a destination for retired professional footballers. It also runs a women's league and an under-19 league.
The Liga de Fútbol MXA Independiente was created in 2013 in Fresnillo, Zacatecas, and originally operated at the municipal level.[2] It then grew to the state level; at one point, there were teams based in 54 out of the 58 municipalities of Zacatecas.[2] The league started adding teams from neighboring states soon thereafter until eventually becoming a national competition.[2] As of 2018, there were teams in 32 states.[2]
In 2021, Liga MXA Independiente created a new first-tier league called the Liga Élite, which was aimed more towards professionalism.[3][4] Eight teams were chosen based on their "structure and economic solvency", with two spots reserved for the champions in the top two tiers of the Liga MXA's existing league structure.[3] The teams were Carranzos, Estudiantes de Morelia, Fundición Santa Rosa, Jaguares de Saltillo, Metropolitan Monterrey, Nicolás Romero, Obson Dynamo, and Ostioneros de Guaymas.[5]
In January 2022, Gregorio Cruz Martínez, the municipal presidentofAxtla de Terrazas, made an appearance as one of three designated overage players on the CPTIF GP Axtla under-21 squad.[6]
As of 2018, 40-minute halves are played and five substitutions were allowed.[7] A liguilla (Spanish for "little league") playoff tournament is played at the end of the season.
