Liga MX shake-up: Monarcas out, Mazatlán FC in
Michoacán reluctantly bids adios to 70 years of soccer history.
When the Liga MX resumes play in mid-July, they’ll do so without the Monarcas of Morelia. On June 2, league officials confirmed the club’s move to Mazatlán, Sinaloa, causing consternation across the state of Michoacán.
The owners of the franchise are required to pay 400 million pesos to make the move and the club will play in a new stadium that is nearing completion. The 22,000-seat stadium cost 460 million pesos and was built by – and is owned by – the state of Sinaloa.
Mazatlán FC must now go about filling out its roster – 11 players on the Monarcas roster are now out of contract – and it is expected to present the team colors and uniform in the coming days.
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Loyal Monarcas fans – including former President Felipe Calderón – expressed dismay at the loss of their team. “It is sad that a team with so much tradition and such a loyal fan base can simply disappear,” Calderón tweeted. “This hurts.”
Michoacán’s College of Economics calculated that the loss of the team will cost the state 4.5 billion pesos in annual revenues and result in the loss of 9,000 jobs.
The new franchise will also have to field a women’s team in Liga MX Femenil and will have to establish a youth academy, as required by league bylaws. Members of the women’s team expressed concerns about the move because they had not been contacted by the new ownership group as of June 1.
Monarcas goalie Diana García – a native of Michoacán – told Milenio newspaper that many of the players on the team are upset that they have been kept out of the loop. “We feel discriminated against and the sense of uncertainty about our future is disappointing,” she said.
Most of the players on Monarcas femenil are out of contract as of the end of May, but they have been reluctant to speak out for fear it will hurt their chances of being signed by Mazatlán FC.
In addition to García, 20 of her 26 teammates are natives of Michoacán. This is important, García says, because considering the wages female soccer players are paid, it would be difficult for these women to move, and live in, a new city, especially a tourist locale with a higher cost of living.
“I’ve been part of the Monarcas since the beginning (in 2017),” García said, but here I live with my family. “So I will have to consider looking for another team, probably one that is not located in a tourist attraction.”
Liga MX returns to Sinaloa
On the men’s side, former Pumas and Lobos BUAP coach Francisco Palencia will take over for Pablo Guede whose contract expired at the end of May. Guede led Morelia to a surprise appearance in the semifinals during the Apertura 2019 season, eliminating No. 2 seed León in the first round of the playoffs. The Monarcas were in ninth place – one spot out of the playoffs – when the Clausura 2020 was canceled.
The new team becomes the second Sinaloa-based club in Liga MX, following in the wake of the Dorados of Sinaloa who last played in the top tier of Mexican soccer from 2015 to 2016. The Dorados – now in second division – earlier won promotion from Ascenso MX in the summer of 2004 but were relegated two years later. Pep Guardiola played on that team.
The Monarcas franchise was founded in 1950 and won promotion to the top division in 1957. The Monarcas suffered relegation after the 1967-68 season and finally returned to first division football in 1981.
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Morelia won its only Liga MX trophy in 2000 when current Chivas coach Luis Fernando Tena led the Monarcas to the Invierno 2000 title by defeating defending champion Toluca in a penalty shoot-out.