Liga MX confirms plan for women's league

Jon Arnold

Liga MX confirms plan for women's league image

Liga MX will start a female division with play set to begin in 2017, the league announced Monday.

The league conducted its general meeting to decide the calendar for 2017 and also announced the new women's league. President Enrique Bonilla said the league will begin with a cup competition in the spring before the formal season begins in September.

"The female league is born from an FMF initive," Liga MX President Enrique Bonilla said. "We want to make a strong women's league to supply stars to the national teams."

Bonilla set out the regulations, saying each team will be made up of Under-23 players with at least four spots reserved for Under-17 players and two spots for players over 23. All told, rosters will have 21 spots, with two of those set out for goalkeepers. Foreign players will not be eligible to participate, though Bonilla said Mexican-Americans are welcome under FIFA regulations.

The league also announced modifications to the Copa MX format, a pilot program for the use of video in making officiating decisions and measures in place if Chiapas does not pay its players money they're owed.

Jon Arnold

Jon Arnold Photo

Jon Arnold covered the Mexico national team and Concacaf region in English for Goal until March 2020. His byline also has appeared in the Dallas Morning News, the New York Times Goal blog, FloFC and Pacific Standard. In addition to his written work, he serves as the Concacaf expert on the BBC's World Football Phone-In and has appeared on SiriusXMFC in English and Fox Deportes and Milenio in Spanish. Formerly based in Tijuana and currently living in Texas, Jon covered the 2018 World Cup, the 2015 Copa America, the 2016 Copa America Centenario and the last five Gold Cups.