Overview

• The Court of Arbitration for Sport on Sept. 4 rejected a bid by six Liga de Expansión clubs for the immediate return of promotion and relegation.
• The panel concluded the Mexican Football Federation had always set the suspension to run until the end of 2025–26 and had made that intention clear to clubs.
• Ten clubs filed the appeal in May 2025, with four later withdrawing, leaving Atlético La Paz, Atlético Morelia, Cancún, Mineros de Zacatecas, Venados and Leones Negros to proceed.
• Promotion and relegation were halted in 2019 for six seasons as part of a pandemic-era arrangement that kept Liga MX at 18 teams.
• Future format, requirements and timing for restoring promotion remain unsettled, with ESPN reporting—without confirmation—that details could point to a 2026 return and possible expansion to 20 teams.