Marlene Santos Alejo: Summary of the day

▲ Alberto Castellanos, a UdeG academic and Leones Negros team director, said that the CAS ruling, which calls for the reinstatement of promotion and relegation, "is a triumph." Photo @AlbCastellanos

L

the Expansion League and the Football fans are celebrating. Promotion and relegation must be reinstated for the 2026-27 season, according to a ruling by the CAS (Court of Arbitration for Sport). With a forced smile, the Mexican Football Federation and its supporters proclaim they won. They claim that the complainants Alberto Castellanos (UdeG), José Luis Higuera (Morelia), Giovanni Solazzi (Cancún), among others, lost. False! Those who wanted the return of promotion and relegation won. Enough with the hypocrisy! The federation dreamed of eliminating it forever, although they didn't say so as such, but they did with actions. They invented a list of impossible requirements and even changed the name of the Liga de Plata, formerly the Liga de Ascenso, naming it "the Expansion League" to kill their hopes, but they didn't succeed.

In the post-pandemic period, the federations strengthened their ties with American soccer, which has never been a charity, and forced the FMF to fulfill its contract with Soccer United Marketing (SUM); El Tri had to play all the matches delayed by the health crisis. But like a bull, the long-trousered Tricolors wanted more, yearning to blend in with MLS and dreaming of a grand binational league: the much-loved Leagues Cup , which has been anything but successful. Businessman and former soccer team owner Antonio García Rojas says that for the American League, "América is a team as small or modest as the Bravos are here," and it's not even as popular as a box office success, failing to fill Audi Field, where it lost a friendly match to DC United on Saturday.

The federations must comply... The same thing happened to them in 2001, when FIFA enacted new player transfer regulations, which granted more freedom to players, prohibited contracts of less than one year, and decided that, upon termination of employment agreements, players would be entitled to their transfers. Alberto de la Torre, then head of the FMF, screamed, declaring that they would seek alliances with leagues in other countries to form a united front and reject the provisions... a tantrum. They ended up throwing their hands up. Now, they have to digest this new setback, and, above all, if there is a booklet of charges or requirements, let it be for everyone, including those in the Liga MX.

A minimum annual budget of $30 million is required for those aspiring to promotion to the top league. Does Pumas have it, Santos has it...? When will the new owner of Gallos Blancos start investing? Because it's one thing for the owners to have that money, and another to actually use it and invest. TV Azteca has kept Puebla, Mazatlán, and its share of Atlas in the lurch, and has even had salary arrears with players from the Sinaloa team... While Cruz Azul doesn't have its own stadium, several teams in the Expansion League have better arenas and larger crowds, such as UdeG, Morelia, Irapuato... Everyone is on alert. Much remains to be seen.

Japan displayed an ineffective Tri , making no progress. In the technical area, Javier Vasco Aguirre was as uncomfortable as his players on the field, waving and making absurd complaints about a poorly executed throw-in… No one is safe from the demanding ones. On Saturday night in Oakland, Luis Ángel Malagón had a couple of serious stumbles with his feet; it's clear that's not his strong suit. César Montes should have fouled and been sent off because a Japanese forward got away from him… The Asians' speed proved poisonous. On Tuesday, they face South Korea, also already qualified for the World Cup, who defeated the United States.

It's certainly difficult, but we have to be grounded. In 2011, Brazilian Ronaldo Nazario announced his retirement and tearfully said, "It's my first death." Guillermo Ochoa, 40, is determined to experience a sixth World Cup. The former Portuguese AVS player is a free agent and desperately looking for a club, but not even Querétaro has shown interest. In Qatar 2022, Mexico was the second oldest team, with an average age of 28.5 years, and it has barely dropped. In the 2025 Gold Cup, they averaged 26.6 years, with Ochoa not getting any playing time. All of this highlights the lack of work in the youth system and the dislocation of certain key figures. Even Lionel Messi, 38, is already talking about retirement and has doubts about whether he'll make it to the 2026 World Cup, but Memo is holding on.