Ascenso MX, officially as Ascenso BBVA MX for sponsorship reasons, was a professional association football league in Mexico and the second level of the Mexican football league system. Formerly known as Primera División "A" de México (1994–2009) and Liga de Ascenso de México (2009–2012). The season was divided into two tournaments: Apertura (from July to December) and Clausura (from January to May). The champions of each tournament were decided by a final knockout phase, commonly known as Liguilla.
The league was held 50 editions. The inaugural edition was the 1994–95 season, with Atlético Celaya crowned as the first champions. The final edition was the Clausura 2020 tournament, which was declared unfinished due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The clubs promoted to Liga MX were the winners of the Campeón de Ascenso between the two champions of the season. The bottom club was relegated to Liga Premier.
Twenty-seven clubs won the title at least once. Dorados de Sinaloa, León, Irapuato and Necaxa were the most successful clubs with four titles each, Querétaro with three titles.
History Primera División "A" de México (1994–2009) In 1994, the FMF created the Primera División "A" as an intermediate league between the Primera División and Segunda División, to try to reduce the gap between the clubs in the top division and the lower divisions. The project was under the direction of José Antonio García Rodríguez, then president of the Primera División. He envisioned the new division to be joined by the best clubs of the Segunda División and include clubs from the United States, Los Angeles Salsa and San Jose Black Hawks expressed a desire to join. FIFA declined the integration but established a new league with the best Segunda División sides. The inaugural season had fifteen founding clubs: Atlético Celaya, Atlético San Francisco, Atlético Yucatán, Caimanes de Tabasco, Gallos Blancos UAQ, Gallos de Aguascalientes, Guerreros de Acapulco, Irapuato, La Piedad, Marte, Pachuca, San Luis, Tepic, Tijuana Stars and Zacatepec. In 2006, the number of clubs increased from 20 to 24, and geographically separated into two groups (A and B).
Liga de Ascenso de México (2009–2012) In 2009, the division was renamed as Liga de Ascenso de México. The league was reduced to 17 clubs and the groups were eliminated in the regular phase. The Apertura 2010 had 18 participating clubs, the league was rebranded in 2012. In 2013, Alebrijes de Oaxaca was the 16th club to join Ascenso MX, Alebrijes was partly formed by consolidating Segunda División side Tecamachalco which had won promotion to Ascenso MX in 2012, but did not fulfill infrastructural requirements set by the Mexican Football Federation. In August 2013, Zacatepec was promoted to Ascenso MX in place of relegated Pumas Morelos. From 2011 to 2016, there was no relegation to Segunda División. On June 6, 2016, returned the relegation for the 2016–17 season. Loros UdeC and Murciélagos were relegated in the next two seasons. In 2018–19 season, Tampico Madero finished last in the relegation table, but remained in Ascenso MX after paying a bail.
Ascenso MX (2012–2020) In 2012, the league rebranded its name, logo and competition format as Ascenso MX, the clubs do not need the FMF certification to be promoted and the division no longer used format with groups in regular phase. On 13 April 2020, Liga MX and Ascenso MX President Enrique Bonilla announced the termination of the remainder of the Clausura 2020 season. Two reasons were the 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic and the league's lack of financial resources. The Ascenso MX was replaced by the Liga de Expansión MX on 17 April 2020.
Stadiums and locations
ClubCityStadiumCapacityAlebrijes de OaxacaOaxacaTecnológico de Oaxaca14,598AtlanteCancúnAndrés Quintana Roo17,289CafetalerosTuxtla Gutiérrez Víctor Manuel Reyna 29,001CelayaCelayaMiguel Alemán Valdés23,182HermosilloHéroe de Nacozari18,747Correcaminos UATCiudad VictoriaMarte R. Gómez10,520Dorados de SinaloaCuliacánDorados20,108Leones Negros UdeGGuadalajaraJalisco55,020Mineros de ZacatecasZacatecasCarlos Vega Villalba20,068Tampico MaderoTampico & Tamaulipas19,667VenadosMéridaCarlos Iturralde15,087ZacatepecZacatepecAgustín "Coruco" Díaz24,313
Performances
RankClubTitlesWinning years1Dorados de Sinaloa46, Cla–2007, Cla–2015, Ape–2016 León43Cla–2003, Cla–2004, Cla–2008, Cla–2012Irapuato42Inv–1999, Ver–2000, Ape–2002, Cla–2011Necaxa42Ape–2009, Bic–2010, Ape–2014, Cla–20165Querétaro30Cla–2005, Cla–2006, Ape–20086La Piedad23Ver–2001, Ape–2012Pachuca211995–96, Inv–1997San Luis21Ver–2002, Ape–2004Atlético San Luis21Ape–2018, Cla–2019Tigres UANL20Inv–1996, Ver–1997Atlético Yucatán/Mérida20Inv–1998, Cla–2009Puebla20Ape–2005, Ape–2006Alebrijes de Oaxaca20Ape–2017, Ape–201914Tijuana12Ape–2010Correcaminos UAT12Ape–2011Juárez12Ape–2015Tigrillos UANL11Ver–1998Veracruz11Inv–2001Indios de Ciudad Juárez11Ape–200711Ape–201311Cla–2013Lobos BUAP1 1Cla–2017Atlético Celaya101994–95Unión de Curtidores10Ver–1999Gallos de Aguascalientes10Inv–2000Estudiantes Tecos10Cla–2013Cafetaleros10Cla–201828Cruz Azul Hidalgo03—Zacatepec03—Atlante02—Coras01—Salamanca01—Atlético Hidalgo01—Atlético Mexiquense01—Chivas Tijuana01—Cobras de Juárez01—Gallos Blancos de Hermosillo01—Real Sociedad de Zacatecas01—Tapatío01— Notes Currently in Liga MX. Currently in Liga de Expansión MX. Currently in Liga Premier. Currently on hiatus. Defunct.
Campeón de Ascenso Campeón de Ascenso was a domestic super cup contested by two clubs: the Ascenso MX champions of the Apertura and Clausura tournaments.
The trophy was held 23 editions. The inaugural edition was contested in 1997, with Tigres UANL crowned as the first champions. The final edition was contested in 2019, with Atlético San Luis crowned as the last champions.
Seventeen clubs won the title at least once. Dorados de Sinaloa, Irapuato, Querétaro, Necaxa, La Piedad and San Luis were the most successful clubs with two titles each.
Performances RankClub TitlesWinning years1Dorados de Sinaloa222004, 2015Irapuato212000, 2003Querétaro212006, 2009Necaxa212010, 2016La Piedad202001, 2013San Luis202002, 20057León132012Puebla112007Tigres UANL101997Pachuca101998Unión de Curtidores101999Indios de Ciudad Juárez102008Tijuana102011102014Lobos BUAP102017Cafetaleros102018Atlético San Luis10201918Atlético Yucatán/Mérida02—Tigrillos UANL01—Gallos de Aguascalientes01—Veracruz01—Correcaminos UAT01—Toros Neza01—Estudiantes Tecos01—Juárez01—Alebrijes de Oaxaca01— Notes Automatic winners of the trophy and promotion for winning both league tournaments of the season.
Sponsorship
BBVA México was the official main sponsor of the league, from its rebranding in 2012 until its abolition in 2019, hence it was officially known as Ascenso BBVA MX. The official ball of the league was manufactured by Voit.
Promotion and relegation ClubPromotedRelegatedIrapuato2(1999–00, 2002–03)1(2005–06)Pachuca2(1995–96, 1997–98)—La Piedad2(2000–01, 2012–13)—San Luis2(2001–02, 2004–05)—Dorados de Sinaloa2(2014–15)—Querétaro2(2005–06, 2008–09)—Necaxa2(2009–10, 2015–16)—Tijuana1(2010–11)1(2007–08)Atlético Celaya1(1994–95)—Tigres UANL1(1996–97)—Unión de Curtidores1(1998–99)—Veracruz1(2001–02)—Puebla1(2006–07)—Indios de Ciudad Juárez1(2007–08)—León1(2011–12)—1(2013–14)—Lobos BUAP1(2016–17)—Atlético San Luis1(2018–19)—Cafetaleros1(2017–18)—Halcones de Querétaro—2(1999–00, 2000–01)Jaguares de Tapachula—2(2003–04, 2008–09)Caimanes de Tabasco—1(1994–95)Coras—1(1995–96)Inter de Tijuana—1(1996–97)Marte—1(1997–98)Atlético San Francisco—1(1998–99)Gavilanes de Nuevo Laredo—1(2002–03)Trotamundos de Tijuana—1(2003–04)Altamira—1(2004–05)Dorados de Tijuana—1(2005–06)Morelia A—1(2006–07)Pumas Morelos—1(2012–13)Zacatepec—1(2013–14)Loros UdeC—1(2016–17)Murciélagos—1(2017–18)
Player records Top goalscorers SeasonPlayerClubGoals1994–95Marco de AlmeidaMarte151995–96Lorenzo SáezPachuca30Inv–1996Nílson Esidio MoraTigres UANL11Ver–1997Ángel LemusCarlos PavónIrapuato12Inv–1997Niver ArboledaZacatepec17Ver–1998Daniel FasciolliCarlos MoralesValtencir GomesCorrecaminos UATPachucaTigrillos UANL12Inv–1998Cristián Ariel MoralesIrapuato19Ver–1999Ángel LemusSan Luis16Inv–1999Cristián Ariel MoralesIrapuato17Ver–2000Carlos MuñozLobos BUAP15Inv–2000Christian PatiñoLa Piedad16Ver–2001Héctor GiménezGallos de Aguascalientes16Inv–2001Héctor ÁlvarezTampico Madero16Ver–2002Ariel GonzálezQuerétaro15Héctor ÁlvarezZacatepec23Cla–2003Héctor ÁlvarezZacatepec16Ape–2003Héctor ÁlvarezLeón17Cla–2004Mauro GerkFrancisco BravoCelayaZacatepec18Ape–2004Ariel GonzálezSan Luis16Cla–2005Rubén Darío GigenaCruz Azul Hidalgo17Ape–2005Mauricio RomeroCoyotes de Sonora16Cla–2006Diego OlsinaDelfines de Coatzacoalcos15Ape–2006Álvaro GonzálezPuebla14Cla–2007Álvaro GonzálezPuebla16Ape–2007Mauricio RomeroLeón14Cla–2008Freddy BareiroLeón17Ape–2008Mauro GerkRaúl EnríquezQuerétaroTijuana14Cla–2009Sebastián MazDorados de Sinaloa15Ape–2009Ariel GonzálezIrapuato11Bic–2010Ariel GonzálezCarlos CasartelliIrapuatoLeón11Ape–2010Eder PachecoAlacranes de Durango13Cla–2011Blas PérezLeón14Ape–2011Nicolás SaucedoCorrecaminos UAT11Cla–2012Sebastián MazLeón13Ape–2012Víctor LojeroRodrigo PrietoNecaxaToros Neza11Cla–2013Víctor LojeroNecaxa12Ape–2013Gustavo RamírezAlebrijes de Oaxaca11Cla–2014Roberto NurseCorrecaminos UAT12Ape–2014Diego JiménezGiancarlo MaldonadoLobos BUAPAtlante10Cla–2015Roberto NurseLeandro CarrijóDorados de SinaloaAtlético San Luis10Ape–2015Carlos GarcésAtlante10Cla–2016Ismael ValadézCafetaleros10Ape–2016Roberto NurseMineros de Zacatecas16Cla–2017Diego JiménezLobos BUAP10Ape–2017Luis MadrigalAlebrijes de Oaxaca12Cla–2018Guillermo MartínezMineros de Zacatecas11Ape–2018Nicolás IbáñezRoberto NurseAtlético San LuisMineros de Zacatecas8Cla–2019Nicolás IbáñezAtlético San Luis11Ape–2019Víctor MañónLoros UdeC8
See also Sport in Mexico Football in Mexico Mexican football league system Mexican Football Federation Liga MX Liga de Expansión MX Liga Premier Liga TDP
Notes
References
External links Official website