Primera Premier is a professional association football league in Mexico, part of the Liga Premier as the major subdivision in the third level of the Mexican football league system. The league is contested by 18 participating clubs with the best economic and sporting infrastucture, divided into two groups by geographic location (each group with 9 clubs). The champions are decided by a final knockout phase. The winners of Primera Premier are crowned Liga Premier champions and aspire for promotion to Liga de Expansión MX, if they meet all infrastucture and economic stability requirements.
History In the summer of 2026, the media began reporting that the Liga Premier and the Mexican Football Federation were planning to create a new branch of the league for clubs with the best conditions to qualify for promotion to the Liga de Expansión MX, because, in previous editions of Serie A de México, it had become common for the division's champions to be unable to win promotion due to a failure to meet the requirements for the second tier; this resulted in the promotion of the respective seasons' runners-up, who lacked the sporting merit typically required for promotion, thereby necessitating a reform to ensure that only teams meeting the necessary criteria could be promoted.
The new major subdivision of the Liga Premier was created on 1 August, 2026, with 18 founding clubs: Atlético Celaya, Chapulineros de Oaxaca, Cordobés, Deportiva Venados, Inter Playa del Carmen, Irapuato, Jaguares, La Piedad, Lobos ULMX, Los Cabos United, Montañeses, Pioneros de Cancún, Purépechas, Racing de Veracruz, Tapachula Soconusco, Tigres de Álica, Tritones Vallarta and Zacatepec.
Stadiums and locations 2026–27 season The 2026–27 Primera Premier season has the following 18 participating clubs.
Group 1 ClubManagerCityStadiumCapacityCordobés Alejandro EstradaCuautitlánLos Pinos 5,000Irapuato Luis AlmadaIrapuatoSergio León Chávez25,000La Piedad Gastón ObledoLa PiedadJuan N. López13,356Lobos ULMX Wilder MosqueraCelayaMiguel Alemán Valdés23,182 Edson AlvaradoLos CabosComplejo Don Koll3,500Purépechas Efrén GalvánMoreliaVenustiano Carranza17,600Tigres de Álica Irving RubirosaTepicNicolás Álvarez Ortega12,495Tritones Vallarta Ricardo JiménezPuerto VallartaClub Deportivo Curiel1,000Zacatepec Rowan VargasXochitepecMariano Matamoros16,000
Group 2 ClubManagerCityStadiumCapacityAtlético Celaya Luis Fernando SotoCelayaMiguel Alemán Valdés23,182Chapulineros de Oaxaca Carlos AyalaSan Jerónimo TlacochahuayaIndependiente MRCI6,000Deportiva Venados Alfredo García SalmonesTamanchéAlonso Diego Molina2,500Inter Playa del Carmen José Luis TrejoPlaya del CarmenUnidad Deportiva Mario Villanueva Madrid7,500Jaguares Jorge EspejoTuxtla GutiérrezVíctor Manuel Reyna29,001Montañeses Víctor MedinaOrizabaSocum7,000Pioneros de Cancún Gerardo CastilloCancúnCancún 866,390 Racing de Veracruz Héctor AltamiranoSan Juan Bautista TuxtepecGustavo Pacheco Villaseñor15,000Tapachula Diego Mazariegos TapachulaOlímpico de Tapachula18,017
Offseason changes On 27 June 2026, Irapuato returned to the Liga Premier after a year in the Liga de Expansión, as the club was forced to start a new project following the conflict between the civil association that owns the name and brand rights and the company that owned the club between 2023 and 2026. On 23 July 2026, Celaya F.C. was dissolved to grant its franchise in the Liga Premier to the refounding of Atlético Celaya. On 1 August 2026, Atlético Celaya, Chapulineros de Oaxaca, Cordobés, Deportiva Venados, Inter Playa del Carmen, Jaguares, La Piedad, Lobos ULMX, Los Cabos United, Montañeses, Pioneros de Cancún, Racing de Veracruz, Tapachula, Tigres de Álica, Tritones Vallarta and Zacatepec were promoted from Liga Premier A as the teams in that branch have the best conditions to qualify for promotion to Liga de Expansión MX. On 10 August 2026, H2O Purépechas joined the league taking the place of Halcones F.C., which had been announced as a founding club of the league. On 27 August the team was renamed Purépechas F.C. On 14 August 2026, Racing de Veracruz was relocated from Boca del Río, Veracruz to San Juan Bautista Tuxtepec, Oaxaca because the club was left without a stadium in Veracruz following the closure of the Unidad Deportiva Hugo Sánchez in February 2026. On 18 August 2026, Tritones Vallarta was temporarily relocated to La Piedad, Michoacán, due to the construction of its new stadium in Puerto Vallarta.
See also Sport in Mexico Football in Mexico Mexican football league system Mexican Football Federation Liga Premier Liga Premier A Liga Premier B Copa Conecta Copa Promesas MX
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