Is Mexico’s soccer league a monopoly? Antitrust officials are looking to find out

The National Antitrust Commission (CNA) has unilaterally opened an investigation into Liga MX, Mexico’s top professional soccer league and a massive cultural touchstone that captures the country’s passion for the sport.

An internal CNA document says the investigation aims to identify “the possible commission of relative monopolistic practices in the market of ‘affiliation, organization and access’ to professional federated football competitions in Mexico, as well as similar or related services.”

⚽ ¿Cómo investigamos el funcionamiento de un mercado?
José Manuel Haro Zepeda, titular de nuestra Autoridad Investigadora, explicó en @MVSNoticias las herramientas con las que contamos para analizar la organización y acceso a competiciones de fútbol profesional en México. pic.twitter.com/r2qgofrR9M

— Comisión Nacional Antimonopolio (@AntimonopolioMX) September 15, 2026

In short, the CNA wants to know if a small group is violating the Federal Law of Economic Competition by unfairly controlling who can join, who can compete and how tournaments are organized, to the exclusion of other interested parties.

“After analyzing the events that occurred in recent months, the Investigating Authority determined that it has sufficient evidence to formally open an investigation on its own initiative for possible monopolistic practices in the professional soccer market in Mexico,” the CNA said in a public report.

The recent events referred to are likely related to a Liga MX decision in July to scrap promotion/relegation between the top-flight Mexican soccer league and the second-tier Liga Expansión. Liga MX also announced the end to payouts to the second-tier sides.

Promotion and relegation were scrapped in 2020 to insulate the clubs from the financial impacts of lost revenue during the enforced lockdown ordered due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Liga Expansión officials fiercely disputed the decision, even filing a suit with the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which ruled that the 2026-27 campaign was the earliest point at which promotion/relegation ought to be reinstituted.

Critics have also identified the league’s policy regarding possession of television broadcasting rights by teams as a monopolistic practice.

The commission has sought to make clear that there are no defendants identified as yet and it hasn’t been determined exactly who will be investigated. Instead, the probe will simply review whether competition law is being followed.

The investigation can last up to 120 business days, but can be extended up to three times longer if necessary. During that time, the CNA can request documents, visit offices, summon people to testify and conduct inspections.

If guilt is determined, the Liga MX and its member teams could face a penalty of up to 10% of their annual income and would be required to correct any monopolistic practices detected.

With reports from ESPN, El Economista, El Universal and SportCa