An impressive growth spurt. In just seven years, the Liga Mx Femenil – understand the Mexican women’s football championship – has managed to attract some of the best players on the planet. Five Spanish world champions are playing there (Jenni Hermoso, Irene Guerrero, Lucia Garcia Cordoba, Andrea Pereira and Sandra Panos), as are the French Aurélie Kaci, Sarah Huchet, and the very young Celia Bensalem (19 years old), joined in Toluca this season by Amandine Henry.
“Amandine loved playing in the United States, but she wanted to discover a new championship before hang up, slipped Sonia Souid, the advisor of the French player in The Team on September 11. Amandine wants to become a manager, she is aware of the importance of speaking several languages.” The Frenchwoman experienced her first defeat in her fourth match, and has scored one goal so far, while her team is in 11th position in the standings.
“Amandine Henry does not come here by chanceconfirms the president of the Mexican League, Mariana Gutiérrez. Here, it all starts with a vision. We knew that we had great potential, because we have a strategic plan, and above all a huge desire to develop women’s football, which is considered a big business. “It’s a huge opportunity, in a country that breathes, eats and lives football all day.”
Words supported by eloquent figures this season. After the 10th day of the opening tournament, the women’s championship was followed by 5.75 million viewers on free, pay and streaming channels, an increase of 25% compared to the closing tournament of the championship last year . In the stadiums, for this same 2024 final tournament, 5.4 million people went to the Mexican venues.
Several times during the year, the players play in front of more than 50,000 people, a popular success which does not leave the players indifferent: “The public is Club América’s best player. Without them we wouldn’t be such a great team.”said Mexican international Monica Rodriguez, before joining Juarez this season. If the women’s league can boast of such audiences, it is because it benefits from already existing infrastructure.
“We play in all the big stadiums. It’s a privilege, because all the men’s clubs had the obligation to create a women’s club. This allowed us to take advantage of all the structures and communication strategies that existed. “
Mariana Gutiérrez, president of Liga Mx Femenilat franceinfo: sport
Beyond “one of the most beautiful countries” sold by Mariana Gutiérrez, the Mexican women’s league wants to “a very relevant project for the players”thanks to the infrastructure, notably the same stadiums as for the men, but also to “the mentality of club owners, determined to create a destination league, and especially not an export league.”
A strategy that works, as evidenced by the arrival this summer of a Brazilian gem. “Priscila Flor da Silva has become Brazil’s most expensive transfer for a player. She was magical both at the Under-20 World Cup [3 buts] and during the Olympic Gamesenthuses the president of the Liga Mx Femenil. We have become a very important destination to compete with the United States.” Sponsors see it as a real opportunity, like Nike, which signed last year “a three-year agreement with Liga BBVA MX Femenil, to become the exclusive sports partner of a league that has experienced spectacular growth.”
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However, when the Women’s League was created in 2017, it took time to gain attractiveness. Concerning the level of the championship, it took longer to observe progression. “One thing money can’t buy is the process of developing a player.”recognizes Mariana Gutiérrez. This young league therefore had to start from zero, to succeed in establishing 18 clubs. “Some players were detected in the national team structure, but there weren’t many others. We had 500 players registered with many clubs, but most of them had not participated to high-level competitions We therefore organized detection among young people, and today we are witnessing their development.explains the president.
The players, who have progressed over the years, are now reaching maturity, improving the competitiveness of the championship. In addition, the contribution of several internationals – who can now, for the best of them, hope “six-figure annual salaries” according to the president of the League – only pushes local players upwards. “The United States is years ahead of us, countries like France, Germany, Spain and England too. There, women’s football has been developing much longer, observes Mariana Gutiérrez. But we are progressing quickly, and we had the opportunity to internationalize the championship to develop more quickly. It works, since we will have at least one Mexican team in the Final Four of the Concacaf Champions League.”
To accelerate this growth, the League increased the quota of foreigners to five per team. One way “to attract very good talents, and to make our young people want to join us”explains its president. The issue is important: “Our players will be much better alongside internationals, it’s true, but above all they will be greater professionalsassures Mariana Gutiérrez. Those who have admired Amandine Henry for many years, and who now play with her, have much more to learn off the field than on the field. This is essential for me, because we want to train better human beings and better professionals, because female footballers today are an example for many girls.”
In Mexico, the players – who are 99% professional (only a few very young players, who move up from the U19s to the first team, first have a “training agreement” before turning pro) – also benefit from a prestigious Champions League. “We have a great advantage, namely that our neighboring country is a power in the world of women’s football. We participate in the new Concacaf Champions League, with the best American clubs”explains Mariana Gutiérrez. Many young American or Mexican-American players come to learn their skills in Mexico, where they have the opportunity to have playing time while enjoying great atmospheres.
Today, 25 million people are interested in women’s football in Mexico, and women are increasingly present in stadiums, to the tune of 40%. Work remains to be done, but on April 17, the league organized its first General Assembly without its male counterpart. “This is a big step, we are starting to develop communication strategies to sell our product to potential buyersrejoices the president. The numbers we are achieving this season show that women’s football is trendy, and that people are consuming it. There’s a saying that I love, which says that people who watch women’s football spend more time watching it than men’s football. The presence of football stars certainly has nothing to do with it.