Fútbol Americano de México

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Mexican American Professional Football
Current season, competition or edition:
Current sports event
Logo Liga FAM.png
SportAmerican football
FoundedAugust 7, 2018; 3 years ago (2018-08-07)
Inaugural season2019
DirectorEdgar Zapata
No. of teams9
CountryMexico
HeadquartersMexico City, Mexico
Most recent
champion(s)		Pioneros de Querétaro
(1st title)
Official websiteLigaFAM.mx

The Mexican American Professional Football League (Spanish: Fútbol Americano de México, FAM) is a professional American football league in Mexico, founded in 2018. Starting with five teams, the FAM has since expanded to seven members in 2020 and nine members in 2022 in the cities of Cancún, Chihuahua, Ciudad Juárez, Jalisco, Mexico City, Monterrey, Naucalpan, San José del Cabo and Zapopan. Alongside the Liga de Fútbol Americano Profesional (LFA), the FAM is the top level of professional American football in Mexico, and both leagues compete for television exposure, players, and coaches.[1][2]

The FAM season spans 8 regular season games in May and June with each team playing every other team in the league once. The post season runs in July.

History[]

The Mexican American Football (FAM) was founded on August 7, 2018, as Liga de Football Pro (LFP). The league was founded by the same initial investors of the LFA (operating since 2016) with intention was to compete directly with them, and offer a different business model. The FAM seeks a greater financial viability in the short term, and gives freedom to with sponsorships, ticketing and merchandise sales (in comparison, LFA franchisees must invest for 5 years to start getting their money back).[3] According to the league, their final goal is to merge with the LFA and the two league champions would play in a Bowl similar to the Superbowl after the AFL–NFL merger.

The league held its inaugural season in 2019 with five teams: Bulldogs de Naucalpan (Naucalpan Bulldogs), Centauros de Ciudad Juárez (Juárez Centaurs), Pioneros de Querétaro (Querétaro Pioneers), Tequileros de Jalisco (Jalisco Tequileros) and the Titanes de la Ciudad de México (Titans of Mexico City). The Pioneers finished as the first league champions after beating 16-0 the Centauros in the final.

In the 2020 season the league added the Caudillos de Chihuahua (Chihuahua Chieftains) as the first FAM expansion team,[4] while the Rojos de Lindavista (Lindavista Reds) and Marlins de Los Cabos (Cabos Marlins) would join soon thereafter.[5] In July the "Pioneros" decided to withdrew from the league and joined the Liga de Fútbol Americano Profesional (LFA) for the 2020 season,[6] while the "Titanes" disbanded. The season had to be canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Mexico after only four weeks.

For the 2021 season, the FAM added the Rarámuris de Ciudad Juárez (Juárez Raramuris)[7] and the Tiburones de Cancún (Cancún Sharks),[8] while the "Centauros" withdrew from the league.[9] In February it was announced that former NFL first round draft pick Trent Richardson signed with the "Caudillos de Chihuahua".[10][2][11] When asked of his role on the team Richardson said: "I might play. I might be a part of making decisions or helping out bringing awareness or I might be a part of D – all of the above. So we’ll see."[12] In 2021, the "Pioneros" returned to the FAM. Ultimately the 2021 season was also canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the league still found success with three players on FAM rosters in 2021 making NFL appearances in 2022.

In 2022, the league returns after a two year hiatus from COVID with nine teams. The league doubled in size since inception despite the break, in large part due to the growing popularity of American Football in Mexico, which recently became the second most popular sport in the country.[13] It also grew in popularity due the signing of a few high profile athletes, like two ex starting NFL running backs in Trent Richardson and Antonio Andrews.

Structure and schedule[]

The league plays with National Football League (NFL) rules. The final roster size is 48 players, with each team having up 16 roster spots for foreign born players (non-Mexican). This also contributes to the high level of competition in the FAM compared to other International leagues (mostly in Europe) which usually allow only 2-5 roster spots for Americans. Many teams will have 70+ players invited to training camp, which runs in March and April, with final cuts occurring before the season to trim the roster to the final size of 48.

For the 2022 season, the league had five US based tryouts across Texas, Florida, Alabama, Louisiana, and California. Each tryout consisted of 30-70 athletes across a range of skill levels and experience, from recent high school standouts to ex NFL players. The league also has local regional tryouts in Mexico, mostly selecting players from the highest division of Mexican Collegiate Football (Organización Nacional Estudiantil de Fútbol Americano).

The salary cap for FAM teams is $1,300,000 Mexican pesos (approximately $66,000 USD) for the entire season. The purpose of the salary cap is to prevent the team's owners from unsustainable spending on player salaries and to prevent a competitive imbalance among teams, but the league allows additional salary spending for international players (similar to the MLS) that is exempt from the salary cap, in order to increase in on-field competition. [2]

Teams[]

Team City Stadium Capacity First season Head coach
Naucalpan de Juárez, Mexico Estadio Redskins del Estado de México 3,000 2018 Rafael Duk
Chihuahua City, Chihuahua Estadio Olímpico Universitario José Reyes Baeza 22,000 2019 Federico Landeros
San José del Cabo, Baja California Sur Estadio Complejo Deportivo Don Koll 4,000 2020 César Martínez
Monterrey, Nuevo León Estadio Banorte 10,057 2022 Edmundo Reyes
Pioneros Querétaro City, Querétaro La Pirámide 4,000 2018 Alberto de León
Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua 20 de Noviembre 4,000 2021 David Silva
Mexico City Estadio Jesús Martínez "Palillo" 6,000 2020 Raúl Rivera
Zapopan, Jalisco Estadio Tres de Marzo 18,750 2018 Francisco Vázquez
Cancún, Quintana Roo Estadio Andrés Quintana Roo 18,884 2021 Alejandro Evangelista[14]

Notable current and former players[]

References[]

  1. ^ Is there a market for two professional football leagues? {es}
  2. ^ a b c d Abbott, JC (February 21, 2021). "Trent Richardson's signing in Chihuahua a glimpse at growing Mexican football arms race". American Football International. Retrieved February 21, 2021.
  3. ^ LFA at risk of bankruptcy {es}
  4. ^ Chihuahua joins the FAM {es}
  5. ^ Los Cabos Marlins Debut in Mexican American Football League at Don Koll Stadium {es}
  6. ^ Pioneers go to the LFA {es}
  7. ^ Rarámuris' will represent Juárez in the Mexican American football league {es}
  8. ^ Sharks of Cancun, New American Football Team {es}
  9. ^ Centauros from Ciudad Juárez out of the Mexican American Football League {es}
  10. ^ "Former Alabama RB Trent Richardson will play professional football in Mexico".
  11. ^ "Former Alabama RB Trent Richardson joins Caudillos de Chihuahua". 24/7 Sports. February 21, 2021.
  12. ^ "Trent Richardson joins Caudillos de Chihuahua".
  13. ^ Fedotin, Jeff. "NFL Football Has Become Mexico's Second-Most-Popular Sport". Forbes. Retrieved 2022-02-01.
  14. ^ "Confirma Tiburones a Alejandro Evangelista como su head coach". LIGA FAM-YOX (in Spanish). Retrieved 2022-03-03.
  15. ^ Arce, Pepe (January 10, 2021). "Estrella de la NFL jugará con los Tiburones de Cancún". Quadratín (in Spanish). Retrieved April 8, 2021.
  16. ^ López, Leopoldo (6 January 2021). "Llega otro refuerzo a Caudillos Pro Football". El Heraldo de Chihuahua (in Spanish). Retrieved 8 April 2021.
  17. ^ "Llegan de USA los refuerzos para Rarámuris Pro Football". juarezadiario.com (in Spanish). November 19, 2020. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
  18. ^ "Llegan de USA los refuerzos para Rarámuris Pro Football". juarezadiario.com (in Spanish). November 19, 2020. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
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