PBP: Other Leagues/Tournaments Catch-All Thread

Aah, OK. They're buying Mazatlán's license and moving to Mexico City. Back to Mexico City, which is their historical home and where they played before they moved to Cancun and after.

 

5,000 Coventry City fans will get a free season ticket next season in the premier league, let me tell you how.

In 2023, Doug King, Coventry City owner, told 5,000 fans to buy the season ticket at a fixed rate of £500 across 5 seasons.

He promised them that if they promote within those 5 seasons, the premier league season ticket will be free for them.

For those 5 seasons, fans had to renew every year to keep the freeze and stay eligible. These ~5,000 fans will be watching every Premier League game at the CBS Arena for free next season.

 

Having a glance at the Portuguese Premeira league, an interesting situation is developing. After 29 games Benfica is undefeated (20-9-0) but may nonetheless miss qualifying for the Champions League because they are currently in 3rd place. Both Porto and Sporting CP have only one loss (Porto is 24-4-1, Sporting is 22-5-1). Today is Sporting v Benfica, so that will be massive.

 

Looks like pro/rel is still suspended so there's no other way to get back into the first division. I guess they must have extended the suspension again.

 

Even when there was pro-rel teams would trade LMX places. In 2013 Veracruz's owners bought newly promoted La Piedad and moved them to Veracruz.

Imagine Wolverhampton Wanderers buying Coventry City and moving them to Molineiux.

 

That’s why I stated before that in Mexico was a fake Pro/rel and there are more examples like that.

 

It's supposed to come back next year. Hopefully in a more meaningful way.

 

Leicester City relegated to League One.

They'll also achieve their lowest ever points total at level 2 since the implementation of 3 points for a win.

 

With the Oxford United loss it seems unlikely that two former EPL winners will be relegated from the Championship this season, but Rovers still needs 2 more points from the last 2 games (or have Oxford drop 2 points) to ensure safety.

 

Though Sheffield Wednesday did win the title 4 times well before it was Premier League.

 

(There's a reason I phrased it how I did )

 

I wonder all those American Leicester City fans have gone. My guess is Wrexham.

$300 million in debt even after shenanigans and losing $100 million a year, with an ownership who's own business is suffering, Leicester will probably end up in adminstration, debts will be paid in pennies to the pound they'll reemerge in League Two as a new company, with new owners (Red Bird or Blue Wing or Orange Loon Private Equity), and be promoted back to the Championship and Ted Westervelt will hail pro-rel as the solution to everything.

 

Oh?

🇲🇽🚨 BREAKING: The FMF will officially announce tomorrow that promotion and relegation will not return to the Liga MX ❌

📊 The new format is expected to be similar to the MLS 🇺🇸

Mexican football going backwards sadly…
Source: @cantalocamacho pic.twitter.com/wsgA78UQ7p

— NextMex (@NextMexOficial) April 23, 2026

 

Top 12 Mexican teams should join MLS. Never going to happen but it would be intriguing.

 

https://www.soyfutbol.com/en/news/l...sial-change-in-its-history-20260423-0040.html

Apparently they're going to put some franchises up for sale to eliminate multi-team ownership and just straight out sell expansion rights to two new teams to get to 20 with an infrastructure weighted bidding process. I wonder what they will do about the media rights situation.

Worth pointing out that articles last year were saying that the court for the arbitration of sport ruled previously that pro/rel had to come back to Mexico in 26/27. I think what they actually said was that pro/rel didn't have to come back early in 25/26, but I do wonder what they will have to say about it "never" coming back. Never is a long time.

ALSO:

I wonder if this impacts the previously discussed Apollo Global Management/NFL investment (which plays into the media landscape).

Basically we're on the verge of seeing LigaMX 3.0 here.

ALSO ALSO:

Apparently the sale of Atlas was approved at this meeting. They haven't announced the new owners who will take over after June 30 if the deal is finalized. That leaves only Groupo Pachuca as a multi-team owner, and they are trying to offload Leon (apparently they just want to find a new majority investor, they still want to control management, and potential owners aren't interested in this scenario).

ALSO ALSO ALSO:

Instead of relegating teams, Liga MX was charging teams that were at the bottom of the table fines (that may or may not have ever been paid). I wonder if they will keep that up? Maybe MLS should do that.

 

I said it before that Liga MX was going to get rid of ProRel and be just like MLS on selling franchises. Some Liga MX fand here and on X were on denial and saying it was only "temporary".

 

Is it possible the media misreported the CAS decision. Did it say that pro/rel "must" return or "will" return in 2026/27 (the original plan)?

 

In Mexico was not a real pro/rel anyway, what USL is trying to do is also a close system pro/rel, is like if MLS goes to 40 and creates 2 divisions with pro/rel between them it would not a real pro/rel.

 

It determined that it's ultimately up to the Federation.

It had real ProRel decades ago. Then the big popular clubs were in threat of being relegated and moved relegation to a point system of the average of 3 years (6 short seasons). Then the selling and buying of promoted and relegated clubs by those being promoted or being relegated. It was a mess.

 

The San Diego Sockers are still around???

Meanwhile in the MASL, a whole-ass brawl erupted between players and fans after game one of the cup final. San Diego Sockers journeyman Stefan Mijatovic has been banned for life from the MASL. Didn’t know that was even possible. pic.twitter.com/JEegYrI2EF

— Pablo Iglesias Maurer (@MLSist) April 23, 2026

 

Yeah I think that's what was going on. The expansion league clubs wanted it to come back earlier than the previously announced timeline and the cas said they could stick to the original timeline which the media printed as "CAS says promotion must/will return in 26/27" depending on the source.

 

That's why I went to The Athletic. They still have journalists. Probably not for much longer.

 

I wonder if Argentina will be next to move to a franchise model.

 

Tottenham should try to get the Super League idea rolling again.