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Bravo retired from all cricket on Thursday after a groin injury had cut short his CPL stint

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Sep-2024Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR) have signed local offspinner Bryan Charles as Dwayne Bravo’s replacement for the rest of CPL 2024.Bravo had announced his retirement from all cricket on Thursday after a groin injury cut short his stint in CPL 2024. Bravo had suffered the injury when he attempted to take the catch of Kings’ captain Faf du Plessis in the seventh over in Tarouba.Charles, 29, plays for Trinidad & Tobago in domestic cricket, but is yet to play an official T20. He is better known for his red-ball skills, having recently earned a call-up to West Indies’ Test side for the home Test series against South Africa earlier this year.Related

• Pollard: We need to produce next batches of Bravos, Pollards, Narines

• Dwayne Bravo announces retirement from all cricket

Charles was also the leading wicket-taker for Trinidad & Tobago in the West Indies four-day championship, taking 31 wickets in seven games at an average of 17. The tally included a career-best match haul of 13 wickets against Jamaica in Kingston in April.Charles could potentially act as cover for Sunil Narine, who has missed TKR’s last three games with a quad complaint. In the injury-enforced absence of Narine, Kieron Pollard had Tim David bowling offspin with the dry new ball in TKR’s last home game of the season, against Barbados Royals, on Friday. With three left-handers in Royal’s top six – TKR could potentially meet Royals again in the Eliminator – there’s a possibility of Charles coming into contention for selection if Narine’s still unfit for the playoffs.David has also joined TKR’s injury list, Pollard suggested, after he had seemingly hurt his side and banged his head into the ground while saving a six at the boundary on Friday.”Yes, the injuries are a big, big concern,” Pollard said after the match. “Obviously Tim [David] coming off the field as well, Narine [is] still not fit, Russell with his injury as well. My body is getting down a bit after a long tournament.”But having said that we are going to continue to rally, continue to try hard and continue to rest when needed. The support staff and the physio and doctors – they are all doing a really, really good job to keep the guys on the park.”

Mumbai finished the fourth day 274 runs in front with four second-innings wickets in hand

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Oct-2024Stumps The fourth day of the Irani Cup started with Rest of India well placed to challenge Mumbai’s first-innings score of 537, and overnight batters Abhimanyu Easwaran and Dhruv Jurel did well to begin with. Shams Mulani, however, sent them back in back-to-back overs to finish off the fight, and from 393 for 4, Rest of India collapsed to 416 all out. That gave Mumbai a handy lead of 121, which Prithvi Shaw has added to since, putting the team in a strong position to finish on top.Abhimanyu and Jurel were on 151 and 30 overnight, and Jurel was the quicker of the two on the fourth morning, scoring at 76.85 to get to 93 before Mulani sent him back gloving an attempted sweep through to wicketkeeper Hardik Tamore. That ended the fifth-wicket stand of 165, and one wicket led to another when Abhimanyu also fell to the sweep, sending the ball pitched in the rough outside leg stump to Tanush Kotian at short fine-leg. He fell for 191.No one from Rest of India reached double figures after that as Mulani and Kotian finished with three apiece.The Mumbai second innings was all about Shaw. As wickets fell at the other end, all courtesy spin – Saransh Jain the offspinner and Manav Suthar the leg-arm spinner – Shaw went about his job merrily, scoring 76 in 105 balls with eight fours and a six. Shaw, who had missed out in the first innings, scoring only 4, became the fifth Mumbai wicket to fall late in the day, to Jain, who has 4 for 67 to Suthar’s 2 for 40.Rest of India will hope to finish off the Mumbai innings quickly on the fifth morning and give themselves a chance of pulling off the chase, however steep and unlikely – seeing that spinners are very much in the game at this stage – but Mumbai will start the day feeling the better of the two camps.

The Welsh midfielder will join the Liga MX side on a one-year deal

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• Joins from Cardiff City
• Will sign on a free transfer
• Has been watching Mexican football

• Getty Images Sport
  

  WHAT HAPPENED?

  Former Arsenal star Aaron Ramsey has officially landed in Mexico as Pumas’ first signing for the upcoming season. The Welshman revealed that Efraín Juárez, the club's young coach with ties to Wales, played a significant role in convincing him to join the team. “He was very influential. That was one of the main reasons I came – he’s a young coach who’s already achieved success, and I’m eager to get involved and play my part.”

  “Right now, it’s about playing for this great club, falling in love with the game again, enjoying my football again, and letting everything else come naturally. I can’t wait to get back on the pitch.”

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  WHAT AARON RAMSEY SAID

  When asked about his familiarity with Liga MX, Ramsey admitted he’s been catching up by watching recent matches on replay and has been impressed by the standard of play.

  “I’ve seen a few games over the past weeks and I’ve been really impressed – there’s plenty of quality here, and I’m excited to get my role in this league. I’m looking forward to the next few weeks," he said.

• Getty Images Sport
  

  DID YOU KNOW?

  Ramsey will be the first Welsh player in the Mexican league, which is increasingly opening up to the world with major signings. At 34 years of age, he arrives from Cardiff City, the club that gave him his debut at age 16 and the opportunity to shine at teams like Arsenal, Nottingham Forest, Juventus, Rangers, and Nice.

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  WHAT NEXT FOR RAMSEY AND PUMAS?

  Ramsey is scheduled to undergo medical exams early this week, after which he’ll join training sessions and could make an appearance in Pumas’ friendly against Atlante this Wednesday. Once cleared, he’ll officially sign a one-year contract and be unveiled to the press, before potentially making his first minutes next Sunday against Leganés.

Rohit Paudel, in great form in the ongoing T20 series against the visiting West Indies A side at home, will lead a familiar-looking Nepal squad at the T20 World Cup, to be played in the West Indies and the USA next month.From the expanded Nepal squad that is playing the T20s against West Indies – and are 2-1 down after three games – Aarif Sheikh, Bibek Yadav and Aakash Chand have been left out of the 15-man squad for the World Cup. Sandeep Lamichhane, Nepal’s best-known T20 cricketer, is currently serving a jail sentence for rape.In the series against West Indies A, Nepal’s preparatory series in the lead up to the World Cup, Nepal won the first game by four wickets courtesy Paudel’s 54-ball 112, but they have since lost by ten runs and 76 runs. The last two games of that series will be played on Thursday and Saturday.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

The experienced squad includes the likes of Aasif Sheikh, Anil Kumar Sah, Kushal Bhurtel, Kushal Malla, Lalit Rajbanshi, Karan KC, Sompal Kami and others, as well as Dipendra Singh Airee, who made history last month when he became just the third batter to hit six sixes in an over in a men’s T20I. He achieved the feat against Qatar in their ACC Men’s Premier Cup match.At the World Cup, Nepal are in Group D, which also has Bangladesh, Netherlands, South Africa and Sri Lanka. Nepal start their campaign on June 4 against Netherlands in Dallas.

Nepal squad for T20 World Cup 2024

Rohit Paudel (capt), Aasif Sheikh, Anil Kumar Sah, Kushal Bhurtel, Kushal Malla, Dipendra Singh Airee, Lalit Rajbanshi, Karan KC, Gulshan Jha, Sompal Kami, Pratis GC, Sundeep Jora, Abinash Bohara, Sagar Dhakal, Kamal Singh Airee

Teen sensation Estevao Willian admits that he "will have difficulties" when adjusting to life in England on the back of a transfer to Chelsea.

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• Wonderkid currently at FIFA Club World Cup
• Ready to complete transfer to Stamford Bridge
• Excited by challenge of the Premier League

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  The 18-year-old wonderkid will complete a move to Stamford Bridge after representing Palmeiras at the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup. A deal worth at initial £29 million ($39m), which could end up costing as much as £57m ($77m), has been put in place.

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Chelsea are hoping to be the ones to benefit from Estevao’s undoubted potential, with the youngster fondly known as ‘Messinho’ in his native Brazil. He is eager to open a new challenge in the Premier League.

  Watch every game of the FIFA Club World Cup live on DAZNStream now

• WHAT ESTEVAO SAID

  Estevao told : "It means everything. It's a dream come true for me. I've always dreamed of playing in Europe alongside the best. Playing in important competitions, such as the Champions League and the Premier League. It's a dream come true. It will be very important for my life.

  "It's a dream of mine and my family's. It will be an incredible opportunity to play for one of the biggest clubs in the world. And I hope to get there and adapt as quickly as possible. I want to play. It's the thing I love doing most, what I enjoy most."

• Getty Images
  

  DID YOU KNOW?

  While being excited about what lies ahead, Estevao is eager to point out that he will face many challenges. He added when asked what he is expecting from his time in England: "Madness. It will be my first time. And I'm going to stay. A film plays in my head, from where I came from to where I'm going.

  "Of course, I know I will have difficulties, but I will be with my family, who are the pillar of my life. It will be an important step for me and my family. I hope it will be the best possible way. London, Chelsea… it couldn't be better."

Match details

Kolkata Knight Riders (2nd; W3 L1) vs Lucknow Super Giants (4th; W3 L2)
Kolkata, 3.30pm IST (10am GMT)

Big picture – KKR’s home run

Which IPL team has their headquarters only six kilometres from Eden Gardens? If you’re thinking Kolkata Knight Riders, that’s wrong.That honour belongs to Lucknow Super Giants, whose owners are based in Kolkata. They have a majority stake in another local team with a strong fan base – Mohun Bagan – and the last time they played at Eden Gardens, LSG turned out sporting that football team’s iconic maroon, leaving local KKR fans split over who to root for.In that sense, Kolkata is LSG’s home away from home, and they have enjoyed a 3-0 streak against KKR. Their last two victories, by two runs and one run, cemented this fixture as a rivalry worth earmarking for the future. Even now it takes special prominence when you factor in the presence of Gautam Gambhir – LSG’s mentor in 2022 and 2023 – returning to KKR ahead of this season.Related

• Why Phil Salt bats for a good time

• Injured Mayank Yadav 'unlikely to play' next two games for LSG, says Justin Langer

Off-field developments aside, LSG are in a good space with their six points in five games. Despite losing to Delhi Capitals on Friday, they are still in the top four on the points table and would be pleased with the coolness shown by Ayush Badoni and Arshad Khan to drag the side from an insipid 94 for 7 to a final score of 167. Their only real concern is Devdutt Padikkal’s form; he has scored only 25 runs in five games.KKR had their first defeat of the season in their previous game, against Chennai Super Kings in Chennai. But like LSG, KKR are also in a comfortable position, just two points behind table-toppers Rajasthan Royals and with a game in hand. In the first leg of the schedule, they had three away games and won two of those. The quirk of scheduling in an election year now sees them based at home for their next five fixtures, which means, if they can exert dominance at home the way CSK, Mumbai Indians or Gujarat Titans do, they could have one foot in the playoffs by the end of it.

Form guide

Kolkata Knight Riders: LWWW
Lucknow Super Giants: LWWWL

Team news and Impact Player strategy

Kolkata Knight RidersVice-captain Nitish Rana (hand injury) and seamer Harshit Rana (shoulder injury) were spotted in training and could return. Nitish would likely replace Ramandeep Singh.Suyash Sharma is the likely impact player, but they may use left-arm spinner Anukul Roy instead if KKR need runs from a No. 9.Likely XII: 1 Phil Salt (wk), 2 Sunil Narine, 3 , 4 Venkatesh Iyer, 5 Shreyas Iyer (capt), 6 Ramandeep Singh/Nitish Rana, 7 Andre Russell, 8 Rinku Singh, 9 Mitchell Starc, 10 Vaibhav Arora/Harshit Rana, 11 Varun Chakravarthy, 12 Shreyas Iyer hasn’t been at his fluent best•Associated Press

Lucknow Super GiantsPadikkal is close to losing his place and Deepak Hooda is already on the bench due to poor form. That means, one of Arshin Kulkarni, Yudhvir Singh and Prerak Mankad may play if LSG want to keep the same overseas quartet. There are more creative options if LSG drop an overseas batter or Naveen-ul-Haq, like the inclusion of Shamar Joseph to make up for Mayank Yadav’s absence. Both Mayank (hip injury) and Mohsin Khan (shoulder injury) are unavailable.Spinner M Siddharth is the likeliest impact player in place of Quinton de Kock.Likely XII: 1 , 2 KL Rahul (capt, wk), 3 Devdutt Padikkal/Prerak Mankad, 4 Marcus Stoinis, 5 Nicholas Pooran, 6 Krunal Pandya, 7 Ayush Badoni, 8 Ravi Bishnoi, 9 Arshad Khan, 10 Naveen-ul-Haq, 11 Yash Thakur, 12

In the spotlight – Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul

Shreyas Iyer has two scores in the 30s but he hasn’t been at his fluent best. He has also been dismissed exclusively by left-arm seamers – Mustafizur Rahman, Khaleel Ahmed and T Natarajan – so Arshad could be an early match-up against him. Shreyas could counterattack by dominating spinners from the other end, but historically, he has struggled to put away Ravi Bishnoi and Krunal Pandya in T20s with strike rates of 117.64 and 90.47 respectively.Strike rates and KL Rahul share a love-hate relationship but he appears to be changing his powerplay approach. In his latest outing, Rahul made 30 off 14 against Capitals. Never before has he scored as many runs in the powerplay as an LSG player. Will he continue in the same vein?KL Rahul hit a six on the third ball he faced against Capitals•Associated Press

Stats that matter

• Mitchell Starc has dismissed Nicholas Pooran twice in four innings. However, Pooran has dominated Andre Russell, hitting him for 105 runs in 69 balls, and Varun Chakravarthy, striking 51 runs in 29 balls.
• Should KKR bat Russell higher? Since IPL 2018, his entry point has not made much difference to his strike rate. It is 182.2 when entering after the 14th over, and 177.6 when he comes in before the tenth, and 173.3 when he comes in between overs 10 and 14.
• Bishnoi loves facing KKR. His nine wickets are his highest against any team, and he has a favourable average (19.2) and economy (6.40) too.

Pitch and conditions

With an afternoon start and temperatures expected to cross 35°C at the time of the toss, fielding in the first innings will be excruciating. However, chasing could still be the preference as historical numbers suggest, in addition to the possibility of drizzle in the evening. Expect lots of runs.

Quotes

“They know me as well . First of all, everyone knows each other very well. It’s more about how we play for three and a half hours in the field is more important. It is not like I will plan something different for them. Even they know quite a lot about me. I have planned against KKR for the last two seasons so it’s probably even-stevens. It’s the best team that wins not the team that plans best.”
“He [Mayank] is feeling good. He looks good but we do not want to rush him. We need to protect his body. But he’s itching to go. Need to make sure that he is 100% fit before he comes back.”

MatériaMais Notícias

da pinnacle： A chegada de Jorge Sampaoli já teve impactos positivos no Flamengo. Apresentado de maneira oficial na segunda-feira, o argentino está perto de completar uma semana à frente da equipe profissional e mudou boa parte do dia a dia dos jogadores. As mudanças, por sua vez, foram bem aceitas no Rubro-Negro.

O LANCE! apurou que, entre as principais mudanças com relação ao período em que Vítor Pereira esteve no comando, Sampaoli tem feito trabalhos intensos para que a parte física do Flamengo esteja impecável. No campo tático, o novo treinador gosta de explorar a posse de bola e jogadas de triangulação nos lados do campo.

continua após a publicidadeRelacionadasFora de CampoÍdolo do Flamengo comenta possível volta de Jorge Jesus no futuro: ‘Só pode dar errado’Fora de Campo21/04/2023Lance! BizApós fim da janela, Palmeiras volta a ter o elenco mais valioso do futebol brasileiro; veja listaLance! Biz21/04/2023SantosFelipe Jonatan, do Santos, rompe ligamento do joelho e deve perder restante da temporadaSantos21/04/2023

da premier bet： FOCO NA PARTE FÍSICA

A principal fraqueza do Flamengo, identificada pela comissão técnica de Sampaoli, é a parte física. Nos primeiros quatro meses da temporada, o Rubro-Negro sofreu com diversos problemas musculares, e um de seus principais jogadores, Arrascaeta, por exemplo, está fora por lesão no adutor. Por isso, o argentino chegou com o “pé na porta” no quesito.

+Entenda o planejamento do Flamengo com Bruno Henrique; atacante está fora contra o Internacional

Os trabalhos na academia, no entanto, não têm sido protagonistas no Flamengo. Sampaoli prioriza os treinos no campo, com intuito de trazer duas valências importantes para a equipe: a parte física apurada, assim como a técnica. Vale destacar que, nesses moldes, os atletas também se alimentam no Ninho do Urubu, de maneira mais regrada.

METODOLOGIA

Bebendo da mesma fonte que nomes como Guardiola e Cruyff, Sampaoli é adepto do jogo posicional, e seu estilo já está sendo sentido no Flamengo. As primeiras atividades tem sido focadas na posse de bola e adaptação ao esquema conhecido. O trabalho com os pontas é o mais presente na semana de abertura do argentino.

+Todos os jogos do Brasileirão você encontra no Prime Video. Assine já e acompanhe o seu time do coração!

Nos treinamentos, as triangulações tem sido ponto chave. Como visto no jogo diante do Ñublense, Vidal se aproxima de Marinho na direita, assim como Gabigol, para iniciar as jogadas em passes vindos dos zagueiros. O mesmo foi feito no lado esquerdo, com Ayrton Lucas, Gerson e Pedro. O entrosamento da equipe como um todo é fundamental para Sampaoli.

+VÍDEO: Sampaoli pede ‘respeito’ com a bola e passa orientações durante treino do Flamengo

Por enquanto, ainda não é possível sentir a “cara” de Sampaoli no Flamengo, mas os retoques iniciais já estão sendo realizados. Depois de vencer o Ñublense, o treinador argentino terá seu primeiro grande teste pelo Rubro-Negro neste domingo, quando enfrentará o Internacional, pelo Campeonato Brasileiro. O duelo acontecerá às 11h (de Brasília), no Beira-Rio.

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The emergence of Shakib Al Hasan, Taijul Islam and Mehidy Hasan as a potent trio of spinners, coupled with a move towards result-oriented pitches, has helped Bangladesh grow into a formidable side in home conditions

Mohammad Isam in Mirpur28-Aug-2017There is nothing mysterious or sexy about Bangladesh’s spinners. Two left-arm orthodox spinners and an offspinner. It is not a country where anything other than conventional spin is encouraged. The country has three legspinners in first-class cricket, all of whom are routinely condemned. Left-arm bowlers who fancy bowling wristspin are told to become serious about their life.But the cream of their crop – Shakib Al Hasan, Taijul Islam and Mehidy Hasan – are accurate, receptive and patient. They can turn the ball a mile but are effective because they know how to control the degree of turn they impart. Bowling out Australia for 217 certainly showed how they are becoming tougher to face in home conditions.Shakib, who became only the fourth bowler to take five-wicket hauls against nine Test teams, uses the arm ball effectively against right-hand batsmen. He is also mastering the art of bowling the one that slides away from the left-handers, a difficult skill to acquire. Taijul has his limitations but he brings the batsman forward regularly, which allows him the chance to catch them on the hop at times. A straight run-up, a jump, and a delivery stride that’s all arms and legs. Yet, he ties up one end more often than not. He is underrated, hardly ever spoken about even when he takes an ODI hat-trick on debut, but he does the job.Mehidy, like Shakib and Taijul, is an accurate fingerspinner. Nothing more, nothing less. He will keep forcing the batsmen to drive but those who decide to play back to him do so with the threat of getting trapped lbw. He bowls quicker than Taijul and Shakib in Tests, and when he pitches it fuller at that pace, he can deny batsmen time to take a long stride forward, and sucker them into playing on the up.In this Test, he already has two big scalps in the first innings, illustrating that he is a competitive bowler at the highest level.David Warner, facing Mehidy, was getting troubled by deliveries that turned sharply away from him before playing back to a full one. Steven Smith, who ended up yorking himself against Mehidy, must have felt the tossed-up delivery was innocuous enough to jump at, but ended up paying the price. Mehidy said that the plan was in place to pitch it up right up at Smith, but from an angle dictated by his captain.”We had a plan for Smith,” Mehidy said. “When I bowled to him yesterday, Mushfiqur [Rahim] told me that I should bowl around the wicket to him. If I can bowl in the right place, we can stop him. He won’t be able to use his feet. There will be a chance to get him out stumped or get a catch somewhere. I listened to him, bowled around the wicket, and it made my job easy.”But there are aspects that this spin attack, despite their success in the first innings in Mirpur, have trouble grappling with. Against top-order batsmen who don’t move around too much in the crease, like Matt Renshaw and Pete Handscomb, or against tailenders who will either block or bash, they look one-dimensional, hanging back on a more defensive line.Perhaps they can be bolder in the face of a lengthy partnership, telling the captain to have more fielders around the bat, especially on a helpful pitch. Maybe they can be a bit more simplistic in their plans against tailenders, slipping in the occasional yorker or luring them out by slowing it up.But their overall skill level, coupled with a more productive batting line-up against top attacks, has coincided with a move towards preparing more result-oriented pitches. When the Shere Bangla National Stadium was relaid entirely earlier this year, the top two layers of the pitches were taken off. What has resulted is a more brownish surface that starts off hard but breaks up rapidly. There are no puffs of dust flying off the surface but certainly plenty of bite.There is no fault in having home advantage and in the last 12 months, for the first time as a Test nation, Bangladesh have ventured into that path. The spinners, however plain they may look or sound, are helping them take giant strides. They have given a great account of themselves by bowling Australia out cheaply in their first innings, and they now have the obligation to keep doing their job, simply.

da pinnacle： Liverpool have reportedly reached an agreement to allow a 22-year-old to leave Anfield outside of the transfer window.

Alexander-Arnold agrees Liverpool exit as Carragher urges Reds to make six signings

da aviator aposta： It has been an eventful few days behind the scenes at Anfield, with Trent Alexander-Arnold edging closer to a move to Real Madrid when his Reds contract expires in the summer.

An agreement has reportedly been reached and a move to the Bernabeu is “99% done”, with Jeremie Frimpong the rumoured top target to come in to replace the right-back from Bayer Leverkusen. Arne Slot appears to be driving the move and has held talks with Frimpong’s representatives.

It promises to be an active summer window for Liverpool, and Jamie Carragher wants to see up to six players signed over the coming months, with a replacement for Alexander-Arnold on the to-do list.

“I’m excited to see where Arne Slot will take Liverpool because it looks like they’re going to win the league, but there are still so many areas to improve. He needs a centre-back as back-up to the two that we have, he’ll need a right-back with Trent Alexander-Arnold likely to leave.

“I think he needs a centre midfielder to replace Endo, someone younger and that he trusts, a centre-forward to play and a left-winger. There are at least five or six players he needs to get in – three to go straight in the team and three to be strong back-ups.”

Related Liverpool and FSG make contact to sign new £40m+ forward to replace Nunez

He’s a cheaper option than Alexander Isak.

Posts ByCharlie Smith Mar 27, 2025

Alexander-Arnold isn’t the only player who could leave for nothing, with Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah’s futures yet to be resolved either.

Meanwhile, Liverpool are happy to loan out forward Federico Chiesa ahead of the 2025/26 season, however, the Reds have already agreed to loan out one youngster in an out-of-window transfer.

Liverpool agree deal to loan out 6ft 4 gem until summer

According to reports in Sweden, relayed by Sport Witness, Liverpool have reached an agreement with Utsiktens BK for Jakub Ojrzynski. The update states that the 22-year-old goalkeeper will be loaned out to the Swedish side until the summer.

Ojrzynski, who stands at 6 foot 4, made the move to Merseyside from Legia Warsaw back in 2019 but is yet to make a senior appearance for the Reds.

In recent years, the Polish youth international has been on loan with Caernarfon Town, Radomiak Radom and Den Bosch and was supposed to join Cypriot second-tier side Spartakos Kitiou last summer.

However, a transfer fell through and Ojrzynski remained with the Reds, where he has since trained with Slot’s first team. Now, though, it looks as if he’ll get the chance to play first-team football in Sweden over the coming weeks, with Liverpool accepting the loan offer presented by Utsiktens BK.

Promotion was suspended during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, with the initial promise that it would return after six tournaments.

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Ten Liga de Expansión clubs have officially taken their case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.CAS has yet to confirm whether it will take on the caseThe last team to be relegated was Jaguares de Chiapas in 2017Follow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱Getty ImagesWHAT HAPPENED?

Amid ongoing controversy over the suspension of promotion and relegation in Mexican football, the Mexican Football Federation (FMF) has issued a formal response to an appeal filed with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) by ten Liga de Expansión clubs demanding the reinstatement of these mechanisms.

The suspension was agreed upon in April 2020, during the height of the pandemic, providing a six-season period during which Liga de Expansión clubs could focus on consolidating their projects without the sporting pressure of promotion and relegation. According to Íñigo Riestra, FMF’s Secretary General, this measure was requested by the clubs themselves to avoid bankruptcy, as many were operating at a deficit and facing precarious financial conditions.

“The FMF General Assembly approved this temporary suspension to protect the economic stability of the clubs,” Riestra explained in an official video. Additionally, a financial rescue fund was created at the clubs’ request to ensure their survival.

To complement this strategy, an Improvement Fund was established, distributing significant resources for infrastructure and strategic development within the Liga de Expansión teams—investments that can sometimes go under the radar. This fund mandates an annual investment of 20 million pesos (1,036,418 million) from 2020 onwards to modernize stadiums and enhance sporting facilities.

At the same time, in 2022, a Certification Committee was created to set administrative, sporting, and infrastructure requirements that clubs must meet to be eligible for promotion. Starting in the 2023 season, only certified clubs that win the Campeón de Campeones are eligible for promotion; however, so far, only two clubs have met these standards.

The 10 clubs involved in the appeal—Atlante, Morelia, Leones Negros, Atlético La Paz, Alebrijes, Cimarrones, Cancún, Mineros, Venados, and Tampico Madero—argue that the absence of promotion and relegation has negatively impacted their ability to secure commercial agreements and television broadcasting rights.

In summary, the FMF maintains that the suspension was a necessary measure to prevent the economic collapse of several clubs and that the pathway for promotion remains open, albeit conditioned on meeting certain criteria that only a few teams have fulfilled so far.

AdvertisementOssiel Compeán / Imago7THE BIGGER PICTURE

The legal action comes amid growing frustration among Liga de Expansión clubs, who claim that Liga MX has failed to provide transparency regarding the promotion and relegation system. The issue has been further complicated by ongoing controversies in Mexican football, particularly surrounding the topic of multi-club ownership.

There has been ongoing debate about whether reinstating promotion and relegation could raise the competitive level across all tiers of Mexican football. However, it is evident that Liga MX has presented significant obstacles for Liga de Expansión teams, many of which have spent recent years striving to meet the league’s demanding certification requirements.

Getty Images SportWHAT MEXICAN FOOTBALL FEDERATION SAID

"Promotion remains active through certification. A club will be promoted once at least four clubs are certified at the start of the season and one of them wins the Campeón de Campeones," reads the official statement posted on the FMF’s X account.

AFPDID YOU KNOW?

In 2020, due to the global crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Mexican football executives decided to temporarily suspend the promotion and relegation system in Liga MX. This decision was made to support franchise owners in the first division and strengthen Liga Expansión, with the idea that, years later, the system would return with a stronger second division. However, it seemed that this reform would remain permanent.

This decision mainly affected the teams in the second division. Teams like Atlante, Leones Negros de la UDG, Venados de Mérida, and Atlético Morelia are among those that have expressed their dissatisfaction in recent years with the suspension of promotion and relegation. But, according to Liga MX, these teams do not meet the necessary requirements to be First Division clubs. It's a stance that has been heavily criticized by executives from the mentioned teams, who have even taken the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).