The death of relegation in Mexico – Plus Racing’s roadside celebrations in Uruguay & San Marino Calcio’s angry letter

About this episode

This episode discusses the potential abolition of relegation in Mexico's Liga MX and its implications, alongside celebrations in Uruguayan football and issues faced by San Marino Calcio.

Mexico’s Liga MX wants to copy the MLS model! The 18 club owners have voted to separate the league from the federation, move towards a franchise model, and permanently abolish promotion and relegation in practice. But hang on, wasn’t relegation already abolished in Mexican football? Don’t lots of top leagues worldwide function as a closed shop? And why are Mexico’s 2026 World Cup preparations under Javier Aguirre causing problems for the domestic league too? On this episode, we investigate the state of domestic football in Mexico and look ahead to the co-host’s controversial build-up to this summer’s global showpiece. Plus: Racing de Montevideo celebrate their maiden Uruguayan title on the roadside and San Marino Calcio’s players pen an angry letter. Jon Arnold's Substack is here and his viral Mexican football video on Instagram is here . Chapters: 00:00 – Intro 01:25 – Seismic shifts in Mexican football 06:00 – The death of promotion & relegation 10:05 – Closed shop leagues worldwide 15:37 – Mexico’s pre-World Cup chaos 21:38 – Racing’s roadside title celebration 27:22 – San Marino Calcio’s angry letter

People in this episode

Hosts: Lee Wingate, Paul Watson

Topics covered

• relegation in Mexico
• Liga MX
• MLS model
• Uruguayan football
• San Marino Calcio
• World Cup preparations
• closed shop leagues

Keywords

• Liga MX
• relegation
• MLS
• Racing de Montevideo
• San Marino Calcio
• Javier Aguirre
• World Cup
• football
• closed leagues

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Liga MX, MLS, Racing de Montevideo, San Marino Calcio

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