Fútbol Americano de México

Mexican American Football (Spanish: Fútbol Americano de México or FAM) is a professional American football spring league in Mexico, founded in 2018. Starting with five teams, the FAM has since expanded to seven members in the cities of Cancún, Chihuahua, Ciudad Juárez, Mexico City, Naucalpan, San José del Cabo and Zapopan. The league considered a rival of the Liga de Fútbol Americano Profesional (LFA) (founded in 2016), and they both compete for television exposure, players, coaches.[1][2]

Mexican American Football
Current season, competition or edition:
2021 FAM season
SportAmerican football
FoundedAugust 7, 2018 (2018-08-07)
Inaugural season2019
DirectorEdgar Zapata
No. of teams8
CountryMexico
HeadquartersMexico City, Mexico
Most recent
champion(s)		Pioneros de Querétaro
(1st title)
Official websiteLigaFAM.mx

Being initially founded as Liga de Football Pro (LFP), the league changed its name its current version because it was confused with the Spanish association football organization Liga de Fútbol Profesional (also known by the acronym "LFP").[3] The FAM season runs from February to April with the postseason unfolding in May.

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).[4] 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,[5] while the Rojos de Lindavista (Lindavista Reds) and Marlins de Los Cabos (Cabos Marlins) would join soon thereafter.[6] In July the "Pioneros" decided to withdrew from the league and joined the Liga de Fútbol Americano Profesional (LFA) for the 2020 season,[7] 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)[8] and the Tiburones de Cancún (Cancún Sharks),[9] while the "Centauros" withdrew from the league.[10] In February it was announced that former NFL first round draft pick Trent Richardson signed with the "Caudillos de Chihuahua".[11][2][12] 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."[13] In 2021, the "Pioneros" returned to the FAM.

Structure and salary

The regular season is played from February to April, with each team facing each other once, except against a team from the region which must face each other twice. Teams have a bye week during the season, and play a total of six games. After the regular season, the four highest-ranked teams meet in two semifinals and then the winners face the championship game, at the stadium of the best -anked team that reached the final. The league plays with National Football League (NFL) rules.

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
Bulldogs Naucalpan de Juárez, Mexico Estadio Redskins del Estado de México 3,000 2018 Juan Garrido
Caudillos Chihuahua City, Chihuahua Estadio Olímpico Universitario 22,000 2019 Mauricio Balderrama
Marlins San José del Cabo, Baja California Sur Estadio Complejo Deportivo Don Koll 4,000 2020 César Martínez
Pioneros Querétaro City, Querétaro Unidad Deportiva El Pueblito 4,000 2018
Rarámuris Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua Estadio Chucus Olascoaga 5,000 2021 Gabriel Levy
Rojos Gustavo A. Madero, Mexico City Deportivo SME 1,000 2020 Hugo Ibarra
Tequileros Zapopan, Jalisco Estadio Tres de Marzo 18,750 2018 Francisco Vázquez
Tiburones Cancún, Quintana Roo Estadio Cancún 86 6,390 2021

Notable players

References
  1. Is there a market for two professional football leagues? {es}
  2. 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. Alternative American football league created in Mexico that seeks equity {es}
  4. LFA at risk of bankruptcy {es}
  5. Chihuahua joins the FAM {es}
  6. Los Cabos Marlins Debut in Mexican American Football League at Don Koll Stadium {es}
  7. Pioneers go to the LFA {es}
  8. Rarámuris' will represent Juárez in the Mexican American football league {es}
  9. Sharks of Cancun, New American Football Team {es}
  10. Centauros from Ciudad Juárez out of the Mexican American Football League {es}
  11. "Former Alabama RB Trent Richardson will play professional football in Mexico".
  12. "Former Alabama RB Trent Richardson joins Caudillos de Chihuahua". 24/7 Sports. February 21, 2021.
  13. "Trent Richardson joins Caudillos de Chihuahua".
  14. Arce, Pepe (January 10, 2021). "Estrella de la NFL jugará con los Tiburones de Cancún". Quadratín (in Spanish). Retrieved April 8, 2021.
  15. López, Leopoldo (6 January 2021). "Llega otro refuerzo a Caudillos Pro Football". El Heraldo de Chihuahua (in Spanish). Retrieved 8 April 2021.
  16. "Llegan de USA los refuerzos para Rarámuris Pro Football". juarezadiario.com (in Spanish). November 19, 2020. 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.
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