Pedro Oliveira
There is no better opportunity to talk about how important Mexico has been in American sports than the Cinco de Mayo holiday, probably the most popular Mexican cultural holiday in the United States. Commemorating the Battle of Puebla of 1862 as an occasion to celebrate (even though it has more third party intentions behind the celebration than what the date actually represents, let’s be honest), we decided to make a review of what has been the presence of Mexican players in the major U.S. sports leagues, so we will talk about the main leagues and their attempts to expand/grow in Mexico in recent years.
NBA
A common point in all the major leagues is that they were all expanding rapidly to host regular season games in Mexico, but evidently the COVID-19 pandemic put a stop to all of those plans. The NBA was one of those affected, having held games in Mexico City, but fortunately, games started again, albeit at a reduced speed. This season saw a week of NBA events in Mexico City as part of the league’s 75th anniversary celebration.
In addition to this, the most classic and traditional celebration is Latin Nights, which, although it covers all Latin cultures, the one that stands out from the rest is Mexico in most cases. Expansion of a team in Mexico has also been a possibility in the past, but is still many years away.
MLB
In addition to the pandemic, the MLB lockout also contributed to the major leagues not being present on Mexican soil this year, much less a special Cinco de Mayo celebration, which is usually a major event under normal conditions. However, in the future, it will undoubtedly be present. It has already been announced that starting in May 2023, MLB will hold multiple regular season games in Mexico City and Monterrey, which have been the cities with the most U.S. baseball presence in the last decade.
Expansion to Monterrey has also been discussed in the context of adding new major league teams, but it appears unlikely to happen in the near future. This does not change the fact that MLB’s presence in Mexico is enormous, especially with activities outside of the main event, such as the MLB Cup: a little leagues baseball tournament that provides opportunities for young prospects to showcase their talent on a platform as big as the majors.
NFL
The NFL is the first of the three major leagues (outside of soccer) to return to Mexico in 2022, with a game between the Arizona Cardinals and San Francisco 49ers taking place at Mexico City’s Azteca Stadium in November. American football is the first sport to leave the United States since the beginning of the pandemic and Mexico is one of its most important targets for globalization, in addition to certain cities on the European continent.
Beyond that, the NFL also runs a Scouting Combine to provide opportunities for Mexican prospects to prepare for the draft, with the most recent one taking place in Monterrey in 2021. This is definitely the first league that has made moves to directly increase the presence of Mexican athletes in their discipline.
MLS
Out of the CONCACAF Champions League, the MLS and Liga MX have always been close buddies in recent years, with regular friendly matches between teams from both leagues, small tournaments forming at the end of each other’s seasons, and events like the MLS All-Star Game featuring an all-Mexican team, among other things.
But more projects are on the way for both sides in the future: by 2023 a tournament is being prepared that will include all teams from both professional leaguesto secure spots in the upcoming CONCACAF Champions League, thereby increasing the number of times MLS and Liga MX teams face each other. This will allow fans from both leagues to get to know each other better, and improving the level of each team involved even more. It is important to note that Mexico, as well as the United States and Canada, will host the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the largest event in the history of the sport.
