Mayra Madrigal
Clausura 2022 is coming to an end, but Liga MX is already fine-tuning details for what Apertura 2022 will be, and according to the president of the league Mikel Arriola at a press conference, there will be some modifications.
Recently, there was a meeting with the Assembly of Owners of the teams in the league, where several issues were discussed, including the effective playing time throughout the season.
According to Arriola, in the tournament, it was possible to notice an advance in the effective time with respect to Apertura 2021. In the previous tournament, 47 minutes were recorded, while in this tournament, the time was 51 minutes and 43 seconds.
However, now the intention is to improve even more and the proposal is to use a stopwatch, as it is done in American football. A test will first be done in the 2022 Opening, but it is expected that the stopwatch will be implemented for the Clausura 2023.
The manager explained what will be sought with this:
“Let’s determine the average time to resume throw-ins and goal kicks. In January we will see more. We will set the timer so that it resumes and there is no excuse.”
Liga MX in the style of the NFL
Arriola explained that the stopwatch will be visible and that they seek to innovate like the NFL and the NBA do:
“This stopwatch will be seen in the stadiums. We have to do this very well because Liga MX could be an innovative league like the NFL or NBA.”
The president of the Liga MX indicated that they have been thinking about the effective time for several years:
“We have been able to squeeze the lemon and we can get more juice out of it. 16 balls on the field, more continuity from the referees. Verified data and they are 10% up.”
The test will be done at the beginning of the tournament, and it is expected that the results will be delivered in October to know what time is needed when the plays continue. For Clausura 2023, the stopwatch should already be support material for the referees and if a player exceeds the time set to resume play, he will be punished.
