The Guadalajara Chivas and Atlas will be joined by a third local team in next season’s Liga MX, the top tier of the country’s professional soccer league.
The Leones Negros of the Universidad de Guadalajara (UDG) this week faced hometown rivals, the Tecos of the Universidad Autonoma de Guadalajara (UAG), in a playoff series to decide the champions of the Liga de Ascenso (Promotion League).
The Leones descended from the top level 20 years ago, while the Tecos have been playing in the second tier for just two years.
The first encounter of the two-game playoff took place Wednesday at the UAG’s Tres de Marzo Stadium in Zapopan. Just over 20,000 fans – mostly decked out in the UDG’s gold, black and red colors – packed the compact stadium to watch the two university-backed teams battle their way to an uninspiring 0-0 tie.