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Chivas Vallarta Open 2nd Season in Puerto Vallarta at Ejido Stadium in Ixtapa, Saturday, September 4th
 Bob Cohen - PVNN
September 03, 2010
The Chivas Vallarta who were the first professional soccer team to play in Puerto Vallarta on March 6th earlier this year after moving from Guadalajara with a 3-3 record will begin their second tournament this Saturday, September 4th at the Ejido Stadium in Ixtapa at 3:00 PM.
It was quite a successful move for the Guadalajara Chivas 2nd Division team as they kept winning, reached the playoffs and reached the finals against Pachuca. Their road to the finals and their success in their opening tournament in Puerto Vallarta was magical.
They finished their regular season at 8-5-0 with 24 points and 5-2 since they made Puerto Vallarta their new home. After defeating the Tiburones of Veracruz in Puerto Vallarta 4-1 and 2-1 in a home and away series in the first round of the playoffs, they advanced to the semifinals against the Loros of Colima. On Thursday the Chivas Vallarta defeated the Loros 2-0 in Guadalajara and lost 2-1 in Colima on Sunday but advanced to the finals in the 2nd division due to the 3-2 goal advantage.
This is professional soccer and the first professional soccer team sport that Puerto Vallarta has ever been a home to. This is the first time that such an important team has chosen Puerto Vallarta as their home-base, and the decision is expected to generate significant benefits in economic and sports development. The Vallarta Chivas are in the 2nd Division and is called the called "Premiere League".
This tournament, which will be the first full season played in Puerto Vallarta, should conclude early in 2011 when a champion will be crowned. Sometime either during this or the following tournament a decision will be made as to the future of the Vallarta Chivas and where they will play. They signed a contract to play three tournaments or 1 ½ years in Puerto Vallarta.
Chivas de Guadalajara is a Mexican soccer team with more popularity and the most championships achieved throughout their 100-year history. They have the distinction of including only Mexican players.
Referring back to the original story I wrote when the announcement was made about the Chivas Vallarta, I did some research about professional soccer in Mexico and found the league structures to be far more complex and many more professional teams than I had anticipated. Following is a recap of the research and shows that the Chivas Vallarta is playing at a very high level of competition.
First is the elite or Premier Division which has the best 18 teams that compete in Mexico. The most popular is the Guadalajara Chivas and have won 11 championships. Others top teams are America, who has won 10, Toluca, who has won 9, Cruz Azul who has won 8, and UNAM, who has won 6. They are played on national television every weekend and in front of crowds that are 25,000 and up. The Premier Division allows foreigners to play on every team except for the Chivas, who have always utilized only Mexican players. The remainder of the following four leagues only uses Mexican players.
The next level of play is the League Ascenso and there are also18 teams in three divisions that compete. The winner of each season moves up to the Premier Division and the worst team in the Premier Division drops down to the Ascenso Division.
The next level of play is the 2nd Division, which is where the Chivas Vallarta is placed. There are three divisions of 14 teams, making a total of 42 teams playing in this league. The Chivas Vallarta plays in the North Division of the league. The winner can move up a level of play and the league is also a training league for younger players that can get promoted to the Guadalajara Chivas squad. Many current players on the Chivas have come from 2nd Division play.
The next and 4th level of play is also in the 2nd Division but is called the Liga Nuevo which has 38 clubs competing and only wants to develop talent. No teams get promoted for winning this division.
The 5th and final level of professional play is the 3rd Division. It is divided into 15 geographical groups of 12-15 teams in each group. There are currently a total of 244 teams competing in this division. Games are generally played in smaller towns and it is very rare that a player form this division gets promoted. The pay is virtually nothing and all players work a regular job.
There are 11 starters and 5 substitutes on a team and generally a total of 25-30 players on a squad. Doing the math there are 540 players in the Premier and 540 in the League Ascenso. In the 2nd Division, there are 1260 players in the upper part and 1140 in the lower part. In the enormous 3rd Division there are from 6100-73020 players. In total, there are an astounding number of at about 10,000 professional soccer players in Mexico.
The Director of the Chivas Vallarta is Carlos Elizondo and Consuelo Elipe is also working with Carlos on this ongoing project. The team website is www.ChivasVallarta.com.
Don't miss the opening Chivas Vallarta game at the Ejido Stadium in Ixtapa on September 4th at 3:00 pm. They will play against Obregon F.C. Tickets for adults are $50 pesos each. For more information, send an email to either Carlos Elizondo at celizondo58(at)gmail.com or to Consuelo Elipe - consueloeliper(at)gmail.com.
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