Liga MX "attracted higher average crowds than any league outside of Europe last season -- and more than Serie A and Ligue 1," according to Richard Foster of the London GUARDIAN. With its "avowed aim of becoming the Premier League of Latin America," Liga MX’s average crowds of over 26,500 provide a "solid platform to become the dominant league in the region." Monterrey averaged 48,392 per match last season -- more than Chelsea, Tottenham, Liverpool and league champion Leicester City. Attendances have been "steadily rising" over the last five years, with "many games sold out and attendance rates of close to 80% for the most popular clubs." With some clubs charging "as little as" 50 pesos ($2.45) for admission, there is "plenty of scope for growth." Club América is "traditionally the best supported club in Mexico." It has the "considerable advantage" of playing in the capital city, which has a "catchment area" of 21 million people, in one of the world's five largest stadiums used for club football. There are many parallels between Club América and ManU. They both have the largest stadiums in their leagues and the "most supporters both domestically and internationally." They are also "hated." One development that has set Liga MX apart from the more "cosmopolitan" Premier League is the "10/8 rule," which was introduced last May. The rule stipulates that eight players in a club's 18-man matchday squad must be homegrown Mexican nationals, with no more than 10 foreign-born players. As ever, the "crucial barometer of a league's wealth" lies with the broadcast revenues it generates. Liga MX's annual figure of $120M for domestic rights "looks small in comparison to the billions made by the Premier League," but Liga MX has gone through a "similar media revolution." Soon after its formation in '12, the established free-to-air broadcasters, TV Azteca and Televisa, "had their duopoly broken up by satellite and cable entrants" such as Fox Sports, which was backed by Carlos Slim, the billionaire businessman whose wealth puts Rupert Murdoch "very much into the shade" (GUARDIAN, 2/9).
