This past weekend marked the end of the Liga MX Femenil 2026 Clausura, and with it, the end of Mazatlán FC. It was announced this past Thursday that the club was selling its (men’s) rights to play in the top division to Atlante, who hasn’t been in the (men’s) top division since 2014. The whole story however is one that could only happen in Mexican fútbol…

Atlante was one of the four big teams in Mexico City, along with América, Cruz Azul, and Pumas. They won three Liga MX (men’s) titles throughout their history, but moved to Cancún in 2007 citing poor attendance in CDMX. They struggled in Cancún as well, getting relegated to the Ascenso MX in 2014 where they remained. They moved back to Mexico City in 2020, and in December 2024 they relocated once more to Zacatapec, in the state of Morelos.

Mazatlán’s story is very similar, with the club starting out as Monarcas Morelia, where they had a large and loyal fan base. The club famously escaped relegation in 2016 on a last minute goal by Raúl Ruidíaz in the final game of the season, and the women’s team was one of the original 12, playing in the Copa MX Femenil in 2016 before the league was started. While not great, Monarcas was a fairly solid team in Liga MX Femeni. During the depths of the pandemic in 2020, the club relocated to Mazatlán, with some of the women’s players given little notice that the club was moving across the country.

When the move to Mazatlán was official, the club wiped the social media accounts clean and disassociated themselves from Monarcas Morelia in a move that angered a lot of fans around the league. Morelia re-started as a phoenix club, and Atlético Morelia is one of the better supported clubs in Ascenso MX, and the club fields a women’s team in the Liga TDP Femenil.

So what will happen with Atlante? As far as Liga MX Femenil goes, the club may retain some of the technical staff and players from Mazatlán but it is most likely not obligated to do so. Most contracts are for a year, so these would all be coming to an end at the end of the season anyway. When Lobos BUAP decided to sell their license to FC Juárez back in 2019, only a couple were on the roster with Juárez. Some found other clubs, others simply didn’t play anymore. Only time will tell who is wearing the azul y granate when the 2026 Apertura starts.

The Liguilla matchups are set, with superlíder América facing Juárez, Rayadas facing Cruz Azul, Tigres facing Toluca, and Pachuca facing Chivas. The series are home and away, with the higher seed holding home field advantage in the second leg. If teams are tied on aggregate at the end of the second leg, the higher seeded team will proceed to the next round. The times and dates of the matches will most likely be announced today (Monday, April 27) with matches usually starting on Wednesday.

While they didn’t make the Liguilla, this goal from Tijuana was extremely dope and well worth your time.

Thank you for reading Golazo del Gringo! If you enjoyed reading this post, please share it with anyone who enjoys women’s soccer. Also, please click on the links and show these other outlets some love.

We’re starting to see league winners emerge from around the world. Bayern Munich won the Frauen-Bundesliga for the fourth straight time with four weeks to go.

In Spain, Barcelona Femení won their seventh straight Liga F title with five weeks to go.

Sierra Leone’s Mogbwemo Queens won their third Sierra Leone Women's Premier League title with three weeks to go.

While not complete yet, Melbourne City in Australia is going for a treble, and they’re doing it on the backs of young talent signed from around the country.

Columbus is getting an NWSL team. After City Council reluctantly approved giving the team’s ownership group $25 million and control of McCoy Park in the city’s impoverished southwest section for a training facility, Franklin County followed suit by giving the group $25 million as well. Later on Tuesday, it was officially announced.

The NWSL is also going to participate in Project ACL, the Fifpro initiative looking into curbing the ACL injury crisis plaguing women’s soccer.

Seattle Reign captain and Welsh international Jess Fishlock is retiring at the end of the season. Fishlock has been with the Reign since the beginning of the NWSL, and currently sits second on the Reign’s all-time games played list.

Fishlock then suffered an injury during Seattle’s match against Utah that required her to be stretchered off of the field. Hopefully it looked worse than it was and she’ll be able to leave the game on her terms.

In more lighthearted news, the Washington Spirit have found the key to their success: having fun (and the manifestation of that in José, the decoy coyote).

I thoroughly enjoyed this thread about a Seattle Reign fan’s “Can’t Beat Clawdia” poster / campaign for goalkeeper Claudia Dickey. This is the sort of history I believe American soccer should lean into. It’s just the sort of thing that will make some cringe and think we’re a land full of irreverent weirdos, but who cares because we are in fact a land full of irreverent weirdos. There’s nothing wrong with being an irreverent weirdo and having fun.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani appeared in an ad promoting Gotham FC’s May 9th match against Boston. Tickets were sold out within an hour.

Don’t ever let them tell you no one pays attention to women’s soccer.

If you have something that should be included in this segment, please reach out to me via bluesky or email me at [email protected].