Liga MX was dominated by an informal alliance between owners, managers, and players

A little over 6 months after its founding, the Mexican Association of Professional Footballers has achieved something historic for Mexican football, it ended with the so-called Pact of Gentlemen. This agreement was nothing more than informal pact between club managers, owners, and players to dispose of the careers of the players, by conditioning their "freedom" to other clubs or leagues as long as the club agreed and in many cases received a compensation.

Leer en español: ¿Por qué los los futbolistas mexicanos hacen tambalear el sistema de préstamos de la FIFA?

If the player did not agree to continue in the club, the pact became a barrier to the development of his career, which gave great power to managers and owners. These agreements have been applied for decades in Mexican football and in international football, so many players have been harmed by not accepting the provisions of the clubs when they finish their contracts. In the case of Mexico, there are many examples that show the scope of these agreements.

Alan Pulido is a former Tigres FC player who looked for an opportunity in Europe, finding it in Greece. His club did not agree to let him out; it even became a legal problem, so the Monterrey club made use of the Gentlemen's Pact against the player. As a result, Alan Pulido was isolated from the Mexican national team for a long time, without a sports justification. When he wanted to return to Mexican soccer he found an invisible barrier, the pact prevented him from returning to the country to play. Guadalajara FC, the club that was interested in him, had to negotiate with Tigres FC so that the player could return to Liga MX.

As in the case of Alan Pulido there are many in Mexico, players who did not want to renew with their clubs or who wanted to find opportunities in Europe and at the end they found this barrier. The great problem of this pact is precisely that it is invisible and does not exist on paper, in addition to the fact that the directors, owners of clubs, and the same Mexican Football Federation denied their existence.

The players who are active in Mexican clubs decided to formalize the association in October 2017 and this week they managed to break the damaging pact. Now, players without a club will have the possibility to move freely between clubs. In addition, the dates of the draft will be extended, the Mexican soccer transfer system, so that players have the possibility of finding a club. The players also managed to get the contracting and transfer system revised to improve conditions, with these two achievements the players who play in Mexico feel optimistic about their future, which they consider will make Mexican football more competitive.

The Pact of Gentlemen has been a problem for years in Mexico and other parts of the world. There is still a need to apply the FIFA regulations, which allow players to be hired 6 months before the end of their contract and not at the end of it as was achieved only in Mexico. For the moment, the Mexican soccer authorities and the players have shown willingness to dialogue and have announced that these measures will come IGNORE INTO effect as of the 2019 Apertura tournament.

Latin American Post | Luis Liborio
Translated from “ Los futbolistas mexicanos hacen historia: termina el problemático "Pacto de Caballeros"”