Latinx Files: Why I’m taking a break from the Mexican men’s national soccer team

In recent memory, nothing has made me feel like more of a sucker than rooting for the Mexican men’s national soccer team.

I became a fan of El Tri like I imagine most did, by watching matches as a child with a loved one. In my case, it was my dad (QEPD). He passed down this fandom to me— one of the very first pieces I wrote for The Times was about the bond I formed with him because of it. For many Mexican Americans, wearing that green jersey is the easiest and most blatant way to display pride in one’s heritage.

At least it used to be.

Over the last few years, the team has been awful. At the 2022 FIFA World Cup, Mexico failed to move on from the group stage, something that hadn’t happened since the 1978 tournament. It lost to the United States, its bitter rival, at the Nations League in 2023 and this past March.

El Tri has fallen to such depths that following its early exit from the 2024 Copa America, where it scored one goal in three matches, my L.A. Times en Español colleague Eduard Cauich wrote that the best case scenario for the team at the 2026 World Cup was to avoid embarrassing itself on home soil — Mexico will co-host the tournament with the U.S. and Canada.

What’s made this decline so egregious is that the Mexican Football Federation has made no real attempt at improving the squad, focusing instead on extracting as much money from Mexico fans living in the United States.

“For us, the U.S. market is part of our home market because we have about 40 million of our people in the U.S.,� Yon de Luisa, former president of the Mexican Football Federation, said in 2022. “And in terms of purchasing capacity, you can expect that the 40 million in the U.S. has way bigger purchasing capacity than the 120 million in Mexico.�

In other words, pocho dollars are even better than Mexican pesos.

That has sadly been the case for the last two decades. In that time, El Tri has played significantly more matches on this side of the border than at home, regularly packing NFL stadiums across the country by scheduling friendlies against lower caliber squads. The team has also become a magnet for brand partnerships, striking deals with blue chip companies like Adidas, Home Depot, Wells Fargo and AT&T.

“This fan base is very loyal,� Pablo Zarate, vice president at Soccer United Marketing, told Adage in June. SUM, which is owned by Major League Soccer, is the marketing company in charge of promoting and organizing Mexico’s friendly matches in the U.S.; it also negotiates brand deals on behalf of the federation.

“On top of consuming matches and news about the team,� Zarate added, “fans also feel a close association with the brands that are partners in the Mexican National Team’s journey. It is unique in sports.�

Win or lose, Mexican soccer in the U.S. is big business.

It’s hard not to feel cynical about all this. To have an integral part of my ethnic identity be talked about in such terms doesn’t make me feel like a fan. It makes me feel like a mark.

The silver lining is that it appears like I’m not the only one questioning this one-sided toxic relationship with El Tri.

In the last week, Mexico played two friendlies in the U.S. that were poorly attended. The team faced off against New Zealand at the Rose Bowl on Saturday, drawing 25,271 fans to a venue with seating capacity of nearly 90,000. The 3-0 victory was one of the least attended Mexico matches in the U.S. of the last decade.

And while some might point to the excruciating Southern California heat as a reason for why fans didn’t show up, El Tri also failed to draw a crowd Tuesday, when it faced off against Canada at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Attendance for that 0-0 draw? 32,623.

According to the Dallas Morning News, it was the smallest crowd in the 14 games Mexico has played at AT&T Stadium since 2009 — average attendance for these matches: 67,373.

I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t feel a strong sense of schadenfreude upon learning these figures.

For the time being, I’m taking a break from this team. There are much healthier ways to constantly feel disappointed. I’ve stored all my Mexico jerseys — I have 14 — and paraphernalia in the garage until further notice. Who knows? Maybe El Tri will turn things around and draw me back in. But until something changes, rest assured I won’t be buying anything they’re selling.

(Jackie Rivera / For The Times; Martina Ibáñez-Baldor / Los Angeles Times)

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