Liga MX Femenil expands international coverage with Duel of Stars

The Liga MX Femenil will have its own All-Star Game starting in 2025, albeit with an international focus.

A selection of 30 players from 18 teams will face Barcelona Femenil at the Estadio Universitario de Nuevo León on Friday, August 22. This will be the first time the circuit has hosted a product of this magnitude.

“Something the fans had been asking for was to continue building international platforms for our players, and that's why we announced a selective, all-star group against Barcelona as part of the 2025 Champions Tour ,” said Mariana Gutiérrez, president of Liga MX Femenil.

The match will be organized in conjunction with Soccer Media Solutions , a Mexican company founded in 2005 that specializes in advertising and other partnerships between sports organizations and brands. Its portfolio includes the Mexican National Team, Liga MX, TV Azteca, Fox Sports, and the North, Central American and Caribbean Football Confederation (CONCACAF).

From now on, Liga MX Femenil is part of the Soccer Media Solutions portfolio, which already hosted the Campeonas Tour in 2023 and 2024. These were tours in which Barcelona faced Tigres, América, and Chivas between Monterrey, Mexico City, and Guadalajara.

Innovations in process

The 2025 Champions Tour will have its first stop at El Volcán, where they will face Barcelona with the Liga MX Femenil all-star team. The Catalans' second match will be on Sunday, August 24 against América at Ciudad de los Deportes (CDMX).

"I'm confident we'll mark a turning point for women's soccer in our country," said Josi Eshkenazi, CEO of Soccer Media Solutions.

“Both in Mexico and around the world, women's soccer has experienced unprecedented growth. Just a few years ago, men's teams included women's teams in their sponsorship sales. Today, brands and sponsors are especially seeking out the women's league because the returns on investment are far higher than those of other sports.”

The Liga MX Femenil is entering its ninth year with the 2025-26 season. Mariana Gutiérrez highlighted that they have seen revenue growth three times greater than since their inception in 2017 and have already launched two innovations this summer.

The first was the Campeon de Campeonas, which was played for the first time in the United States. Grupo Spurs was the partner to celebrate at Toyota Field in San Antonio, Texas, where Pachuca defeated Rayadas de Monterrey 1-0.

A few weeks later, the Duel of the Stars will be played against Barcelona, with more than 40,000 spectators expected at the Universitario stadium.

These events reinforce the Liga MX Femenil's goal of internationalization, as expressed by its president.

“It's a platform that will allow us to gain visibility and connect with the best. It's part of the internationalization strategy we're pursuing and an opportunity for the players to generate these synergies. I was on the Campeonas Tour and was able to experience what these players do for the little ones. Being able to bring this to families changes lives. We saw it in San Antonio at the Campeon de Campeonas. The strategy seeks visibility and accessibility for the players.”

Establish itself as a 'destination league'

In response to a question from El Economista, Mariana Gutiérrez emphasized that the Liga MX Femenil has a "master plan" that aims to reach 2031, with the priority being to establish itself as a "destination league."

"We are a destination league because we are convinced that we can and will continue to be one of the best leagues in the world (…) I think that's very clear in the selection of players who are currently in the African Cup, Copa América, and Euro Cup."

The Liga MX Femenil has registered 81 foreign players so far in the 2025 Apertura tournament, from the six confederations that make up FIFA. Among them are some exotic nationalities, such as Uganda, New Zealand, and Cuba.

The "master plan" was designed with the help of an unnamed consulting firm from England, which provided the internationalization assessment, Gutiérrez explained to this newspaper.

"For us, the reason we want to go international is because, first, soccer is global. There are more and more global competitions in which we participate, and right now the European Championship, for example, has a mobilized fan base that travels to see their best player. That's also what we want to achieve, and of course, there are resources. A comprehensive and detailed plan is being developed for the entire women's soccer ecosystem in Mexico.

“In the detailed area that concerns me, which is the Liga MX Femenil, there is a sustainable growth plan, and that involves stakeholders. Having partners like Soccer Media, which allows us to produce matches like today's, the one we did with Grupo Spurs to host the Campeon de Campeonas, and CONCACAF itself, because we also want to provide our brands with unique products, and this is one of them. No one has seen it like this in women's soccer, and for us, that's important. It will allow us to generate revenue, grow it, and also invest within each of our strategic pillars.”

Presidente Intercontinental, Caliente, Bimbo, McCormick, and T-Conecta are some of the brands that appeared on the first banner of the Duel of Stars against Barcelona, the current Spanish league and Super Cup champion.

So far, 25 of the 30 players who will represent Liga MX Femenil against Barcelona have been announced. They include 11 foreign players from nine different countries. Three more will be chosen by vote in the coming days, and two more will be surprises.

The all-star team will be led by Spaniard Pedro Martínez Losa and his coaching staff, who are currently with Tigres.

Liga MX Femenil 2025 All-Star Players

• Nicolette Hernández – America (Mexico)
• Irene Guerrero – America (Spain)
• Brenda Cerén – Atlas (El Salvador)
• Valeria Zárate – Atlético de San Luis (Mexico)
• Julitha Singano – Bravas de Juárez (Tanzania)
• Blanca Félix – Chivas (Mexico)
• Carolina Jaramillo – Chivas (Mexico)
• Deneisha Blackwood – Cruz Azul (Jamaica)
• Aerial Chavarín – Cruz Azul (United States)
• Ruth Bravo – León (Argentina)
• Sinoxolo Cesane – Mazatlán (South Africa)
• Samantha Calvillo – Necaxa (Mexico)
• Andrea Pereira – Pachuca (Spain)
• Charlyn Corral – Pachuca