Amid the thrilling storylines that the opening nights of Leagues Cup have thrown up so far, some of the tournament’s more eagle-eyed viewers will have picked up on a somewhat unusual detail during games.
In many of the games involving one of the tournament’s 18 Mexican teams, several players have been sporting shirt numbers well above the customary limit of 99 - some even going as high as 200.
It's a feature that fans are likely to see more of as the tournament goes on. In total, there are 106 players across the LIGA MX team squads for this summer’s Leagues Cup who can take the field with a three-digit number on their back - Toluca FC have registered as many as 10, making up nearly a third of their roster.
The explanation for this numerical extravagance is deceptively simple. With two-digit squad numbers reserved for first-team players, those coming through the ranks are allocated a number beyond 99. As a result, academy prospects are initially registered under a number that won’t have already been taken in the first team, as all players need to be registered with the Mexican FA regardless of their age category. Once they have graduated to the senior team on a full-time basis, youth prospects are then allocated a more conventional number.
Among the players who have already featured at Leagues Cup with three numbers on the back of their shirts are Atlas FC forward Jorge Guzmán (209) and Pumas attacker Emanuel Montejano (210). The latter would come in the second half of his team’s opener against CF Montréal, and score a late equaliser to seal an unlikely comeback, although they would eventually lose out on penalties. Not bad, for a first senior appearance of the season.
As they look to claim a long-term spot in the senior team, the LIGA MX teams’ young prospects will undoubtedly look to make the most of their chances at Leagues Cup over the course of the next month. For many of these emerging talents, a breakthrough performance this summer could be decisive in knocking a digit off their squad number.
