Tepatitlán F.C.

Tepatitlán
Full name	Tepatitlán Fútbol Club
Nickname(s)	Los Alteños (The Alteños) ; El Tepa (The Tepa)
Founded	1944; 80 years ago
Ground	Stadium Tepa Gómez,; Tepatitlán, Jalisco, Mexico
Capacity	8,085
Owner	Racing Sports Holding
Chairman	Brando Garrido
Manager	Héctor Jair Real
League	Liga de Expansión MX
Apertura 2024	Regular season: 7th; Play–offs: Quarter–finals
Website	https://www.tepatitlanfc.com/
Home colours	Away colours

Tepatitlán Fútbol Club, commonly known as Alteños de Tepatitlán, or just Tepa, is a Mexican football club based in Tepatitlán, Jalisco, Mexico. The club was founded in 1944, and currently plays in the Liga de Expansión MX.^[3]

History

The people's team

Its beginnings were after a selection for Regional Tournament with the aim of reaching if they were victorious to the state championship. The Mission was appointed to Fausto Prieto, this team was called The People's Team.

Some names of players that appear in the years of 1944–1946 are: Luis Veles, Miguel Escoto "El Mugres", Andrés González "The different", Max Prieto, Goyo Franco, Gregorio Gómez, Enrique Estrada, Roberto Estrada "El Rocha" , Elio Vázquez, Eleuterio Silva, "Tello Silva the face of a cock", Arnulfo de la Torre "El Casarín" and Rafael Martínez "El Piwe".

Championship Promotion Final 2017–18

On 19 May 2018, Tepatitlán was proclaimed champion of the 2017–18 season of Serie A de México after defeating Loros UdeC by penalty shootout in the promotion final. However, they were not promoted to Ascenso MX and were forced to remain in Serie A after the Mexican Football Federation ruled the club did not meet the necessary requirements.^[4]

1. "We were 20 seconds away from being sad ... but we touched the back of the medal. And now only plan well what will be the next tournament and work as we have been doing with great enthusiasm to do something important and hopefully gave us a next championship to have the direct promotion," said Enrique López Zarza, a Reporter of the Premier League.

PROMOTION 2018 SQUAD
No.	Pos.	Nac.	Judador
12	GK		Jesús Montoya
3	DF		Josué Soria
4	DF		Daniel Aguiñaga
5	DF		Javier Medina
23	DF		Jesús Ruiz
6	MF		Román Reynoso
7	MF		Moisés Ramos
8	MF		Antonio Torres
10	MF		Luis Rodríguez
14	MF		Agustín Ojeda
9	FW		Carlos López

25	GK		Cristian Orozco
2	DF		Abraham Chávez
13	DF		Eduardo Castello
77	DF		Oscar De La Mora
11	MF		Fabrizio Diaz
20	MF		Carlos Ponce
17	FW		Oscar Saavedra

1	GJ		Christian López
16	MF		Fernando Cedillo
60	MF		Mauricio Estrada
33	FW		Andrés Ríos
69	FW		Diego Medina

DT			Enrique López Zarza

New era

On 15 June 2020, the team was renamed as Tepatitlán F.C. and adopted the nickname Alteños, with the aim of representing the entire region, Los Altos de Jalisco.^[5] in addition to a possible integration in the Liga de Expansión MX.^[6] On July 17, Tepatitlán F.C. was accepted at Liga de Expansión as an expansion team.^[7]

On 19 August 2020 the team debuted in the new category, Tepatitlán drew with Atlético Morelia 2–2. Mauricio López scored the club's first goal in the Liga de Expansión.^[8]

2021 Guardians Clausura Tournament Champion

For the Clausura 2021 tournament, the Alteña squad performed a regular tournament in which they finished in 6th. place of the general, already for the league he faced Dorados de Sinaloa, Cimarrones de Sonora and Mineros de Zacatecas.

On May 15, 2021, the team was proclaimed champion of the Liga de Expansión MX. Los Alteños won the title after drawing 2-2 as visitors against Atlético Morelia, the club claimed their 1–0 victory in the first leg and thus won the championship. ^[9]

Champion of Champions 2020–21

A week later, on May 22, the team won its second title by winning the 2020–21 Champion of Champions of the Liga de Expansión MX after defeating Tampico Madero in a series of penalties. The Alteños tied at two goals on aggregate after winning 2–0 at home and leveling the series, finally, in the series from eleven steps, the club won 5–3. ^[10]

Instability and owners change

During 2023 and 2024, the club's board began to question the continuity of Tepatitlán F.C. due to financial problems derived from off-field situations and the constant changes in the team's roster as a result of the age limitations of the Liga de Expansión players.^[11] In May 2024, the Tepatitlán board received an offer to purchase the franchise from the owners of C.D.S. Tampico Madero, a team that was active in the Liga Premier and sought to ensure its return to the second tier in any way, a purchase agreement was reached, so the team was ready to change its name and location.^[12]

On July 12, 2024, Tampico Madero was promoted to Liga de Expansión by invitation, however, the Tepatitlán franchise was purchased by the owners of Racing de Veracruz, a team that plays in the Liga Premier – Serie A. With the purchase, the new owners of Tepatitlán intend to relocate the team to Veracruz City for the 2025–26 season.^[13]

On the other hand, due to the operational instability of Tepatitlán F.C. and with the aim of ensuring the continuity of professional football in the city, a group of local businessmen bought the club Acatlán F.C. from Zapotlanejo, a team that will play in the Liga Premier – Serie A starting in the 2024–25 season.^[14] The owners of Acatlán attempted to move the team to Tepatitlán, however, the management of Tepatitlán F.C. did not grant permission to do so, so Acatlán paused its attempt to move from its city pending a future change of name and venue of the Liga de Expansión team.^[15]

Players

Current squad

As of 26 July 2024^[16]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
1	GK	MEX	Ricardo Díaz (on loan from Tijuana)
3	DF	MEX	Diego Hernández
4	DF	MEX	Jesús González
5	DF	MEX	Mauricio Hernández
6	MF	MEX	Alan Ruiz
8	MF	MEX	Tomás Montano
9	FW	MEX	Juan José Machado
10	MF	MEX	Alfonso Tamay
11	MF	MEX	Miguel Ángel Vallejo
12	GK	MEX	Williams Bravo
13	DF	MEX	José Saavedra
14	DF	MEX	Ángel González
15	DF	MEX	Fernando Cruz
16	DF	MEX	Eduardo Pastrana


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
17	FW	MEX	Luis Loroña
18	GK	MEX	Maximiliano Almada
19	DF	MEX	Said Castañeda
20	MF	MEX	Andrés González
21	MF	MEX	Mario Aguilar
22	MF	MEX	Martín Barra (on loan from Juárez)
23	MF	MEX	Johan Rodríguez
25	MF	MEX	Antonio Soto
27	DF	MEX	Sergio Vázquez
28	FW	MEX	Adolfo Hernández
30	GK	MEX	Edder Martínez
33	FW	MEX	Gamaliel Sánchez
35	FW	MEX	Brandon Rodríguez

Personnel

Coaching staff

Position	Staff
Manager	Héctor Jair Real
Assistant managers	Gamaliel Durán Héctor Real Casillas
Fitness coach	Julio Morales
Physiotherapist	Arturo González
Team doctors	Led Melo Eric Hernández

Reserve teams

Tepatitlán F.C. "B" (Liga TDP)

Reserve team that plays in the Liga TDP, the fourth level of the Mexican league system.

Season	Division	Position
2016/2017	Ligue TDP	5o. Group X (Thirty-two)
2017/2018	Ligue TDP	6o. Group X (Thirty-two)
2018/2019	Ligue TDP	14o. Group X
2019/2020	Ligue TDP	10o. Group X
2020/2021	Ligue TDP	8o. Group X
2021/2022	Ligue TDP	4o. Group X (Thirty-two)

The Classic Alteño

In this division there is a great rivalry with the rival of the city the Club and the C.D. Aves Blancas, so it has become a classic; "The Classic Alteño" is the name given to the football matches that face each other, the two most representative teams from the city of Tepatitlán de Morelos, Jalisco, the Tepatitlán and the Aves Blancas.

The sporting rivalry of both clubs is manifested through the numerous confrontations that throughout history, both in corresponding official matches of the Third Division; for several years it was the highest category for the city, hence a rivalry against the town's team was generated; in addition to state tournaments and local league.

Alteños Acatic F.C.