Analysis of the Competitive Balance in Mexican Soccer Based on Concentration Indicators, 1946-2015

This article deals with the evolution of competitive balance (CB) in the Mexican soccer league from its professionalization to date (1943-2015). We calculate and even adapt several distribution measures used in previous works for European competitions to analyze three theoretical interconnected interpretations of CB for the case. The results show a sustained improvement in CB over time with a relevant breaking point in 1996 due to the establishment of a new competition system based on two short tournaments per year. We then establish a periodization consistent regarding the evolution of CB and also relative to historical changes in the competition system (1946-1970; 1971-1995; 1996-2015). Finally, the findings point towards the argument sustained by Szymanski (2003) regarding the capacity of significant regulatory changes to affect the competitive equilibrium in sports contests