Mexico has threatened to leave Liga MX-based players out of contention for the World Cup roster if they are late to a training camp that begins on Wednesday night.
The federation outlined a plan last December decreeing that the national team training would be prioritized despite the clear calendar conflict as the Liga MX playoffs kick off this week.
The idea of an early camp was to give Mexico manager Javier Aguirre a little over five weeks of prep with a Liga MX-based squad, while most other nations will be waiting for their own players to wrap-up their club seasons.
On Tuesday, Toluca’s Jesús Gallardo and Alexis Vega — both included as part of the Liga MX-based call-up for May — were seen training with their club ahead of a Wednesday night Concacaf Champions Cup match against LAFC, raising questions about their national team camp attendance.
By Tuesday night, Chivas owner Amaury Vergara, who has five national team players missing in the middle of a playoff run, took to social media to call his players back to the club.
“Agreements are only valid when all parties respect them,” Vergara said. “I instructed the sporting directors that our players should report to the club facilities tomorrow.”
In response on Wednesday, the Mexico federation issued a statement reminding players and their clubs, noting that “as instructed by the coaching staff, any player who does not attend the training camp today will be left off the World Cup roster.”
The federation has scheduled a news conference for Wednesday afternoon.
The early 12-man list are set to start training Wednesday before a core of European-based options begin arriving later in May.
Before kicking off the World Cup, Aguirre and his men will take part in exhibitions against Ghana on May 22, Australia on May 30 and Serbia on June 4.
After beginning the group stage of the World Cup against South Africa on June 11, they’ll then face South Korea on June 18 and Czechia on June 24.
In Liga MX, the quarterfinals begin on May 2 and will close out with the second leg of the final on May 24.
