Major Arena Soccer League 2
Second Division of the MASL Indoor Soccer Pyramid
North America's largest city -- Mexico City -- will join MASL 2 for 2025-26
TAMPA, Florida – Major Arena Soccer League 2 will continue to grow its international footprint, with a new team for the 2025-26 season in the largest city in North America.
Deportivo Asunción de la Ciudad de México will join the MASL family, becoming the second Mexican team to be part of MASL 2 starting next fall along with Soles de Sonora.
Deportivo Asuncion, originally from Iztapalapa, is celebrating its 18th anniversary in 2025, and is a popular local club that has numerous tournament championships to its credit through the years.
The team will be coached by one of the most iconic players in indoor soccer, Genoni Martinez, who has reached almost unparalleled success on the field and as a coach.
A player for more than two decades, he suited up for many clubs between 1994 and 2016 – including a MASL championship in 2015-16 as a player/coach for the Monterrey Flash. He has also played for the Cleveland Force, Wichita Wings and St. Louis Steamers among other teams, appearing in a remarkable 599 career regular season and playoff games with 528 goals and 495 assists. He spent a total of eight years playing for the Monterrey clubs and also won a MASL championship in 2023-24 as the coach of the Chihuahua Savage.
“It's important for the league and the sport to continue to grow professionally and thoughtfully throughout North America, and Mexico City is a natural part of that. It's a great way to expose the MASL brand to a whole new fan base which we know loves soccer,” Commissioner Chris Economides said. “We know how good Chihuahua has been in recent years, and I would expect Mexico City to be tremendously competitive right out of the gate. I don't think Mexican fans would expect anything less.”
Players expected to suit up later this year according to team representatives include defender Angel Castro, a member of the 2025 TST LigaFut7 entry which advanced to the Round of 16 earlier this month where they lost to the Newtown Pride. Newtown won the inaugural 2023 TST championship and $1 million winner-take-all prize. Other standouts expected to play for Deportivo Asuncion are midfielder Adriano Nunes, midfielder John Ponce and defender Gustavo Rosales.
Mexico City is expected to join the large Midwest/West Division which will be broken down into “scheduling pods” to help control travel expenses. Sonora and RGV will be in Mexico City's pod.
“MASL 2 is the initial objective of professionalization, seeking to form an identity with the fans of Mexico City and indoor soccer,” said owner Ismael Tierradentro Ramírez. “The league will be a great place for us to continue developing Mexican players with great skills for the modality. The sole objective is to win the title, form a solid structure,and continue to grow in the league.”
MASL 2 will start its ninth season late this fall, as part of the Major Arena Soccer League pyramid of player and club development. Each club plays a 12-game regular season schedule.The Chihuahua Savage II won their second MASL 2 title in three years in April, defeating the Iowa Demon Hawks, the defending league champions, 8-7 in overtime. More information can be found at www.masl2.com. More information on Deportivo Asuncion can be found at www.instagram.com/deportivo.asuncion.
