Jefes de Ciudad Juárez (English: ''Ciudad Juárez Chiefs'') are an

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

team based in

Ciudad Juárez Ciudad Juárez ( , ; "Juárez City"), commonly referred to as just Juárez (Lipan language, Lipan: ''Tsé Táhú'ayá''), is the most populous city in the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Mexican state of Chihuahua (state), Chihuahua. It was k ...

, Mexico. The Jefes compete in the

Liga de Fútbol Americano Profesional The Professional American Football League ( or LFA), is a semi-professional American football league in Mexico, founded in 2016. Starting with four teams, the LFA has since expanded to eleven members as of 2022. The regular season runs in the sp ...

(LFA), the top American football league in Mexico, after playing its inaugural season in the

Fútbol Americano de México Mexican American Football ('', FAM'') was a professional American football minor league in Mexico, founded in 2018. Due to sponsorship reasons, the league was also known as FAM-YOX for the 2022 season. Starting with five teams, the FAM expanded ...

league. The team plays its home games at the Estadio 20 de Noviembre, with a capacity of 5,000 seated spectators.

History

On 18 March 2022, the team was presented at a press conference in

as an expansion team in the

(FAM) league, with César Durán as the owner and president and David Silva as its first head coach. The inaugural 48-man roster was revealed the following month and included 16 foreign players, all with

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest division of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athlet ...

or Division II experience. The Jefes played their first game on 30 April 2022, kicking off the 2022 season with an 18–0 victory over the Bulldogs de Naucalpan at the Estadio Jaime Labastida. Andre Dowdell caught the first touchdown in team history from

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

Andrés Chío in their first drive. The following week, the Jefes lost 18–16 to the Rojos CDMX in their home opener. After another loss in week 3, the team fired head coach David Silva and promoted linebackers coach Mario Diaz to the position. The Jefes finished their inaugural season with a 3–5 record, failing to qualify for the playoffs.

League change

On 30 September 2022, the FAM league announced it was shutting down operations, leaving the Jefes without a league. In October, the team announced it was joining the

(LFA) for its upcoming season with Lorenzo Gathers as the new head coach. He became the first non-Mexican coach in LFA history. On 26 March, Jefes fired Lorenzo Gathers after the team failed to win a single game on their first four matches; Gathers was replaced by Randall Mendoza. Later, Gathers published a letter in which he pointed out the team's disorganization, such as not paying the players and staff and not allowing him to choose his coaching staff.

Roster

Season-by-season

References

External links

* {{Liga de Fútbol Americano Profesional Liga de Fútbol Americano Profesional teams Sports clubs and teams in Ciudad Juárez American football teams established in 2022 2022 establishments in Mexico