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Presenting the National Youth Championship!
The league wanted an easier way for young players to get on a team than to one day be seen randomly by a club scout or coach. For this reason, they invested into the creation of the Campeonato Juvenil Nacional (National Youth Championship).
The CJN is a national tournament for U18 players, with one team in every state capital. The teams are separated into the 8 regions of Mexico, with the winner of each region advancing to the playoffs, as well as the 8 best teams that didn't qualify. It is a summer league, running from June to August, allowing for player availability and no missed school days.
Here's the complete team list, in parenthesis is the English translation of the team name as well as the city they're located in:
Northwest Region
Ballenas de Baja California Sur (Whales, La Paz)
Cimarrones de Sonora (Bighorns, Hermosillo)
Alacranes de Durango (Scorpions, Durango)
Marineros de Baja California (Sailors, Mexicali)
Dorados de Chihuahua (Golden, Chihuahua)
Cañeros de Sinaloa (Sugar-caners, Culiacán)
Northeast Region
Loros de Tamaulipas (Parrots, Victoria)
Acereros de Nuevo León (Steelers, Monterrey)
Dinos de Coahuila (Short for dinosaurs, Saltillo)
West Region
Tecolotes de Nayarit (Owls, Tepic)
Ates de Michoacán (Ate is a typical sweet from this region, Morelia)
Agaveros de Jalisco (Blue agave is the plant which tequila is made from, Guadalajara)
Caimanes de Colima (Alligators, Colima)
East Region
Ángeles de Puebla (Angels, Puebla)
Atlantes de Hidalgo (The Atlantes or Atlas are 4 human-like figures 4.5m tall that were found in the city of Tula, but this team will be based in the capital Pachuca)
Tiburones de Veracruz (Sharks, Veracruz)
Coyotes de Tlaxcala (Tlaxcala)
Center-north Region
Rieleros de Aguascalientes (Railroaders, Aguascalientes)
Bravos de Guanajuato (In this sense bravos is used to represent something wild, brave and/or strong, Guanajuato)
Libertadores de Querétaro (Liberators, Querétaro)
Santos de San Luis (Saints, San Luis)
Mineros de Zacatecas (Miners, Zacatecas)
Center-south Region
Capitalinos de la Ciudad de México (People from the capital, Mexico City)
Colibríes de Morelos (Hummingbirds, Cuernavaca)
Diablos del Estado de México (Devils, Toluca)
Southwest Region
Jaguares de Chiapas (Jaguars, Tuxtla Gutiérrez)
Iguanas de Guerrero (Chilpancingo)
Guerreros de Oaxaca (Warriors, Oaxaca)
Southeast Region
Pelícanos de Quintana Roo (Pelicans, Ohtón P. Blanco (Chetumal))
Piratas de Campeche (Pirates, Campeche)
Venados de Yucatán (Deer, Mérida)
Olmecas de Tabasco (The Olmeca were a pre-classical civilization in the area, Centro (Villahermosa))
32 states, 52 games, only one winner! It will be exciting to see which states become powerhouses and which youngsters become stars in the league.
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