Change in policy

It seems Jesus Padilla and Carlos Borja are part of a possible new wave of Chivas de Guadalajara players.

The club, which had an unwritten rule about using only "Mexicans born in Mexico" prior to this week, has now aligned itself with the Mexican constitution, which states that any child born to Mexican natives regardless of the actual birthplace is considered Mexican. Under the Mexican constitution, Padilla, Borja and yours truly are all in the same boat.

Before this week, though, Chivas' tradition trumped the Mexican constitution. But according to Cancha, the club has now had an apparent policy shift and will cast their nets toward a wider, possibly lucrative talent pool, the Mexican-American pool.

Chivas put out a release on Thursday, and Cancha published this part of it, which I have translated:

The Constitution establishes that Mexican citizenship is inviolable, that there is no manner in which a Mexican by birth can be deprived of it. Thus, Jesus Andres Padilla Cisneros fits this profile and forms part of this institution.

Previously, the club adhered to an unwritten law which dates back to the early 1940s, when then-club president Ignacio Lopez Hernandez wrote in a letter that the club would henceforth accept only "Mexicans born in Mexico" and shut the door completely on foreign-born players.

Since then, a handful of players not born in Mexico have played for the club, the latest of which was Jesus Padilla.

Now, the "Mexicans born in Mexico" policy is seemingly in the past. Many viewed this as a racist and exclusionary policy while others saw no harm in it. As society on both sides of the border is vastly different now than it was six decades ago, the club has realigned its policies as such.

Should this policy stick, it could have a huge ripple affect on soccer in the United States. More American-born players could set their sights on playing in Mexico now that one of the country's most popular clubs no longer will shut them out. This will only increase the competition between MLS and U.S. Soccer and even within other FMF clubs, several of whom already count on Mexican-American players.

It will be interesting to see what the fallout of this supposed policy shift will be, if the hardcore Chivas fans will accept it or not. My guess is that U.S.-based Chivas fans will be more sympathetic towards Padilla and the new policy while more Mexico-based Chivas fans will not be so easily swayed. Traditions, after all, are difficult to change sometimes.