Club de Futbol Cruz Azul S.A. de C.V. Hidalgo, also known as Cruz Azul Hidalgo, is a Mexican professional football club based in Ciudad Cooperativa Cruz Azul, Hidalgo. The club competes in Liga de Expansión MX, the second level division of Mexican football, and plays its home matches at Estadio Refundación. It serves as an affiliate team of Cruz Azul.
Founded in 1993, the club competed at various levels of the Mexican football pyramid. In 2014, the original second-division franchise was sold, prompting the affiliate team Cruz Azul Jasso to adopt the Cruz Azul Hidalgo identity to continue competing in the Liga Premier de México. The team operated until its dissolution in 2021. Ahead of the 2026–27 season, the club was reestablished to return to the Liga de Expansión MX.
History Early years The team began its professional activity in the Tercera División de México, in 1990 it achieved the runner-up in the category and managed to be promoted to the Segunda División 'B' de México. In 1994 the team won its promotion to the Segunda División 'A' de México, however, that year a remodeling of Mexican football was presented with the creation of the Primera División 'A' de México, so Cruz Azul Hidalgo was invited to the new Segunda División, which became the third tier of the Mexican league system. In the first season in the Segunda División, Cruz Azul Hidalgo won the championship of the season and the promotion to the Primera División 'A' after defeating Bachilleres.
Ascenso MX In the Verano 1999 and Verano 2000 tournaments of the Primera División 'A', the club finished as runner-up in the league, being defeated by Unión de Curtidores and Irapuato respectively.
In 2003, the team was relocated to the city of Oaxaca and renamed Cruz Azul Oaxaca, in this location the team was runner-up in the 2005 Apertura Tournament, being defeated by Puebla, in 2006 the team returned to Hidalgo. In 2006, Cruz Azul Jasso was created as the institution's third team, participating in the Segunda División.
After 2006, the team consolidated itself in the league, qualifying for the play–offs on a regular basis, and continuing its participation even when the league eliminated the reserve teams from the Primera División de México. As of 2012, the team began to have problems in the relegation table, ensuring its permanence in the final part of the seasons.
In 2014, the team was relocated to Zacatepec, Morelos and purchased by the owners of Zacatepec 1948, who used the franchise to give continuity to their team in the Liga de Ascenso de México.
Liga Premier de México After the relocation of the Cruz Azul Hidalgo franchise to Zacatepec, Morelos and Zacatepec 1948 bought the team's rights and license to join the Ascenso MX, Cruz Azul Jasso, which played in the Liga Premier de Ascenso, was renamed Cruz Azul Hidalgo to ensure the team's permanence in a category below the one it was active in until that year. The club was runner-up in the division category in the Clausura 2015 and 2020–21 tournaments.
At the end of 2020, Cruz Azul had changes in its board of directors, so an austerity policy was initiated with the aim of eliminating the club's financial debts, for this reason, the continuity of the Cruz Azul Hidalgo team began to be questioned, on June 26, 2021 it was announced that the team would be put on hiatus for the 2021–22 season.
The team was not reactivated for the 2022–23 season, which, combined with the difficulties in operating in the Ciudad Cooperativa due to internal problems of the Cooperativa La Cruz Azul, meant the dissolution of Cruz Azul Hidalgo.
Liga de Expansión MX In April 2026, it was reported that Cruz Azul's management had plans to revive its reserves team with a view to competing from the 2026-27 season, so it requested its registration in the Liga de Expansión MX, the second division level of Mexican football. In July, the team's return to football was confirmed after a five-year hiatus.
Stadium
Estadio Refundación, formerly known as Estadio 10 de Diciembre, originally served as the home ground for Cruz Azul from their promotion to the top flight in 1964 until the senior team was relocated to Mexico City in 1971. Following the relocation, the venue transitioned into the primary sporting base for the organization's reserve and youth development system. Most notably, it served as the longtime home for the affiliate club Cruz Azul Hidalgo across more than two decades of competition in the Primera División 'A' de México / Liga de Ascenso de México and the Segunda División de México, while also hosting matches for Cruz Azul Jasso and other developmental categories.
Personnel Coaching staff Position Staff Head coach Esteban Landazábal Assistant coaches Francisco González Rafael Rojano Goalkeeper coach Aldo Paredes Fitness coach José Puga Physiotherapist Raúl Ramírez Team doctor Josué Ramos
Source: Liga de Expansión MX
Management Position Staff President Víctor Velázquez Administrative director Antonio Reynoso Director of football Iván Alonso
Source: Récord
Players Current squad
Players listed in bold have made at least one senior first-team appearance.
Former players
Honours
Segunda División Champions (1): 1994–95
References
External links Current Players "Exclusiva: Cruz Azul Hidalgo Desaparece Para Convertirse En Zacatepec." Goal.com. Goal, 15 May 2014. Web. 15 May 2014.