FMF power shift: Nieto Junco rises, Sisniega steps back, Márquez looks to 2030

The unveiling of Rafa Márquez with Mexico's national teams unfolded in an odd atmosphere. The president's seat at the Mexican Football Federation (FMF) was empty. Ivar Sisniega, the organisation's leader, did not appear at the most anticipated event of the national-team cycle. For those used to watching power transfers in football, that absence is rarely a slip. It is a deliberate message: power has begun to change hands before any official confirmation is published. The initial information came from journalist Rubén Rodríguez on X. He used cautious phrases: 'everything points to Ivar Sisniega being close to leaving', 'Enrique Nieto Junco has been appointed vice president of the FMF and National Teams', and 'pending official confirmation'. Still, the report paints an almost complete picture of a restructuring at the highest level of Mexican football. To understand the story, look at the organisational chart the FMF is rebuilding. Márquez, the new head coach of the national team, along with Duilio Davino and Andrés Lillini, will report directly to Nieto Junco. One reporting line, concentrating all technical decisions in the hands of an official who recently left the deputy general secretary's office. For a federation used to operating from the president down to the departments, this is a systemic change, even if no tactical data from the pitch appears. The timing stands out. Nieto Junco did not wait for the appointment ceremony to start working; according to the report, he has been active in his new role for several days before the information was made public. President Sisniega was absent from the national team's tour and from Márquez's unveiling. Rubén Rodríguez described Sisniega's situation with a heavy phrase: the president is now left without command or action, while others begin to exercise power. There is no match to dissect here, but there is a dressing room in the broadest sense: the FMF boardroom. More than thirty years with a microphone taught me this: sport is not just the score. Today's story lives in the corridors of power, and it says more about the team's future than any friendly. Look closer at the central figure of the restructuring: Enrique Nieto Junco has a profile different from outside leaders. Nearly 15 years inside the organisation, from director of international affairs to deputy general secretary, he is a product of the very machine he is about to run. Choosing a long-time insider over a fresh face shows the change comes with a desire for continuity. The machine can run smoothly even when the old leader leaves, because the successor already knows every corner of it. The timeline of the Márquez project also raises an interesting point. He was introduced with a vision 'heading toward the 2030 World Cup', while Mexico is one of three co-hosts of the 2026 World Cup. If the farthest goal is 2030, it means the FMF is preparing for a long cycle, or tacitly admitting the 2026 cycle is hard to rescue with an initial push. For a team that just went through a period of unstable results, setting the marker at the tournament after the nearest one is a strategic signal to track. Tactically, there are no numbers from the pitch to quantify. But in power transfers, what can be measured is the level of control. The entire technical staff of the national team is placed under one vice president, who operates without waiting for final confirmation. That suggests an internal group sat down, assigned roles clearly, and decided the timing of the announcement. Sisniega's absence from every recent major event reinforces the view that his departure has been staged in advance. The voice of the dressing room. The media tends to read this story as a leadership crisis. But a contrarian view suggests this is an organised transition, if not a carefully calculated one. Nieto Junco did not come from outside to clean up; he is an insider prepared for 15 years. The disorder is only at the tip of the iceberg: delayed official announcements, the shadow of an empty presidential seat, and public waiting. Beneath, the flow of power has moved for a long time. What is more worrying is the quality of the source. The entire story rests on a journalist's social media post, with words like 'everything points to', 'soon', 'pending confirmation'. If any detail is denied, the story can shift completely. But even so, the fact that a president was absent from the head coach's unveiling is real. That image cannot be erased quickly from fans' minds, especially when Mexico is hosting a World Cup. When the old wave recedes, I step onto the new platform, my voice remains my own. The FMF is stepping onto a new platform in their own way: unshowy, unconfirmed, but proactive. The open question is whether that proactivity comes with accountability. In an organisation where power is transferred before it is confirmed, the trust of partners, CONCACAF, FIFA and fans will be on the scale. And as with every power game, what is finally recorded is the behaviour after the audience leaves the stands.