Dorados de Sinaloa

Club Deportivo Dorados de Sinaloa, simply known as Dorados, is a Mexican professional football club based in Culiacán, Sinaloa. It competes in Liga de Expansión MX, the second level division of Mexican football, and plays its home matches at the Estadio Dorados.

Dorados was founded on August 8, 2003, in the Primera División A and secured promotion to Mexico's top flight just one year later. In 2016, the club was relegated and has since competed in the Liga de Expansión.^[3]

Dorados was founded on August 8, 2003, in the Primera División 'A', the second tier of the Mexican football system. On December 20, they won their first title in the Apertura 2003 tournament, with Guadalupe Castañeda scoring the decisive goal against Cobras de Juárez in the final. In the following tournament, Dorados finished as runners-up.

On May 29, 2004, Dorados secured promotion to the Primera División after defeating León in the promotion play-off. Remarkably, the club achieved top-flight status just one year after its founding. In an effort to remain in the top division, Dorados made several high-profile signings, including Sebastián Abreu, Pep Guardiola and Jared Borgetti. However, after two years in the Primera División, Dorados was relegated following the Apertura 2006 tournament.

Dorados claimed the title in the Clausura 2007 tournament, which allowed them to participate in the promotion play-off, but ultimately fell to Puebla. In October 2012, Dorados emerged as the Copa Mx champion following their victory over Correcaminos in the final.

In May 2013, Grupo Caliente, known for its casino operations, acquired a majority ownership in the club.^[4]

On May 23, 2015, Dorados once again secured promotion to Mexico's top flight after defeating Necaxa in the promotion play-off. However, just a year later, they were relegated after finishing at the bottom of the relegation table.

Dorados secured the Apertura 2016 title, earning a spot in the promotion play-off, but were ultimately defeated by Lobos BUAP.

In September 2018, Diego Maradona was appointed head coach of Dorados. He made his debut on 17 September with a 4–1 victory over Cafetaleros de Tapachula. Maradona guided Dorados to two consecutive finals, though they fell short in both, losing to Atlético San Luis. In June 2019, Maradona's lawyer announced that he would be stepping down from the role, citing health reasons.^[5]

In the spring of 2020, Ascenso MX was restructured into Liga de Expansión MX, a competition designed to foster the development of young footballers. Following this change, Dorados began functioning as a reserve team for both Tijuana and Querétaro, as all three clubs are owned by the same group.^[6] Since then, Dorados has reached the league playoffs in only four of the eleven tournaments it has contested, largely because of the club’s new policy of prioritizing playing time for young players over the pursuit of titles.

In the fall of 2024, the team was relocated to Tijuana due to concerns about the public safety situation in Sinaloa.^[7]

When the Dorados de Sinaloa arrived at Primera División A in 2003, a rivalry was born. When the franchise was first created in 2003, Dorados became champions in their first tournament, becoming the first team to ever accomplish this feat in Primera A. In their second tournament, Dorados made it to the final once again, falling to Club León. Despite losing this final, Dorados and León played the promotion game to Primera División de México where Dorados were victorious. Dorados and Leon have played a total of four finals, with each team winning two.

Since the relegation of Dorados to the Ascenso MX, the two sides have not played in a league match.

Notes

•   record
• ^s shared record

As of 3 August 2025^[8]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

• Official website