Leagues Cup 2025: All you need to know | OneFootball

MIAMI – The Leagues Cup 2025 will take place from July 29 through August 31 to determine the next champion of the annual Concacaf-sanctioned club tournament, which pits MLS and Liga MX and awards three berths to the 2026 Concacaf Champions Cup.

Ahead is everything you need to know about the upcoming Leagues Cup:

What

Leagues Cup 2025 is the third consecutive edition of the Concacaf-sanctioned competition that pits MLS and Liga MX clubs during a month-long tournament.

Who

Leagues Cup 2025 features all 18 clubs from Liga MX and 18 qualified clubs from MLS, the top nine teams in each Conference who participated in the MLS Cup Playoffs.

The participating clubs in the Leagues Cup 2025 are:

MLS

●      Atlanta United FC

●      Charlotte FC

●      FC Cincinnati

●      Colorado Rapids

●      Columbus Crew

●      Houston Dynamo FC

●      Los Angeles Galaxy

●      Los Angeles FC

●      Minnesota United FC

●      Inter Miami CF

●      CF Montréal

●      New York City FC

●      New York Red Bulls

●      Orlando City SC

●      Portland Timbers FC

●      Real Salt Lake

●      San Diego FC*

●      Seattle Sounders FC

* – Replaces Vancouver Whitecaps FC as MLS rules limit clubs to two cup competitions per season.

Liga MX

●      Club América

●      Atlas FC

●      Atlético de San Luis

●      Club León

●      Cruz Azul

●      CD Guadalajara

●      FC Juárez

●      Mazatlán FC

●      CF Monterrey

●      Club Necaxa

●      CF Pachuca

●      Club Puebla

●      Pumas UNAM

●      Club Querétaro

●      Tigres UANL

●      Club Tijuana

●      Toluca FC

●      Club Santos Laguna

When

Leagues Cup 2025 will take place from July 29 to August 31. The following are the dates for each stage:

●      Phase One: July 29 to August 7

●      Quarterfinals: August 19 to 20

●      Semifinals: August 26 to 27

●      Final and Third Place: August 31

For kickoff times and additional match information click HERE.

Where

Leagues Cup 2025 will take place across 21 stadiums in the United States and Canada. The stadiums that will host matches are (in alphabetical order by state/territory and city):

Canada

United States

·       Dignity Health Sports Park - Carson, California

·       BMO Stadium - Los Angeles, California

·       Snapdragon Stadium - San Diego, California

·       PayPal Park - San Jose, California

·       DICK'S Sporting Goods Park - Commerce City, Colorado

·       Chase Stadium - Fort Lauderdale, Florida

·       Inter&Co Stadium - Orlando, Florida

·       Mercedes-Benz Stadium - Atlanta, Georgia

·       SeatGeek Stadium – Bridgeview, Illinois

·       Allianz Field - Saint Paul, Minnesota

·       Sports Illustrated Stadium - Harrison, New Jersey

·       Yankee Stadium - The Bronx, New York

·       Bank of America Stadium - Charlotte, North Carolina

·       TQL Stadium - Cincinnati, Ohio

·       Lower.com Field - Columbus, Ohio

·       Providence Park - Portland, Oregon

·       Q2 Stadium - Austin, Texas

·       Shell Energy Stadium - Houston, Texas

·       America First Field - Sandy, Utah

·       Lumen Field - Seattle, Washington

Leagues Cup 2025 Neutral Venues

The list of pre-determined venues for Liga MX seeded team Knockout Stage matches or for potential Liga MX vs. Liga MX matches includes, but is not limited to:

●      Dignity Health Sports Park – Carson, California

●      BMO Stadium – Los Angeles, California

●      PayPal Park – San Jose, California

●      SeatGeek Stadium – Bridgeview, Illinois

●      Q2 Stadium – Austin, Texas

●      Shell Energy Stadium – Houston, Texas

Format

Leagues Cup 2025 will begin with Phase One with 54 MLS vs. Liga MX matches over nine days.

Leagues Cup Phase One matches are determined by the Leagues Cup Ranking, as well as by region. The ranking and six regional sets can be found below.

Leagues Cup Ranking

1.     Cruz Azul

2.     Inter Miami CF

3.     Toluca FC

4.     Columbus Crew

5.     Tigres UANL

6.     Los Angeles FC

7.     Los Angeles Galaxy (2024 MLS Cup champion)

8.     CF Monterrey

9.     Club América (2024 Liga MX champion)

10.  Real Salt Lake

11.  FC Cincinnati

12.  Pumas UNAM

13.  Seattle Sounders FC

14.  CD Guadalajara

15.  Houston Dynamo FC

16.  Orlando City SC

17.  Minnesota United FC

18.  Charlotte FC

19.  New York City FC

20.  Colorado Rapids

21.  Portland Timbers FC

22.  New York Red Bulls

23.  Atlético de San Luis

24.  Club Tijuana

25.  CF Montréal

26.  CF Pachuca

27.  Club León

28.  Club Necaxa

29.  Atlanta United FC

30.  Atlas FC

31.  Club Querétaro

32.  FC Juárez

33.  Mazatlán FC

34.  Club Santos Laguna

35.  Club Puebla

36.  San Diego FC

Eastern 1

Tier 1 - Toluca FC

Tier 1 - Columbus Crew

Tier 2 - New York City FC

Tier 2 - Club León

Tier 3 - CF Montréal

Tier 3 - Club Puebla

Eastern 2

Tier 1 - Inter Miami CF

Tier 1 - Pumas UNAM

Tier 2 - Orlando City SC

Tier 2 - Club Necaxa

Tier 3 - Atlanta United

Tier 3 - Atlas FC

Eastern 3

Tier 1 - CF Monterrey

Tier 1 - FC Cincinnati

Tier 2 - CD Guadalajara

Tier 2 - Charlotte FC

Tier 3 - New York Red Bulls

Tier 3 - FC Juárez

Western 1

Tier 1 - Tigres UANL

Tier 1 - Los Angeles FC

Tier 2 - Houston Dynamo FC

Tier 2 - Club Pachuca

Tier 3 - San Diego FC

Tier 3 - Mazatlán FC

Western 2

Tier 1 - Club America (Liga MX champion)

Tier 1 - Real Salt Lake

Tier 2 - Minnesota United FC

Tier 2 - Atletico de San Luis

Tier 3 - Portland Timbers

Tier 3 - Club Queretaro

Western 3

Tier 1 - LA Galaxy (MLS Cup champion)

Tier 1 - Cruz Azul

Tier 2 - Seattle Sounders FC

Tier 2 - Club Tijuana

Tier 3 - Colorado Rapids

Tier 3 - Club Santos Laguna

All matches must have a winner. If the score is tied at the end of regular time, the match winner will be determined by the Penalty Kick Procedure.

The following points system will apply for Phase One:

●      Win - Three points

●      Draw and win on PKs - Two points

●      Draw and loss on PKs - One point

●      Loss - Zero points

Knockout Round will be based on direct elimination. At the end of Phase One, the top four clubs from each League will qualify for the Quarterfinals.

Quarterfinal pairings will be determined based on Leagues Cup Phase One performance, with the inverse order of ranking among the respective league tables:

·       MLS 1 vs. LIGA MX 4

·       MLS 2 vs. LIGA MX 3

·       MLS 3 vs. LIGA MX 2

·       MLS 4 vs. LIGA MX 1

The four advancing clubs will compete in the two Semifinal matches, as determined by the bracket.

The tournament concludes with the Final and Third-Place Match on Sunday, August 31, to determine the three qualifiers for the 2026 Concacaf Champions Cup.

Privileges for top-ranked clubs

Leagues Cup 2025 will recognize the Liga MX champion, and the next five top-ranked Mexican clubs, with less travel and hosting privileges based on the Leagues Cup Ranking.

The assignments for Phase One are as follows:

●      Club América (Liga MX champion) – Opening match in Sandy Utah, and two matches in Texas, one in Houston and one in Austin. América will have venue privileges through the Semifinal, except if they face LA Galaxy.

●      Cruz Azul (highest-ranked LMX club) will play two matches in Carson, California. As the highest-ranked Mexican club, Cruz Azul will have venue privileges through the Quarterfinals, excluding a match against LA Galaxy.

●      Toluca (second highest-ranked LMX club) will play two matches in the NY/NJ area.

●      Tigres (third highest-ranked LMX club) will play two matches in Southern California.

●      Monterrey (fourth highest-ranked LMX club) will play two matches in Cincinnati, Ohio.

●      Pumas (fifth highest-ranked LMX club) will play its three matches in Florida.

In the Knockout Stage, MLS Cup champions LA Galaxy will have venue privileges throughout the duration of the tournament.

For the Quarterfinals, a maximum of two clubs from the above top-ranked Liga MX club list can host in the Quarterfinals, which will also be based on the Leagues Cup Ranking.

History

The inaugural Leagues Cup featured four teams from MLS and four from Liga MX on an invitation basis. Played in a knockout format that began with the Quarterfinals, Cruz Azul was the first team to lift the Leagues Cup trophy in 2019.

The tournament did not take place in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic but returned in 2021 in the same eight-team format, this time with the top four teams from each league that did not qualify for the 2021 Concacaf Champions League. Seattle Sounders FC won the 2021 edition.

In 2022, the tournament itself did not take place. In its stead was the Leagues Cup Showcase, a series of MLS vs. Liga MX matches in August and September.

An expanded version of the Leagues Cup was unveiled for its return in 2023, which featured every team from each league in a month-long Concacaf-sanctioned tournament that would determine three berths to the expanded 27-team Concacaf Champions Cup. Clubs were drawn into groups of three, with the top two from each group advancing to the knockout stage.

The 2023 tournament was highlighted by Lionel Messi’s debut with Inter Miami CF, who would win the first edition under this “World Cup-style” format.

The tournament repeated the same format in consecutive editions as Columbus Crew went on to win the 2024 edition, a few months after finishing runners-up in the Concacaf Champions Cup.

For the 2025 edition, the tournament was restructured to 36 participants – all 18 Liga MX clubs and 18 from MLS, determined from the nine MLS Cup Playoffs participants from each conference. The new format also features only MLS vs. Liga MX encounters in Phase One, eliminating intraleague encounters in the opening stage.

Champions

●      Columbus Crew (1): 2024

●      Cruz Azul (1): 2019

●      Inter Miami CF (1): 2023

●      Seattle Sounders FC (1): 2021

Ticket Information

Fans are encouraged to visit LeaguesCup.com and host MLS Club websites for updated ticketing information when it's available. MLS season ticket holders will receive information from their club on details involving their season plan.

Qualification for 2026 Concacaf Champions Cup

The two Leagues Cup 2025 finalists and the winner of the Third-Place Match will earn berths for the 2026 Concacaf Champions Cup. The champion will earn a bye to the Champions Cup Round of 16.