The Leagues Cup is a competition played between the teams of Major League Soccer (MLS) and Liga MX. This competition is American based and takes place every year. This video will explain everything you need to know about this competition.
History of the Leagues Cup
The Leagues Cup isn’t an old competition. It was founded in 2019 and has been an apple of the pie for the fans. The clubs from MLS and Liga MX used to play against each other in a previous tournament that ran from 2007 to 2010. This competition was called North American SuperLiga. The idea of this competition was mainly to add more flavor to the qualification for the CONCACAF Champions League.
The Leagues Cup despite the criticism by many people was officially announced on 29 May 2019. Many people called it a “cash-grab” idea but the ideas for this league were strong enough to overcome all the odds. The broadcasting rights of the tournament were given to ESPN and TUDN. The Mexican people can watch it on the Televisa channel and Canadians on TSN and TVA Sports.
Format of the competition
The format of the first edition of the Leagues Cup was based on a single-elimination knockout tournament. There are a total of 8 teams that participate in this tournament. The first edition of the Leagues Cup wasn’t based on merit. In this first edition, four MLS clubs were invitees, and LIGA MX’s four teams were chosen according to their league results. The first final of the Leagues Cup was played in Las Vegas, Nevada on September 18. This final was won by Cruz Azul, the club from Liga MX.
Later, there were announcements of playing 16 teams in the 2020 session of the Leagues Cup – 8 teams from each league. This session was however canceled due to COVID-19. The Leagues Cup will now also be used as a qualification tournament for the CONCACAF Champions League in 2024. The 2023 session of the Leagues Cup will have all the clubs from MLS and Liga MX. The finalists and the 3rd placed club will get a berth in the Champions League.
Finals till date
As of today, only two finals have been played in the Leagues Cup. The final of 2019 was won by Cruz Azul, who defeated the UANL by 2-1. The second final played in 2021 was only won by Club León, who defeated Seattle Sounders by 3-2.
Trophy
The trophy of the Leagues Cup has a 22-pound silver bowl with a pedestal on top of it. The height of the trophy is 16.5 inches and its width is 16.1 inches. The winner will get have a chance to keep the original trophy for 12 months and after that, a replica will be given to the club and the club will hand over the trophy to the organization for the next Leagues Cup session.
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