COPA CAMPEONES
Do the Campeones Cup winners qualify for the Club World Cup?
The Liga MX champions takes on MLS Cup winners this evening as América and Columbus Crew battle it out in the sixth edition of the Campeones Cup.
América will be seeking their first Campeones Cup at Lower.com Field in Columbus, Ohio this evening while hosts the Columbus Crew will be aiming to become the second team to lift the trophy for a second time.
Liga MX versus MLS
The competition pits the defending champions of Mexico’s Liga MX against the MLS Cup holders. After winning back-to-back league titles (Apertura 2023 and Clausura 2024) América head into the final for the first time in five years (they lost the 2019 edition to Atlanta).
The Crew meanwhile booked their place after beating Los Angeles FC 2-1 in the 2023 MLS Cup final last December. The team were crowned Campeones Cup winners in 2021, beating Cruz Azul 2-0 to secure their first continental title. This time however, it’s the Mexicans who start out as favorites.
The two teams have met just once before - during the 2023 Leagues Cup group stage. That game, which was played at tonight’s venue, ended in a 1-4 victory for Columbus with Cucho Hernández on target twice, and Christian Ramirez and Steven Moreira wrapping up the scoring.
Campeones Cup winners
- 2018 Tigres
- 2019 Atlanta United
- 2021 Columbus Crew
- 2022 New York City FC
- 2023 Tigres
Will the winners qualify for the Club World Cup?
The simple answer to that is no. For teams from the CONCACAF region (North and Central America, Caribbean), the only route to the Club World Cup is via the CONCACAF Champions League.
Four CONCACAF teams will take part in the 2025 edition of the Club World Cup which will be hosted by the United States: Monterrey, Seattle Sounders, León and Pachuca - as the four most recent winners of the CONCACAF Champions League.
Strictly speaking, the Campeones Cup, which is contested by teams from Canada, Mexico and the United States, is regarded as a friendly and is not endorsed by the region’s confederation or by FIFA.
The 2024 Michelob Ultra Campeones Cup between Club América and the Columbus Crew will be played at Lower.com Field in Columbus, Ohio on Wednesday 25 September 2024, kicking off at 7:30 pm ET / 4:30 pm PT and will be streamed on Apple TV+ (available to MLS Season Pass holders) in the US and TUDN in Mexico.