CONCACAF
Mexican elections force CONCACAF to move Champions Cup final date
The 2024 Champions Cup Final between Pachuca and Columbus Crew (USA) will now be played on Saturday, 1 June at Estadio Hidalgo in Pachuca, Mexico.
On Wednesday night, MLS side Columbus Crew made history as they secured a 1-2 semi-final second leg victory away to Monterrey to win the series (5-2 on aggregate).
As MLS Cup champions, the Crew entered the competition in the Round of 16, where they overcame Houston Dynamo 2-1 on aggregate and then saw off Tigres UANL in the quarterfinals. This will be the first trip to the Concacaf Champions Cup Final for the Crew in their fifth tournament appearance.
The previous night Pachuca delivered a major shock as they dumped highly fancied Club America out of the competition with a 2-1 on the night (3-2 on aggregate) at the Estadio Hidalgo. In their road to the final, Pachuca have seen off the likes of CS Herediano of Costa Rica in the quarterfinals and MLS’ Philadelphia Union in the Round of 16 with a resounding 6-0 aggregate win. This will be Pachuca’s sixth Final with the ‘Tuzos’ boasting a 100% record with five wins in five games (2002, 2007, 2008, 2009–10, and 2016–17).
Mundial de Clubes FIFA place on the line
There is a secondary incentive for the 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup winner as the victorious side will advance to the newly expanded FIFA Club World Cup (set to be called Mundial de Clubes FIFA) where the likes of Real Madrid, PSG, Chelsea, Al Ahly, Al Hilal will do battle in the summer of 2025.
The winner will join recent CONCACAF Champions League victors: Club Leon (2023), Seattle Sounders FC (2022), and Monterrey (2021) as the Confederation’s four representatives in the new FIFA 32-team tournament.
Final fixture confusion
The 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup Final was originally scheduled to be played in Pachuca on Sunday, 2 June but due to Mexico’s national elections taking place on the same day and with the Liga MX team securing the hosting rights (due to a higher coefficient), the game will now be played on Saturday, June 1 at 9:15 pm (ET).
