When and where will the next Leagues Cup be held?
The 2023 Leagues Cup was played exclusively in North America and Canada but where will the next edition be held?
Lionel Messi’s arrival at Inter Miami has given the Leagues Cup the kind of exposure the North American Football Union could have only dreamed of. All eyes have been on Messi, who has only played six games for his new team and scored in every one - he’s the tournament’s top scorer with nine goals, as he and his team mates head into Saturday’s final against Nashville SC at Geodis Park.
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The tournament itself is relatively new and due to different reasons only three editions have been played from start to finish with a champion crowned at the end - Cruz Azul were the first team to lift the trophy in 2019, Club León won in 2021 and either Inter Miami or Nashville will win the current edition.
United States soccer versus Mexican soccer
The Leagues Cup is a month-long competition contested between teams from Major League Soccer and the Liga MX. The winners, runners-up and third-placed team qualify directly for the CONCACAF Champions Cup - from where they could secure a place in the FIFA Club World Cup.
The competition has undergone several format changes since the inaugural edition in 2019 which included just four teams from each league. The 2023 edition was expanded with a total of 47 clubs taking part - 18 from the Liga MX and 29 from MLS.
The 2023 tournament was staged across the United States and Canada at 28 different venues. MLS teams played their matches at home while games between MLS and Liga MX clubs were played either with the MLS team as host or at a nearby neutral venue.
Rayados odyssey
Not everybody was happy about that - especially the Mexican teams, who were obliged to do a lot of travelling - in some cases from coast to coast while a few MLS teams didn’t have to move from their base at all. Monterrey deserve a special mention - they are the team who have done the most travelling during the tournament. Rayados’ League Cup campaign started on 27 July against Real Salt Lake in Utah.
Since then, the Mexicans have played in Seattle, Portland, Houston, Los Angeles and Nashville. Later today they will take on the Philadelphia Union in Delaware County in the game for third place. In total, Monterrey will have racked up somewhere between 12-15,000 kilometers on the road - not including the flights to and from Mexico.
The dates and venues for the 2024 Leagues Cup have not been confirmed yet but there have been proposals to play some of the game in Mexico, although logistically, it is not clear how that will happen. Liga MX Executive President Mikel Arriola told TUDN that he would like to see the competition played “on a more even footing” as it is not fair that one team spends the whole tournament travelling while some teams don’t travel at all.
“I think the 2024 hosting is going to be determined in the analysis of sports venues,” Arriola said. “All our teams have played as visitors and we’ve heard from the fans on that matter and we’ve voiced our concerns over the officiating and use of VAR”.