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LAFC Announces 2025 Leagues Cup Phase One Schedule

February 11, 2025 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
Los Angeles FC News Release


LAFC and Leagues Cup today announced the club's 2025 Phase One Leagues Cup Schedule. The Black & Gold will kick off the tournament when it hosts Liga MX's Mazatlán FC on Tuesday, Jul. 29, then face Pachuca on Friday, Aug. 1, and will conclude Phase One against Tigres on Tuesday, Aug. 5. All matches will be played at BMO Stadium and will be available to stream on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.

In 2024, LAFC advanced to the Leagues Cup Final against Columbus Crew after defeating Colorado Rapids 4-0 in the Semifinals, Seattle Sounders 3-0 in the Quarterfinals, San Jose Earthquakes 4-1 in the Round of 16, and Austin FC 2-0 in the Round of 32.

The Leagues Cup 2025 competition, being held in the United States and Canada, will feature 36 clubs - all 18 Liga MX teams, and 18 qualifying Major League Soccer (MLS) teams. The top nine teams from 2024 in each MLS conference - Western Conference and Eastern Conference - will qualify for the tournament, which takes place from Jul. 29 through Aug. 31.

Leagues Cup 2025 awards three spots in the 2026 Concacaf Champions Cup, where the winner will represent the region at FIFA international club competitions.

New for this year, the tournament will be played in two rounds: Phase One and the Knockout Rounds. Phase One will feature three consecutive matches per club (54 matches total), played between MLS and Liga MX clubs (Jul. 29 - Aug. 7). The matchups in Phase One are determined by the League's Cup ranking and by region. The competition will feature exclusively interleague matches between MLS and Liga MX clubs through the Quarterfinals.

The Leagues Cup ranking is determined by combining MLS and Liga MX league performance across 34 regular season matches. MLS teams are ranked based on the 2024 MLS Supporters' Shield standings, while Liga MX clubs are ranked based on the cumulative 34 matches in the 2024 Clausura and Apertura competitions.

Regional Tiers will be assigned to each club, combining Leagues Cup ranking and geographical location. Clubs will be divided evenly into two regions of 18 teams: Eastern and Western. Within each region, the teams are sorted into three tiers.

Tier 1: Teams ranked 1-3 from each league

Tier 2: Teams ranked 4-6 from each league

Tier 3: Teams ranked 7-9 from each league

Phase One will consist of six sets: three sets in the East and three sets in the West. Each set will include six clubs: one MLS club and one Liga MX club from each tier. LAFC will compete in the Western region as a Tier 1 MLS team. The full Phase One schedule can be found here.

Following Phase One, the top four MLS and Liga Mx clubs will advance to the Knockout Rounds and will be placed in a fixed bracket to compete in single-game elimination matches beginning with the Quarterfinals, featuring only MLS vs. Liga MX matchups.

Four clubs will advance to the Semifinals (Aug. 26 - Aug. 27), followed by the Third Place match and the Final taking place on Aug. 31, which will determine the three clubs that will qualify for the 2026 Concacaf Champions Cup.

Privileges for Top-ranked Liga MX Clubs

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

The assignments for Phase One are as follows:

Club América (Liga MX champion) - Following its opening match in Salt Lake City, Club América will play two matches in Texas against MLS clubs, one in Houston and one in Austin.

Cruz Azul (highest-ranked Liga MX club) will play two matches against MLS opposition in Carson, Calif.

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

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

Monterrey (fourth highest-ranked Liga MX club) will play two matches in Cincinnati.

Pumas (fifth highest-ranked Liga MX club) will play its three matches against MLS clubs in Florida.

In the Knockout Stage, 2024 MLS Cup champions LA Galaxy will have venue privileges throughout the duration of the tournament. Liga MX champions Club América will have venue privileges through the Semifinal except if they face LA Galaxy, and Cruz Azul, the highest-ranked Liga MX club based on the Leagues Cup ranking, will have venue privileges through the Quarterfinals, again excluding a match against LA Galaxy. 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.

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:

BMO Stadium - Los Angeles, Calif.

Dignity Health Sports Park - Carson, Calif.

SeatGeek Stadium - Bridgeview, Illinois

PayPal Park - San Jose, Calif.

Shell Energy Stadium - Houston, Texas

Q2 Stadium - Austin, Texas

Fans are encouraged to visit LeaguesCup.com and LAFC.com for updated ticketing information when it's available.

No Draws

Leagues Cup 2025 will maintain its current No Draws format. If a match is tied after 90 minutes, each club will be awarded one point, and the match will be decided by a penalty shootout, earning the winner an additional point. Regulation wins count as three points. If the Quarterfinals, Semifinals, Third Place, or Final finish in a tie at the end of regulation, the winner will be determined by a penalty shootout.

Fans in over 100 countries and regions will be able to watch all Leagues Cup matches on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV, the subscription service from Apple and Major League Soccer that is available on smart TVs, streaming devices, Apple devices, set-top boxes, game consoles, and the web at tv.apple.com. In addition, TelevisaUnivision's various television networks, Fox Sports, TSN and RDS will be the linear broadcast home for select matches.

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