The inaugural Leagues Cup kicks off on Friday, July 21, kicking off a monumental era of soccer in North America. So, what is it and what does it mean for the Union? Here’s what you need to know about Leagues Cup and the Philadelphia Union’s upcoming schedule of games.
What is Leagues Cup?
Leagues Cup is the World Cup-style tournament sanctioned by Concacaf, featuring all 47 first division clubs in Canada, Mexico and the United States. Liga MX and Major League Soccer teams will go head-to-head in a schedule of 77 matches in stadiums across the United States and Canada, competing to become the tournament’s first-ever winner.
How does it work?
The tournament will begin with a Group Stage divided into four regions, East, West, South, and Central. Within each region are four groups that contain three teams. Each team is guaranteed two games. The top two teams from each group will advance to the Round of 32. All games from then on will be win-or-go-home until one team emerges victorious.
Two teams were eligible to bypass the group stage and have automatic spots in the Round of 32. LAFC, the winner of the 2022 MLS Cup, and C.F. Pachuca, the club with the most points across Clausura 2022 and Apertura 2022, both have a first-round bye in the tournament.
Point system
Similar to Major League Soccer, a regulation win counts as 3 points. The big shake up is that there are no ties, and each team will receive one point if the game is tied after 90 minutes. The winner of the subsequent penalty shootout will earn an additional point.
Who will the Philadelphia Union play?
The Philadelphia Union is part of the East 1 group along with Club Tijuana and Queretaro F.C.. They are set to play Tijuana on July 22 and Queretaro on July 26, both at Subaru Park. The team with the most points in their group will move on to face the second place team of the East 2 group (CF Montreal, Pumas UNAM, D.C. United). Whichever team comes in second in East 1 will play the winner of East 2.
The groups were decided based on last year’s Supporter’s Shield ranking. The Supporter’s Shield is an annual award given to the Major League Soccer team with the best regular season record. MLS clubs ranked 2 to 16 based on 2022 Supporters’ Shield finish were seeded first in each group. Liga MX clubs ranked 2 to 16 based on total points for Clausura 2022 and Apertura 2022 were placed in opposite ranking order against the MLS teams. The remaining 13 MLS clubs and 2 remaining Liga MX clubs were drawn into groups and divided geographically.
Why do teams want to win?
Both LIGA MX and MLS paused their regular seasons to participate in this tournament, begging the question, what’s the incentive for winning?
- The winner of the Third Place Match will qualify for Concacaf Champions Cup
- Both clubs in the Leagues Cup Final will automatically qualify for Concacaf Champions Cup
- Leagues Cup 2023 Champion qualifies directly to Concacaf Champions Cup Round of 16
Concacaf Champions League ​​is an annual continental club football competition contested by clubs from North America, Central America, and the Caribbean. The winner of the CONCACAF Champions Cup automatically qualifies for the quarter-finals of the FIFA Club World Cup.
How can I watch?
Union fans are in luck! The team’s first two games are at Subaru Park. Click here to purchase tickets!
If you can’t make it to the game, don’t worry. As part of Major League Soccer’s 10-year partnership with Apple, all Leagues Cup matches will be presented live to fans around the world through MLS Season Pass on Apple TV which features no blackouts.
The Union’s opening match against Club Tijuana will take place at 8 p.m., streaming free on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV, FS1, and Univision.
Bracket Challenge
There is still time Leagues Cup Bracket Challenge presented by Coors Light is free to play and allows competitors to predict the round-by-round winners of the brand-new World-Cup style tournament. Put your MLS & LIGA MX knowledge to the test! Submit your picks for Leagues Cup 2023 for your chance to win cash prizes, including the grand prize of $10,000.
