- Tournament between Major League Soccer and Liga MX Teams
- Seven matches across ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN+
Major League Soccer and Liga MX today announced that ESPN will be the U.S. English-language home for the Leagues Cup – a new international club competition pitting four Major League Soccer teams against four teams from Mexico’s Liga MX. The seven-match tournament will begin with quarterfinals Tuesday, July 23 – Wednesday, July 24, and conclude with the Final on Wednesday, Sept. 18.
ESPN+, the leading direct-to-consumer sports video service, will exclusively stream three quarterfinal matches and ESPN will televise one match in the quarterfinal round. ESPN2 will televise the two semifinal matches on Wednesday, Aug. 20, and the Final on September 18. All matches on television will stream live on the ESPN App.
The Leagues Cup extends the soccer rivalry between the North American leagues – Liga MX in Mexico and MLS in the United States of America and Canada. The inaugural tournament will kick off with four matchups between championship teams from Liga MX and Major League Soccer. Club America, Cruz Azul, Tigres UANL and Club Tijuana will represent Liga MX, while Chicago Fire, Houston Dynamo, LA Galaxy and Real Salt Lake will represent MLS.
The new tournament is sanctioned by the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) – the region’s governing body for soccer and one of FIFA’s six football confederations.
MLS:
- Chicago Fire: It is the only MLS club to win the double – MLS Cup and U.S. Open Cup – in its inaugural season in the league.
- LA Galaxy: With five MLS Cup titles, two Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cups and one CONCACAF Champions League title, LA Galaxy is Major League Soccer’s most-decorated team.
- Houston Dynamo: Back-to-back MLS Cup champions in 2006 and 2007, the Houston-based club is the reigning Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup in 2018.
- Real Salt Lake: After making its debut in Major League Soccer in 2005, Real Salt Lake won the MLS Cup in 2009.
LIGA MX:
- Cruz Azul: Based in the southern part of Mexico City, Cruz Azul is one of the most successful clubs in the country having won eight first division championships and six CONCACAF Champions League titles.
- Club Tijuana: Based in Tijuana, the Xolos won the Liga MX Apertura 2012 title.
- Club America: One of the most-popular soccer clubs in the Americas, the Mexico City-based club has won 13 Mexican first division soccer titles, as well as seven CONCACAF Champions League titles.
- Tigres UANL: Led by former French National Team Andre-Pierre Gignac, Tigres has won the Mexican first division soccer league title seven times, including the Liga MX Clausura 2019.
Leagues Cup schedule:
| Date | Time (ET) | Event | Platforms |
| Tue, Jul 23 | 8:30 p.m. | Chicago Fire vs. Cruz Azul | ESPN+ |
| 11:00 p.m. | LA Galaxy vs. Club Tijuana | ESPN | |
| Wed, Jul 24 | 8:30 p.m. | Houston Dynamo vs. Club America | ESPN+ |
| 10:30 p.m. | Real Salt Lake vs. Tigres UANL | ESPN+ | |
| Tue, Aug 20 | 8:30 p.m. | Semifinal I | ESPN2 |
| 10:30 p.m. | Semifinal II | ESPN2 | |
| Wed, Sep 18 | 10:30 p.m. | Final | ESPN2 |
About ESPN+:
ESPN+ is the multi-sport, direct-to-consumer video service from The Walt Disney Company’s Direct-to-Consumer and International (DTCI) segment and ESPN. It reached 2 million subscribers in less than a year and offers fans thousands of live events, on-demand content and original programming not available on ESPN’s linear TV or digital networks, along with premium editorial content.
Programming on ESPN+ includes hundreds of MLB and NHL games, exclusive UFC and Top Rank boxing events, top domestic and international soccer (Serie A, MLS, FA Cup, UEFA Nations League, EFL Championship, EFL Carabao Cup, Eredivisie, International Champions Cup, USL, A-League, India Super League and more), thousands of college sports events (including football, basketball and other sports), Grand Slam tennis, international and domestic rugby and cricket, new and exclusive series, acclaimed studio shows and the full library of ESPN’s award-winning 30 for 30 films. Fans subscribe to ESPN+ for just $4.99 a month (or $49.99 per year) and can cancel at any time.
ESPN+ is available as an integrated part of the ESPN App (on mobile and connected devices) and ESPN.com. They are the industry-leading all-in-one digital sports platform, delivering a rich, personalized experience to tens of millions of fans every month.
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