Leagues Cup scraps summer MLS, Liga MX break
Liga MX president Mikel Arriola said on Sunday that the Leagues Cup will adopt a new format in 2025, eliminating the month-long pause for the competition and opting instead for mid-week matches.
“We just approved the new Leagues Cup format. We’re no longer going to hold camps there [in the USA]. We’ll play midweek so Mexican teams don’t struggle, and Liga MX games will be played on the weekends,” said Arriola before the Liga MX final in Monterrey, Mexico.
The 2023 and 2024 editions of Leagues Cup forced Liga MX and MLS to pause regular season action in the summer for one month as teams faced each other. Mexican teams traveled across the United States, with a few enjoying “hub privileges” in certain cities, while MLS teams played at home.
Sources told ESPN that Mexican teams voiced concerns over yet another interruption by the inter-league tournament, actively demanding a change for 2025. Now, the upcoming edition of the competition will see all Liga MX and 18 MLS teams participate in mid-week matches throughout the summer.
Though the MLS participants have yet to be officially announced, certain teams like Inter Miami CF independently confirmed their involvement in the 2025 edition.
MLS leads Liga MX in Leagues Cup champions, after Inter Miami lifted the inaugural trophy in 2023 and the Columbus Crew triumphed against LAFC in 2024.
In addition to the trophy, the final two teams and winner of the third-place match earn prize money as well as places in the next edition of the Concacaf Champions Cup.
