NEW YORK, NY–The groups for the 2024 Leagues Cup have been announced and with it, a new format. The new format includes Liga MX teams receiving hub privileges and a rankings to arrange the groups.
The competition will take place between July 26th and August 25th with the top three finishers receiving berths to the 2025 Concacaf Champions Cup. In this 47-team tournament featuring all 29 Major League Soccer and 18 Liga MX clubs, the respective league winners (Columbus Crew and Club America) receive byes to the Round of 32. The remainder will be divided into 15 groups of three. From there, the 45 first round teams are divided into three tiers based on the Leagues Cup Ranking (1-15, 16-30, 31-45), forming 15 groups of three clubs each, one club from each tier, prioritizing geographical and competitive balance among the 45 clubs.
For 2024, Leagues Cup will be played in two regions, East and West, with seven groups in the East and eight groups in the West, regionalizing travel for all participating clubs. The two champions are not included in the Leagues Cup Ranking.
The Liga MX Champion and the three top-ranked Liga MX clubs will be granted hub privileges. The hub privileges, which will minimize Liga MX club travel and reward them by playing in pre-determined venues as the home team, are based on the Leagues Cup Ranking. Club America (League champion with a bye) will have hosting privileges through the semifinals, C.F. Monterrey (No. 1 rank) through Round of 16, Chivas Guadalajara (No. 4 rank) through Round of 32, and Tigres (No. 6 rank) throughout the Group Stage, rewarding the clubs according to their 2023 Apertura and Clausura performances.
LIGA MX clubs with hub privileges will play at venues to be announced alongside the Leagues Cup 2024 schedule and bracket at a later date.
This new format, based on the Leagues Cup Ranking, was a joint collaborative effort of the Leagues Cup Organizing Committee, comprising representatives from Leagues Cup, and both MLS and LIGA MX leadership. Considerations included rewarding regular season results and geographical regions while addressing learnings from 2023.
Below are the groupings for the 2024 Leagues Cup:
West
- West 1: CF Monterrey, Pumas UNAM, Austin FC
- West 2: Chivas de Guadalajara, San Jose Earthquakes, LA Galaxy
- West 3: St. Louis CITY SC, FC Dallas, FC Juárez
- West 4: Toluca FC, Sporting Kansas City, Chicago Fire FC
- West 5: Club León, Portland Timbers, Colorado Rapids
- West 6: Seattle Sounders FC, Minnesota United FC, Club Necaxa
- West 7: LAFC, Vancouver Whitecaps FC, Club Tijuana
- West 8: Houston Dynamo FC, Real Salt Lake, Atlas FC
East
- East 1: FC Cincinnati, New York City FC, Querétaro FC
- East 2: Orlando City SC, Atlético de San Luis, CF Montréal
- East 3: Tigres UANL, Puebla, Inter Miami CF
- East 4: Philadelphia Union, Charlotte FC, Cruz Azul
- East 5: New England Revolution, Nashville SC, Mazatlán FC
- East 6: Pachuca, New York Red Bulls, Toronto FC
- East 7: Atlanta United, Santos Laguna, D.C. United
Like last year, there will be no draws in the Leagues Cup. If the sides are level after 90 minutes, it will go to a penalty shootout to determine at winner. In the group stage, teams will receive two points for a shootout win and one point for a shootout loss.
All Leagues Cup matches will be streamed on Apple TV as part of the MLS Season Pass.
