Everything You Must Know About the 2025 Leagues Cup Revolution

While it will have a fresh appearance this season, the Leagues Cup is preparing to make its comeback in 2025, featuring all 20 Liga MX teams and 18 out of 30 MLS franchises in the yearly mid-summer competition. 

Different from the previous two seasons when every team from both leagues participated, the 2025 version excludes 10 MLS clubs, as organizations juggle their commitments in the U.S. Open Cup and Canadian Championship. Nevertheless, only the leading nine teams from each MLS conference earned qualification, which featured CF Montréal, thus maintaining the Leagues Cup as a tri-national competition.

New franchise San Diego FC will also compete in the tournament, replacing Vancouver Whitecaps FC, who took part in the Concacaf Champions Cup along with the Canadian Championship.

The 2025 competition is scheduled to begin on July 29, before reaching its climax with a final on Aug. 31, though the MLS season will not completely halt, as it has previously. 

Here is all the essential information about the tournament. 

Which Teams Will Participate in the Leagues Cup?

MLS Franchises

Liga MX Teams

Click here for the complete Leagues Cup 2025 fixture list

When Does the Leagues Cup Take Place?

How Is the Leagues Cup Structured?

The 2025 Leagues Cup will be divided into an initial "Phase One," which substitutes the former format's group stage, before progressing to a knockout bracket that extends from the quarterfinals to the championship match. 

During phase one, every fixture will pit an MLS team against a Liga MX club. Each squad will contest three matches and accumulate points for either the MLS or Liga MX standings, with the leading four clubs from each table progressing to the quarterfinals. 

In Phase One, each fixture will distribute the standard three points for a victory and one point for a tie after 90 minutes of action. Nevertheless, all drawn matches will conclude with a penalty shootout, where the shootout victor receives two points and the defeated team gets one. 

Following Phase One, the predetermined-bracket quarterfinal stage will showcase seeded MLS versus Liga MX encounters. The semifinals marks the initial stage in the tournament where two teams from the identical league could face each other.

Will Liga MX Teams Host Leagues Cup Matches in Mexico During 2025?

Following earlier versions of the competition, which witnessed all Mexican clubs play their designated "home matches" in the United States, certain games will take place in Mexico in 2025. Tigres UANL will have the opportunity to host Phase One fixtures, while Chivas de Guadalajara, CF Monterrey and Club América are permitted to host select knockout round games, provided they advance.

Apart from the aforementioned teams, Liga MX clubs will continue hosting "home" matches in the U.S.

Which Teams Have Claimed the Leagues Cup Previously?