MLS and Liga MX have announced that Las Vegas’s Sam Boyd Stadium will host the inaugural Leagues Cup final, scheduled for Wednesday, September 18.
As was announced earlier this year, MLS and Liga MX are partnering on Leagues Cup, an upstart competition that features four teams from each league. The eight-team, single-elimination competition begins over July 23 and 24 at the home facilities of MLS clubs. Semifinals will be played on August 20, with the host stadiums to be determined based upon the quarterfinal results.
The tournament will culminate in the final at Sam Boyd Stadium, as the two leagues revealed on Thursday. More from ESPN:
“Las Vegas is an exciting market that has become a destination for professional teams and marquee sports events, and we’re proud to bring the inaugural Leagues Cup final to the city,” said MLS commissioner Don Garber. “An intense rivalry is developing between Major League Soccer and Liga MX clubs, and Leagues Cup will provide thrilling competition while further elevating the profile of the game in North America. We have no doubt that the support for the historic, first-ever Leagues Cup final from the passionate soccer fans of Las Vegas and surrounding region will be tremendous, and the atmosphere at Sam Boyd Stadium will be electric.”
The tournament has been sanctioned by CONCACAF, with Liga MX and MLS clubs not taking part in the CONCACAF Champions League until the Round of 16 stage in early 2020.
The Leagues Cup is part of a drive from both MLS and Liga MX to strengthen the working relationship between the two leagues, which was formally cemented in a strategic partnership announced in 2018.
Competing MLS clubs in this year’s Leagues Cup will include Chicago Fire, Houston Dynamo, LA Galaxy, and Real Salt Lake. Liga MX’s slate will feature Cruz Azul, Club Tijuana, Tigres UANL, and Club America.
Sam Boyd Stadium originally opened in 1971 and is primarily home to UNLV football, though it does host other events and has been the site of soccer matches in the past. The upcoming college football season is expected to be UNLV’s last at Sam Boyd Stadium, as its program is set to join the relocating Oakland Raiders at a new Las Vegas Stadium that will open in 2020.
Image courtesy UNLV football.
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