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By Editor On Sep 21, 2021

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Each summer, the clubs of North America’s two largest leagues, including Austin FC, will take a break to compete in the League Cup as part of the Concacaf Champions League competition. The winners of the tournament automatically qualify for the round of 16 of the Champions League, while the second and third placed clubs are automatically included in the opening round of the CCL.

The Leagues Cup is the first of its kind and will be the first major football tournament in which all clubs from two top leagues take part.

The competition will draw attention to the continent’s premier leagues in the years leading up to the ambitious FIFA World Cup in 48 countries in 2026. For the first time, three countries – Canada, Mexico and the United States – will be hosting the competition together.

“The partnership is rooted in on-field rivalry but is bound by a true spirit of off-field collaboration, with an emphasis on sharing best practices, building the beautiful game of North America, and a force for positive change in communities from both leagues, “announced the league on Tuesday.

The Leagues Cup also serves to unite North American football culture while promoting rivalries between teams in the two leagues. Liga MX teams often compete in friendly matches with MLS clubs and can play in MLS All-Star matches, the annual Campeones Cup, where the best clubs in each league compete against each other every year, and the current Leagues Cup, an annual competition between the four top clubs in both leagues.

At the international level, the US men’s national team recently defeated the reigning Concacaf champions Mexico in the Concacaf Gold Cup, Canada finished third. The rivalries between the US and Mexico, which usually alternate championship titles, continue to intensify.

Liga MX executive president Mikel Arriola said the Leagues Cup will serve to bolster Concacaf and other Caribbean leagues, as well as MLS and Liga MX, which rank ninth and 14th in the world football league rankings.

“This day marks a before and after for all of North America, Central America and the Caribbean as they will benefit greatly from this agreement,” said Arriola.

The expanded cup also hints at closer ties between the two leagues that could eventually form a continental super league. Both FIFA President Gianni Infantino and MLS Commissioner Don Garber have hinted at the possibility of a merger in the past.

Most recently, on August 25th, at the LAFC’s Banc of California Stadium, the players in each league drew 1-1 with the best players of both teams, even though it was the best of Liga MX who prevailed on penalties.

Seattle Sounders FC will next play Wednesday at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas in the 2021 League Cup final against Liga MX Club León. At the Campeones Cup, the reigning MLS champion Columbus Crew SC welcomes the top Liga MX team, Cruz Azul, to complete the international competitions on September 29th.

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