NEW YORK; MEXICO CITY; HERRIMAN, Utah (Thursday, March 9, 2023) – Major League Soccer (MLS) and LIGA MX, with the support of CONCACAF, today finalized Group stage dates for Real Salt Lake’s participation in the highly-anticipated Leagues Cup 2023, which will occur from July 21 – August 19 this Summer, amidst RSL’s 19th campaign. Please visit www.LeaguesCup.com for detailed information on the entire tourney.
Real Salt Lake and America First Field – supported by the Utah Sports Commission – will host MLS power Seattle Sounders FC on SATURDAY, JULY 22 and legendary Mexican side CF Monterrey on WEDNESDAY, JULY 26 in Sandy during the first two group matches. The Monterrey visit will be included in RSL’s 2023 Season Ticket Membership plan as Bonus Game A, while the Seattle visit will be available at www.RSL.com/tickets in the future, following an exclusive window for Season Ticket Members to secure their seats, as well as extras. Kickoff times and broadcast plans will be announced in the near future.
“We look forward to competing in this year’s inaugural Leagues Cup tournament, providing our Club the invaluable opportunity to compete against the best in North America,” said RSL General Manager Elliot Fall, now in his 17th season with the Club across various disciplines. “Continental competitions are always exciting, especially with three CONCACAF Champions League berths at stake. We have a deep and proud history of CCL moments that began a decade ago, and I know our fans harbor fond memories of intense, energetic and very meaningful games on Utah soil against regional powers. Kicking off the Leagues Cup this Summer at our America First Field home – especially with our history against Monterrey and Seattle – raises the excitement and intensity levels to surely unprecedented heights.”
Los Rayados visit Utah for the first time since April, 2011, when the storied club defeated Real Salt Lake, 1-0, in that year’s CONCACAF Champions League Final. Twelve years since they last squared off, RSL will host CF Monterrey in the rematch. RSL secured a 2-2 tie in the first leg of that 2011 CCL series, but Rayados, thanks to a late first-half goal by Humberto Suazo, took the title with a 1-0 upset in Utah. Victor Manuel Vucetich was the coach for Monterrey then, and returned to the club in 2022.
Earlier this year, Seattle became the first-ever MLS side to represent the League and U.S. Soccer in the FIFA Club World Cup in Morocco, following last year’s CONCACAF Champions League title. Despite the departure of former RSL General Manager Garth Lagerwey from Seattle, multiple ties bind the clubs, whose rivalry was formed during contentious postseason series in 2010 and 2011. Former RSL manager Freddy Juarez joined the Sounders’ staff in August, 2021, after 11 years with the Utah organization, while another former RSL GM, Craig Waibel, Lagerwey’s successor from 2015-19, is now in his third season with the Pacific Northwest side. Former RSL playmaker Albert Rusnák signed with Seattle 14 months ago as a free agent, after notching 41 goals and adding 39 assists for the Claret-and-Cobalt from 2017-21.
Should RSL emerge as one of the two teams from West Group 2, advancing sides will compete in the single-game elimination Knockout Rounds, beginning with the Round of 32 on August 2-4 (16 matches), followed by the Round of 16 on August 6-8 (eight matches). The eight advancing teams will compete in the Quarterfinals from August 11-12 (four matches) before the two Semifinal matches on August 15. The possibility exists that America First Field in Sandy could host Knockout Round matches involving Real Salt Lake, as well as potential “intra-league” matches between Liga MX opponents.
The Leagues Cup 2023 Final and third-place game will be played on Saturday, August 19 and determine the three clubs that will qualify for the 2024 CONCACAF Champions League.
Fans around the world will be able to watch Leagues Cup* on MLS Season Pass on the Apple TV app, which is available on Apple devices, smart TVs, streaming devices from Roku, Amazon, and Google, game consoles, and the web at tv.apple.com. In addition, TelevisaUnivision, FOX Sports, TSN and RDS will be the linear broadcast home for select Leagues Cup matches in the United States and Canada.
While RSL could not host any matches during the 2022 Audi MLS Cup Playoffs, last year’s postseason qualification – the Claret-and-Cobalt’s fourth in the last five years, and its 12th in 15 seasons since 2008 – did clinch at least these TWO home matches at America First Field in Sandy against both Monterrey and Seattle for the 2023 Leagues Cup. Real Salt Lake Season Ticket Members will once again receive the July 22 Seattle Leagues Cup match as part of this year’s package, along with priority access to their seats for all remaining Leagues Cup matches – including the July 26 Monterrey match – as well as any home Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, Audi MLS Cup Playoffs and any other matches / events hosted at the Club’s primary venue.
Visit www.RSL.com for 2023 RSL Season Tickets and more information on the Club’s 2023 Major League Soccer campaign – which kicks off SATURDAY with an expected sellout against Austin FC in a playoff rematch – the Utah side looks to build upon last year’s 17 consecutive MLS sellouts and a NEW Club-high average attendance of 20,470, RSL’s new standard after 18 MLS seasons. In 2022, Real Salt Lake improved to 9-3-5 (W-L-T) in its 17 MLS matches on Utah soil, posting the League’s eighth-best home record, a slight improvement over the 9-4-4 mark in 2021. Each of the Club’s 17 America First Field matches last season exceeded the venue’s 20,000-seat capacity, a Club-record sellout streak both from the beginning of the season and at any point in one of its 18 Major League Soccer campaigns.
Last September, Real Salt Lake welcomed reigning LIGA MX Champion Atlas FC to Utah in the Leagues Cup “Showcase” as the 42ndmatch against 30 different international opponents from 16 various countries for the Claret-and-Cobalt since 2005. Atlas FC – which overcame an early and spectacular 78-yard laser from former homegrown DF Aaron Herrera for RSL – was the ninth Mexican opponent to visit Utah and appear opposite RSL, which has also competed against Monarcas Morelia, Santos Laguna, Cruz Azul, Club America, CD Guadalajara, Monterrey, Xolos de Tijuana and UANL Tigres a combined 17 times across international friendly or CONCACAF Champions League play, as well as the Leagues Cup 2019. All-time, RSL is now just 3-7-4 (W-L-T) against Mexican visitors, while the Utah side owns an all-time 18-13-11 overall international record. Both records include RSL’s home 1-0 loss to Tigres in 2019, as well as last year’s 1-2 loss to Atlas.
Leagues Cup 2023 Bracket Announcement presented by Coors Light
Group Stage: As previously announced, the Leagues Cup 2023 groups can be viewed here.
The MLS Cup 2022 champion, the Los Angeles Football Club, has qualified directly and will host its Round of 32 match. Club de Fútbol Pachuca earned the bye as the LIGA MX champion with the most combined points accumulated across the Clausura and Apertura seasons in the 2022 calendar year.
Knockout Rounds: Pachuca will enter the Knockout Stage in the South region, in the opposite bracket from the MLS Cup champion, LAFC, which enters in the West region. Following the Group Stage, the advancing teams will join LAFC and Pachuca to compete in the single-game elimination Knockout Rounds, beginning with the Round of 32 on August 2-4 (16 matches), followed by the Round of 16 on August 6-8 (eight matches). The eight advancing teams will compete in the Quarterfinals on August 11-12 (four matches) before the two Semifinal matches on August 15.
The top two teams from each group will advance to the Round of 32. The top advancing club from each group will face a second-place team from a group in their same region.
Due to the odd number of teams this year, the second-place team in Group 1 of the South region will enter the Leagues Cup 2023 bracket in the West region due to that group having the lowest-performing team in the 2022 season (No. 2 club in the South region).
For the potential Knockout round match-ups and the pathway to the Final, see the above bracket.
Knockout Round - Venues: In 2023, advancing MLS clubs will host knockout round matches against LIGA MX teams, and MLS venues will host all Leagues Cup knockout round matches. Round of 32 matches between two MLS clubs will be hosted by the group winner. Round of 32 matches between two LIGA MX clubs will be hosted at a regional venue designated by the Organizing Committee.
Starting with the Round of 16, matches between two MLS clubs will be hosted by the club with the better 2022 regular season performance. Matches between two LIGA MX clubs will be hosted at a venue designated by the Organizing Committee.
The pool of regional venues for matches between two LIGA MX clubs during the knockout round are as follows:
- West: BMO Stadium (Los Angeles, CA), Dignity Health Sports Park (Carson, CA), America First Field (Salt Lake City, UT), PayPal Park (San Jose, CA)
- Central: SeatGeek Stadium (Bridgeview, IL), Toyota Stadium (Frisco, TX), DICK’S Sporting Goods Park (Commerce City, CO), Shell Energy Stadium (Houston, TX)
- South: Q2 Stadium (Austin, TX), Toyota Stadium (Frisco, TX), Exploria Stadium (Orlando, FL)
- East: Red Bull Arena (Harrison, NJ), Subaru Park (Chester, PA), Audi Field (Washington, D.C.)
Knockout Round match locations and kickoff times will be announced at the conclusion of the Group Stage.
Beginning in 2023, MLS and LIGA MX will pause their respective league seasons each summer and compete in Leagues Cup, an official Concacaf competition to be played across the U.S. and Canada. The champion and the second and third-place finishers will qualify for the Concacaf Champions League and have an opportunity to earn a spot in the FIFA Club World Cup.
The complete details on the Leagues Cup format can be viewed here.
TICKET INFORMATION
Real Salt Lake season ticket members could possibly see Leagues Cup 2023 tickets included in their annual package, or at the very least will have first rights to their seats during an exclusive pre-sale period; please contact the Club’s Fan Relations representatives for more information or visit www.RSL.com/tickets. Tickets will be available to the general public in the coming months.
