RSL Welcomes English Side with RSL Ties for Summer Preseason Friendly;
First of Four International Opponents from mid-July to mid-August at America First Field,
Including Trio of Leagues Cup 2026 Opponents from Liga MX;
Tickets Available on June 12th via www.RSL.com
HERRIMAN, Utah (Wednesday, June 3, 2026) – In preparation for the late July resumption of the 2026 Major League Soccer campaign, Real Salt Lake today announced that English Championship side Burnley FC will visit the Beehive State on Wed., July 15, 2026, with a 7:30p MT kickoff at America First Field in Sandy.
Active 2026 RSL Season Ticket Members will receive first priority for their seats for this match, with Burnley the first English team to visit the Wasatch Front since Manchester United’s arrival in July, 2017. RSL has also hosted Everton FC on two previous occasions – July 2007 at the Club’s former Rice-Eccles Stadium home in Salt Lake City, and during the 2009 MLS All-Star Game in Sandy.
General public tickets go on sale June 12th and can be accessed at www.RSL.com/tickets.
“Our Club is elated to welcome Burnley FC to Utah as part of their preseason USA tour,” said John Kimball, Real Salt Lake President of Business Operations. “While we have deep ties from our past to the current Burnley leadership, we are focused on providing our exciting team with a meaningful game just prior to the resumption of the MLS schedule following this World Cup break. We believe this Burnley visit to Sandy will help prepare us to improve on our third-place West standing, as we look to build upon a successful first half of 2026.”
Burnley – which competed in the Premier League in two of the last three seasons, prior to a return to the EFL Championship this fall for the third occasion in the last five campaigns – boasts significant ties to Real Salt Lake. The Utah side’s founder, David W. Checketts, currently serves on the Burnley FC board, while BFC chairman Alan Pace was the RSL president from May, 2007, through April, 2008. Former NFL star J.J. Watt is an investor in Burnley with his wife, former NWSL star Kealia Ohai, a native of Draper, Utah, and a two-time Gatorade state player of the year from Alta High School.
As the first visitor amongst four international clubs to arrive on the Wasatch Front from mid-July through mid-August, 2026, Burnley becomes the 33rd different international opponent to compete on Utah soil against Real Salt Lake. Burnley are one of only five sides to have won all four professional divisions of English football, twice crowned champions of England (1920-21 and 1959-60). The match on Wednesday, July 15, 2026 against Burnley will be the 35th international match on Utah soil, with RSL boasting 17 wins and seven draws against 10 losses against foreign opponents across various competitions.
The Burnley home match affords RSL Head Coach Pablo Mastroeni’s side – currently third overall in the MLS Western Conference and tied for fifth overall in the MLS Supporters Shield with an 8-4-2 (W-L-T) record, good for 26 points, the second-best 14-game start in RSL history – the opportunity to improve on its dominant 7-1-0 (W-L-T) mark at home this season, before resuming its 2026 MLS reg. season campaign following the World Cup.
Following trips to LAFC (Wed., July 22), Portland Timbers FC (Sat., July 25) and St. Louis CITY SC (Sat., Aug. 1), RSL then welcomes a trio of Liga MX opponents to visit Sandy, Utah, for Phase One of Leagues Cup 2026, with perennial title contender Tigres UANL arriving on Tuesday, August 4 (8:00p MT kickoff), later joined by both Atlante CF (Saturday, August 8) and FC Juarez (Tuesday, August 11) to compete on the Wasatch Front, where the Utah side boasts an all-time 6W-6L-5T record against Mexican visitors, who have outscored the Claret-and-Cobalt 24-21 over the years on their collective visits.
Real Salt Lake enters the tourney ranked as the 30th overall side out of 36 participants based on its 2025 performance and standings results, with RSL fifth of the six teams in the West 1 pod, which also includes MLS sides Vancouver and Minnesota, in addition to RSL’s three Liga MX opponents. Further information on each match can be found at www.RSL.com or www.LeaguesCup.com.
RSL’s history with TIGRES UANL is the most extensive of any Liga MX opponent, with RSL and Tigres squaring off for a fifth occasion later this year. Tigres ousted RSL from the Concacaf Champions League back in 2016, winning 2-0 at home before drawing 1-1 in Sandy.
In July, 2019, RSL fell 0-1 to Tigres at home in what was then called the Leagues Cup “Showcase,” a match that is known for a cat running on the field in what was former RSL Head Coach Mike Petke’s final match with the Club. Tigres first visited Utah back in 2008, arriving for a friendly as part of the Xango Cup, RSL winning the game at Rice-Eccles, 1-0. Former RSL centerback Carlos Salcedo arrived in Utah from the Tigres academy more than a decade ago, while RSL sold former goalkeeper Lalo Fernandez to Tigres at a similar juncture.
ATLANTE FC – In recent months, Atlante secured its return to Liga MX by acquiring Mazatlán’s franchise, taking its place in the league. The club now moves to Mexico City yet again, with the famed Estadio Azteca becoming its new home. Mazatlan was formerly known as Monarcas Morelia before relocation in 2020 – entering this summer’s tourney as the second of three visitors to the Beehive State, arriving for the second Phase One match on Saturday, August 8 (kickoff time TBD). Interestingly, back in July, 2006, Morelia did defeat RSL by a 3-1 scoreline at its former Rice-Eccles Stadium home.
FC JUAREZ also makes its maiden visit to Utah as part of the 2026 Leagues Cup, RSL hosting another first-time opponent. Juarez was founded as a second-division side in 2015, ascending to Liga MX in 2019 as a replacement for Lobos BUAP. Former RSL Academy, Real Monarchs and RSL forward and Park City, Utah native Sebastian “Bofo” Saucedo played 17 games for FC Juarez from 2023-25, scoring one goal.
Now in its fourth edition, Leagues Cup 2026 will once again award three spots in the 2027 CONCACAF Champions Cup, where the winner will represent the region at FIFA international club competitions, with the Leagues Cup 2026 champion earning a direct berth to the Round of 16.
A year ago, RSL drew with both Club América and Atlético San Luis at home before winning against Queretaro, splitting the shootout tiebreakers in the first two matches. RSL Captain and GK Rafa Cabral enjoyed perhaps his signature moment in the dramatic penalty-kick session against Las Aguilas, denying several attempts from the spot after América scored deep into second-half stoppage time to force the draw.
Three days later against Atlético San Luis, RSL saw late dramatics from former MF Braian Ojeda force the tiebreaker, the Claret-and-Cobalt conceding the extra point in the group standings against 2026 newcomer Juan Manuel Sanabria’s former side.
In the group stage finale, RSL defeated Queretaro by a narrow 1-0 scoreline in a match dominated by RSL, which conceded just a lone shot on goal over the 90 minutes, Ojeda again providing the match-winner.
Running from August 4 through September 6, Leagues Cup 2026 will feature 36 clubs – all 18 LIGA MX teams and 18 qualified MLS clubs. All 54 matches during Phase One along with the Quarterfinals will deliver LIGA MX vs. MLS matchups and feature defending Leagues Cup champion Seattle Sounders, top-rated LIGA MX Club Toluca, 2025 MLS Cup Champion Inter Miami, as well as 2025 Concacaf Champions Cup winner Cruz Azul and runner-up Vancouver Whitecaps.
