In its third year of action, Leagues Cup – the predominant interleague tournament in Concacaf – returns with a brand new format that promises more action and more drama than ever before.
Like most of the dominant soccer world FC Cincinnati will be participating in this in season tournament and will be doing so for the third year in a row. But unlike anywhere else in the world, Leagues Cup pits the teams from two leagues against one another to crown one ultimate champion and grant immediate passage to the Concacaf Champions Cup.
In the previous two iterations of the tournament, FC Cincinnati has secured their spot in the knockout stage. But under a new format, advancing will be more challenging than ever and claiming the cup will be more of a test.
For 2025, 18 MLS clubs and all 18 Liga MX sides have been entered into the tournament, creating a balance of teams in the tournament for the first time. In the opening round (known as Phase One) MLS and Liga MX teams will exclusively face off against each other, playing three opponents consecutively in the middle of MLS league play.
Both leagues teams will be then sorted into a table exclusively with their fellow league clubs and ranked based on the outcomes of those games. As per Leagues Cup tradition, there will be no draws in Phase One of the tournament with all games at an equal score at the end of 90 minutes to be decided in penalty kicks. A win in regulation will give three points, a win in the penalty shoot out two points, a loss in the penalty shoot out will give one point and a regulation loss will grant zero points.
After those three interleague matches are played, the top four teams by points from each league will advance to the knockout round in the quarterfinals with all others returning to their respective league play schedules. From there it is a win-or-go-home knockout round tournament with the quarterfinals again ensuring a interleague matchup.
How are the matches decided?
For Phase One of the tournament where each team plays three matches against opponents from their rival leagues, the Leagues Cup Rankings will sort and seed each club respective of their league based on their success in the previous years table. For MLS that means the 2024 Supporters’ Shield rankings and for Liga MX the previous 34 matches in the combined Clausura and Apatura tournaments.
After seeding, teams will be sorted into three pots. Tier 1: Teams ranked 1-3 from each league. Tier 2: Teams ranked 4-6 from each league. Tier 3: Teams ranked 7-9 from each league. Each club will then face off with one team in each of the tiers to make up their Phase 1 schedule.
FC Cincinnati was seeded as final Tier 1 team for MLS, so this means they will take on CF Monterrey (aka Rayados) from Tier 1, Chivas de Guadalajara from Tier 2 and FC Juarez from Tier 3.
How are matches different?
While the format has changed for the 2025 playing of Leagues Cup, the match structure has remained the same as like the first two iterations of the tournament Leagues Cup will feature no draws. All matches will end with the winner and should 90 minutes finish with a draw the match will go directly to penalty kicks to determine a winner.
For purposes of pool play, a win in regulation outright will be worth 3 points, a win in the penalty shoot out 2 points, a loss in the penalty shoot out 1 point and an outright loss in regulation will yield zero points.
In the knockout stages, all the way from the quarterfinals to the Leagues Cup Finals, the penalty shootout ending will also be utilized, but with the losing side being eliminated.
Match officials for the 2025 Leagues Cup will be appointed by Concacaf. VAR technology, including a virtual offside line, will be used again in the tournament.
What’s at stake?
This epic summer showdown pits the finest clubs from Major League Soccer and Liga MX against each other in a battle for North American supremacy. Sanctioned by Concacaf, this tournament fuels the fiery rivalry between the US, Canada, and Mexico. The stakes are high, with the top three teams in the tournament – the winner, runner-up and winner of the third place match – earning a coveted spot in the Concacaf Champions Cup, the champion of which will become the region's representative on the global stage at the next iteration of the FIFA Club World Cup. Along with the additional representation at the Concacaf Champions Cup, the Leagues Cup Champion is granted a bye into the Round of 16 and preferential seeding into the tournament. Giving the Champion a leg up on the competition.
More than anything, for FC Cincinnati this tournament represents another opportunity to add to the club trophy case, and to prove they are champions against the best MLS and Liga MX have to offer!