I don‘t think that anyone who follows CCC play closely thought this was going to be a walk in the park for Liga MX. Quite the contrary. Things have been a lot more competitive in the CCC recently. And that’s precisely the problem with these CCC spots on the line. MLS having ten teams compared to six Liga MX representatives (as seen this year) is an undeniable advantage at the start. One that wasn’t earned in CCC play and instead originates in this travesty of a competition. Look, I get it. After 20 years of CCC pain I’m sure almost anyone in the MLS corner is absolutely loving every second of Mexican failure in the Leagues Cup. And as a MLS fan you get to see it in person. But at some point we have to protect the sporting integrity of the CCC. And these extra three spots available through the Leagues Cup skew the CCC to an unacceptable degree. I don’t care that Liga MX owners are getting paid off, Concacaf should never have allowed it in the first place. Not with this format.
I’m in MLS’ corner, and what I’m “absolutely loving” is watching hard fought, compelling, competitive matches.
Concacaf just allowed an unbalanced final in the CCC. Concacaf allows constant U.S. Gold Cups (which award Mexico a competitive edge as well because of crowd demographics and the Mexican NT using the U.S. as a frequent friendly home base). Not playing ball with Leagues Cup would be hypocritical.
And hopefully we will once again end up with a CCC (CCL?) that covers approximately twelve months. Perhaps one that starts a bit later for MLS. It’s ridiculous that Concacaf, as the only confederation next to the tiny OFC, crams its premier club competition into to space of six months.
The unbalanced CCC final was derived competitively, but I agree. It is flawed and needs to be replaced by the proven home and away format. How much fun was it for Crew fans being virtually locked out of a continental final? As for the perpetual US hosting of Concacaf tournaments, it is extremely tiresome. Especially with the nations league final four which could be realistically hosted elsewhere in the region. But it is only an advantage for one team (or two if you insist) - not 29 soon to be 30.
Probably pretty fun, the Crew had a nice run in the CCC but ultimately lost fairly based on the established setup of the competition. I’m sure it stung but there were some great times along the way for those that enjoy soccer. Will make the next try at success that much better for fans and club alike.
What sporting integrity are you talking about? Seems to me you only complain because Liga MX is getting screwed over but while everything is in it's favor you don't care about sporting integrity. I don't see those that complain about Leagues Cup complain that all of the Central America leagues have 6 spots between them. It's leaving out entire leagues without participants in case they don't qualify in the Central American Cup. Where's the outrage for that? Or the outrage that Canada gets 3 direct spots without competing with anyone? Sporting integrity only matters to you when it comes to Liga MX but if they were the ones to be benefited and others doing the complaining you would be saying to stop giving excuses.
...why would there be outrage for that? There's a qualification opportunity, take it or don't. The Leagues Cup is structurally exclusionary, the CCL isn't. No one's mad that Andorra doesn't get to the group stages of the UEFA Champions League. No one's mad that Belize doesn't make it to the CCL proper.
Sure. No one cares about Central America or Caribbean clubs. It's just Liga MX and MLS that matters. We all know this. So why claim it's sporting integrity when it affects Liga MX only but not when it affects others?
The 2024 CONCACAF Champions Cup included América, Tigres, Chivas, Monterrey and Pachuca. Where was sporting integrity lacking?
I won't get started on the gold cup and nations league being hosted only in the US. you don't think CCC doesn't garner interest outside of the US? you're not going to get this type of turnout and intensity in leagues cup
I am very confident that Crew would have won another knockout game in Mexico had they not been served bad food. It didn’t “sting”, it wasn’t fairly decided. I don’t understand rooting for a league, I root for my club regardless of who they play.
I'm referring to the comment Nico has said that if Liga MX doesn't win Leagues Cup soon their fans will lose interest. By that same token then in CCC it works the same. All these other leagues are just hoping they'll get an upset on a game and that's about it. They aren't going to win it anymore.
What leagues were excluded from having the opportunity to qualify for the Concacaf Champions Cup in 2024? Haiti because of their political situation, the amateur leagues scattered throughout the Caribbean that have always been excluded from continental play because they've never met the CFU standards, and...?
Average for the 5 games with posted numbers is 13,189, with NYC at Red Bull Arena and the all-Liga MX game in D.C. not yet listed, so knock another 35,000 or so off from last year's pace for now.
This is like interleague baseball. Fun for a bit but the experience fades from fun & new & unusual to 'meh' in a hurry. It dilutes CCL, ruins USOC, and screws up the calendar with needless matches. Fun enough, but I'd love to see it gone. If it must persist, it should be shorter & more exclusive. Get rid of group. 32 teams.
I happen to agree that Central America is underrepresented and would gladly give the three Leagues Cup spots to them. But tinkering with Central American allocation isn’t (in all likelihood) going to impact the overall outcome of the CCC. Giving MLS, one of the two elite leagues in Concacaf, three additional spots via an unbalanced qualifying format very well could. Surely you can see the difference?
The best performing league based on CCC play is about to be again underrepresented in that very CCC. That doesn’t happen in any other confederation. Being the best usually means having the most teams. Leon didn’t get to defend their title this year. Pachuca won’t get to defend their title in 2025. In a balanced allocation of eight teams per league that wouldn’t have happened.
Am I wrong? Liga MX fans only showed up in big numbers twice this year. For Chivas in Santa Clara and for Tigres in Houston (with Messi in mind during ticket sales?) Why bother if the format is against you? With prices that are intended to fleece you? Even hub privileged Club America only got about 15.7K in LA the other night. Let’s see what kind of support Leon, Monterrey, and Pachuca get from the Mexican-American community next year at the CWC. I predict a very different outcome.
Last Leagues Cup edition in 2025? https://onefootball.com/es/noticias...artir-de-2025-esto-es-lo-que-se-sabe-39885141