2025 Leagues Cup

I'm one of the fans that enjoys the cross league games, but I do think having Leagues Cup every year, All Star game plus CCC matchups is diluting the mystique of it all; I enjoyed it more when they just met up a few times a year with the stakes being higher.

 

My incentive to buy the MLS season pass is the Leagues Cup, if the happens I might not renew it and watch the MLS teams only in CCC,

 

Yeah for me the best soccer is international soccer, whether it be national or club teams.

 

And you forgot the Campeones Cup.

 

That's the one they should keep if Leagues Cup goes, but it has to alternate hosts between countries.

 

I assume that Seattle and Miami will not participate. For 18 teams, they could send the best, top 9 from each conference excluding Seattle/Miami, or they could send the rest, 18 teams out of the 20 that won't be in CCC. Or some kind of hybrid, such as Columbus and the MLS Cup winner plus a bunch of non-CCC teams.

It could be 9 groups of 4, evenly divided between the leagues. I'd say play the domestic matchups in each group on midweek dates before the summer, then play the MLS vs. MX matches in the dedicated window if they still have that. Nine is an awkward number of groups to feed a knockout bracket, but whatever, 9 group winners plus the best 7 in 2nd place go through.

 

That makes sense if you go with Tanner saying the Union didn't qualify for next year. How you set the tournament would be interesting since it's an odd number.

 

An 18 vs 18 tournament makes a lot more sense, since the purpose is to pit MLS vs Liga MX and not just be another MLS vs MLS Cup. So the question becomes - what do those teams that don't qualify do during the season pause. Do they play each other like they do in the NBA when a team fails to advance from the NBA Cup group stage?

 

Same thing as the teams who crap out of the current iteration of the tournament,
stay home and cry.

 

Just play18 matches in total between the two leagues. Spread out over several days leading up to the all-star game. The league with more wins/points wins the overall Leagues Cup for the year. That way it's just one game per club and you can schedule the games well in advance and sell tickets accordingly (maybe even in Mexico?). Neither league has to take a lengthy break anymore either.

 

Yea, this makes zero sense since three teams qualify for CCC out of Leagues Cup. Neither league is going to give up the revenue from sponsors that have signed up for multiple years.

 

No it doesn't. Leagues Cup has sponsors as well, who signed up for a 48 team tournament. Reducing the number of teams and games will alter the sponsorship money calculus. This would also be reverting back to the original format/concept. Might as well just schedule Euro and SA clubs for friendlies.

 

You bring up an interesting point...what if they filled out the remaining spots with teams from Brazil/Argentina?

 

Possibly but not necessarily as they might have negotiated that into the deal. Also the number of games depends on the format.
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If you stay with 12 groups of three that would make for 36 games with the top two still advancing. You wouldn't be able to do knockout rounds next because 24 won't go to one game. But the second round could be eight groups of three, with the team that wins that group making the final eight. That's another 24 games plus seven to decide the winner for a total of 67. Only four games less and I doubt any sponsors would balk to much about four games.

 

Actually 68 games, forgot about the third place game.

 

Brazil has a similar schedule to MLS. They play their regular season throughout the summer.

 

If they stick to playing this tournament in July and early August, having altered MLS's format, sheet, get big clubs from South America and Europe that want to grow their brand and colors in our ever-growing soccer market and up sale this damn League's Cup!

Winter.
Summer in the Southern Hemisphere is coming around right now. For Christmas and New Years they go to the beach!

 

It's a qualifying tournament. No reason to have it if it involves teams outside CONCACAF.

 

Its existence did not start as a qualifying tournament. You could just decouple it from the CCC and go full summer circus. I don't think the sponsors will mind if you add some big names.

As for the CCC spots, give one spot to MLS and one to Liga MX. The third can go to the defending champions.

 

Rules do not concern me Admiral. I want a better tournament.

 

Just join Libertadores at this point then. MLS/USSSF and/or Liga MX/FMF really need to put in a president in CONCACAF they can manipulate. Change the entire structure of club and National team tournaments and work something out with CONMEBOL. Copa America, Libertadores, Sudamericana and some 3rd Continental club tournament that includes at least one club from each of the 10 South American leagues just to throw a bone to the rest of CONCACAF.

 

Right on.
Or, just invite clubs that want to travel to the United States and Canada to grow their brand and colors in our ever growing soccer market playing during July and August.

 

The goal is to have BETTER games, not worse.