It’s season five for the Leagues Cup, the joint competition involving Major League Soccer and Liga MX clubs. Starting on July 29 and running through August 31, the competition will move from a league stage to a knockout round starting with quarterfinals.
2025 Leagues Cup schedule
| Stage | Date |
|---|---|
| League game 1 | Jul 29-31 |
| League game 2 | Aug 1-3 |
| League game 3 | Aug 5-7 |
| Quarterfinals | Aug 19-20 |
| Semifinals | Aug 26-27 |
| 3rd-place playoff | Aug 31 |
| Final | Aug 31 |
The tournament is once again using a different structure, that starts with the number of teams involved. The change only impacts MLS, with 18 of their clubs participating alongside all 18 of the Liga MX teams.
Teams
| Major League Soccer | Liga MX |
|---|---|
| LAFC | Club America |
| Cincinnati | Atlas |
| Charlotte | Chivas |
| Columbus | Cruz Azul |
| Colorado | Juarez |
| Houston | Leon |
| LA Galaxy | Mazatlan |
| LAFC | Monterrey |
| Inter Miami | Necaxa |
| Minnesota | Pachuca |
| Montreal | Puebla |
| NYCFC | Pumas |
| NY Red Bulls | Queretaro |
| Orlando City | San Luis |
| Portland | Santos Laguna |
| Real Salt Lake | Tigres |
| San Diego | Tijuana |
| Seattle | Toluca |
Another change for 2025 is first dividing all 36 participants into two 18-team leagues of East and West, seeded by domestic League results. That’s last season’s Supporters’ Shield for MLS and the 2024-25 Apertura and Clausura for Liga MX. Those leagues are further divided into three groups of six teams to create phase one of the tournament.
East Groups
| Group | Team |
|---|---|
| Eastern 1 | Toluca |
| Eastern 1 | Columbus |
| Eastern 1 | NYCFC |
| Eastern 1 | Leon |
| Eastern 1 | Montreal |
| Eastern 1 | Puebla |
| Eastern 2 | Inter Miami |
| Eastern 2 | Pumas |
| Eastern 2 | Orlando City |
| Eastern 2 | Necaxa |
| Eastern 2 | Atlanta |
| Eastern 2 | Atlas |
| Eastern 3 | Monterrey |
| Eastern 3 | Cincinnati |
| Eastern 3 | Chivas |
| Eastern 3 | Charlotte FC |
| Eastern 3 | NY Red Bulls |
| Eastern 3 | Juarez |
Western Groups
| Group | Team |
|---|---|
| Western 1 | Tigres |
| Western 1 | LAFC |
| Western 1 | Houston |
| Western 1 | Pachuca |
| Western 1 | Mazatlan |
| Western 1 | San Diego |
| Western 2 | Club America |
| Western 2 | Real Salt Lake |
| Western 2 | Minnesota |
| Western 2 | San Luis |
| Western 2 | Portland |
| Western 2 | Queretaro |
| Western 3 | Cruz Azul |
| Western 3 | LA Galaxy |
| Western 3 | Seattle |
| Western 3 | Tijuana |
| Western 3 | Colorado |
| Western 3 | Santos Laguna |
Here’s where the Leagues Cup isn’t so straightforward. To determine the teams that advance to the quarterfinals, the tournament reverts to the domestic leagues, with the top four finishers from MLS and Liga MX advancing. That means the final table is based on the domestic league even though the clubs don’t play teams from their domestic league in phase one. As with the previous Leagues Cups, all of the games will be at MLS stadiums.
The knockout round is seeded by how the teams finish in their respective league tables.
Knockout round
MLS 1 vs Liga MX 4
MLS 2 vs Liga MX 3
MLS 3 vs Liga MX 2
MLS 4 vs Liga MX 1
