Camila Sosa
The mega project that represents the Leagues Cup will have only a small exhibition in 2022, with the teams of Chivas Guadalajara and Club América facing the Californian teams of Los Angeles Galaxy and Los Angeles Galaxy, and Los Angeles FC in a small round of matches called the Leagues Cup Showcase, which will start on August 3.
Details of the Next Leagues Cup
The intention of these ”friendly” matches is to show the final project prepared by both the MLS as the Liga MX by 2023: a competition with all the teams from both leagues in which the top three finishers will earn a spot in the CONCACAF Champions League. This will be the first time that this competition becomes an official tournament, after having editions in 2020 and 2021 with different terms implemented.
This will not affect competitions already imposed between the two leagues, such as the Champions Cup, which is still planned to take place at some point this year 2022. The idea was that the Leagues Cup would be held this year as well, but with the World Cup taking place shortly after the competition, representatives of both leagues preferred to start the competition in 2023.
In addition, the waiting period for the debut of the tournament will also serve to define the final details regarding the tournament format, dates, and all other fields that need to be defined. As for the exhibition that will take place in August 2022, it will be held at the SoFi Stadium of the Los Angeles Rams, the NFL franchise. Both Chivas-LA Galaxy and América-LAFC will take place on the same day.
The last time Chivas and the Galaxy met was in 2007, when the Mexicans won 2-1 in the SuperLiga. One of the highlights of this new clash is the return of Javier ”Chicharito” Hernández to the team where he was born as a professional, while he was in the youth affiliates of the Guadalajara club from 2005 until he left the team when Manchester United signed him in 2010.
For América and Los Angeles FC, their last and only meeting occurred more recently during the CONCACAF Champions League semifinals, where Los Angeles triumphed by a score of 3-1. Carlos Vela scored two goals in the match, but his presence is in doubt as he has not renewed his contract with the Western Conference team until today.
