Breakdown of the changes made to the Leagues Cup format
A breakdown of the newest Leagues Cup format, which includes the MLS and Liga MX, and how it will impact CONCACAF Champions League.
Starting in the 2023 season there will be some changes in the way that the Leagues Cup is going to be played. Before this change, it was a series of friendly games in the middle of August. Moreover, this was only done with the best four teams in both the MLS and Liga MX. But now, with the newest format, it would be a competition.
The newest Leagues Cup format would entail a World Cup-esque system of a group stage and the dreaded knockout stages.
Additionally, this is going to be recognized by CONCACAF as a tournament which in turn will give out the berths to the CONCACAF Champions League in 2024. There will be a stoppage in both leagues over the summer (July 21 to August 19, 2023) to accommodate this tournament.
The only rule that is different for the group stage is that there will be no draws. The point values per match are three for a win (standard), and when a draw happens a team can get a maximum of two points and a minimum of a point. The only way that a two-point outcome would occur would be if there were a penalty shootout, with the winner earning the two points.
According to the MLS Website, all teams in Liga MX and MLS would join in the group stage except for the MLS champion of the previous season and the best overall champion of Liga MX in terms of the aggregate points, as Mexico has two tournaments like other Latin American soccer league.
The teams would be separated by pots and then placed in regions representing the four cardinal directions. This would lead to having 15 groups where the best two teams from each would advance to the round of 32.
After that, it would be a single elimination system ending in a final. All games would be played in US or Canadian soil.
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The way that this would connect to the CONCACAF Champions League would be that the two finalists and the third placed team would be getting the berths. The winner would be seeded into the round of 16 while the second and third placed teams would go into the first round.