The Campeones Cup is an annual North American association football match contested between the winners of the previous MLS Cup from Major League Soccer and the winners of the Campeón de Campeones from Liga MX. The competition was established by the two leagues in 2018.
 | |
| Founded | 2018 |
|---|---|
| Region | NAFU (Canada, Mexico, United States) |
| Number of teams | 2 |
| Current champion(s) |  América(1st title) |
| Most successful club(s) | UANL (2 titles) |
| Television broadcasters | United States MLS Season Pass (English, also available worldwide) Univision (Spanish) Canada TSN (English) TVA Sports (French) Mexico Televisa (Spanish) TUDN (Spanish) |
| Website | campeonescup.com |
 2024 Campeones Cup | |
Format
editThe Campeones Cup is contested by the winner of the MLS Cup, held annually in November or December, to decide the winner of the Major League Soccer season, and the Campeón de Campeones, held annually in July between the winners of the Apertura and Clausura tournaments in Liga MX. If a Liga MX team wins both the Apertura and Clausura tournaments, then the team automatically wins the Campeón de Campeones and compete in the Campeones Cup. The Major League Soccer team, based in either Canada or the United States, hosts the match, at the end of the summer.[1] Its format is similar to the J.League Cup / Copa Sudamericana Championship, which is always hosted by the Japanese team.
The two leagues had previously fielded teams in the SuperLiga, which ran from 2007 to 2010, and currently compete in the CONCACAF Champions League.[2] The inter-league partnership was spurred in part by the joint North American bid for the 2026 FIFA World Cup and a desire to improve the level of play in CONCACAF.[3] The inaugural edition was hosted by Toronto FC at BMO Field in Toronto, Ontario on September 19, 2018, and won by Tigres UANL.[2] Atlanta United FC became the first MLS team to win, defeating Club América 3–2 in 2019.[4]
The 2020 edition, which would have been hosted by Seattle Sounders FC, was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[5] MLS and Liga MX announced that the game would return in 2021.[6] The return of Campeones Cup ended in a 2–0 Columbus Crew win over Cruz Azul at Lower.com Field in Columbus, Ohio on September 29, 2021.
Results
edit| Year | MLS club | Result | Liga MX club | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Toronto FC | 1–3 | UANL |  BMO Field, Toronto, Ontario
|
14,823 |
| 2019 | Atlanta United FC | 3–2 | América |  Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia
|
40,128 |
| Seattle Sounders FC | [a] | — | CenturyLink Field, Seattle, Washington
|
— | |
| 2021 | Columbus Crew | 2–0 | Cruz Azul | Lower.com Field, Columbus, Ohio
|
18,026 |
| 2022 | New York City FC | 2–0 | Atlas | Yankee Stadium, New York, New York
|
24,823 |
| 2023 | Los Angeles FC | 0–0 (2–4 p) |
UANL | BMO Stadium, Los Angeles, California
|
20,605 |
| 2024 | Columbus Crew | 1–1 (4–5 p) |
América | Lower.com Field, Columbus, Ohio
|
20,198 |
Performances
editBy club
editAs of the 2024 edition, a total of nine teams have qualified for the cup. In the table below, teams are ordered first by the number of appearances, then by the number of wins, and finally by alphabetical order. In the "Years of Appearance" column, bold years indicate a winning Campeones Cup appearance.
| Club | Wins | Losses | Years of Appearance |
|---|---|---|---|
| UANL |
2 | 0 | 2018, 2023 |
| Columbus Crew |
1 | 1 | 2021, 2024 |
| América |
1 | 1 | 2019, 2024 |
| Atlanta United FC |
1 | 0 | 2019 |
| New York City FC |
1 | 0 | 2022 |
| Toronto FC |
0 | 1 | 2018 |
| Cruz Azul |
0 | 1 | 2021 |
| Atlas |
0 | 1 | 2022 |
| Los Angeles FC |
0 | 1 | 2023 |
By nation
edit| Nation | Times won | Times runner-up | Winning clubs | Runners-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mexico
|
3 | 3 | UANL (2) América (1) |
América (1) Cruz Azul (1) Atlas (1) |
| United States
|
3 | 2 | Atlanta United FC (1) Columbus Crew (1) New York City FC (1) |
Los Angeles FC (1) Columbus Crew (1) |
| Canada
|
0 | 1 | Toronto FC (1) |
See also
editNotes
edit- ^ Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[5]
References
edit- ^ "Major League Soccer and Liga MX Fuel Rivalry with New Partnership" (Press release). Major League Soccer. March 13, 2018. Retrieved March 13, 2018.
- ^ a b Peterson, Anne M. (March 13, 2018). "Toronto FC to host first Campeones Cup as MLS, Mexico's Liga MX form partnership". Toronto Star. Associated Press. Retrieved March 13, 2018.
- ^ Marshall, Tom (March 13, 2018). "Campeones Cup latest venture to unite Liga MX with Major League Soccer". ESPN. Retrieved March 13, 2018.
- ^ "Warshaw: Atlanta United bring the swagger, take home Campeones Cup" (Press release). Major League Soccer. August 14, 2019. Retrieved August 27, 2019.
- ^ a b "MLS All-Star Game, Leagues Cup and Campeones Cup canceled for 2020" (Press release). Major League Soccer. May 19, 2020. Retrieved May 19, 2020.
- ^ "MLS, Liga MX cancel 2020 Campeones Cup, eye 2021 return" (Press release). Campeones Cup. May 19, 2020. Retrieved December 13, 2020.