Dallas to face Necaxa and Charlotte in 2023 League Cup group stage

FRISCO, Texas (January 20, 2023) – FC Dallas will take on LIGA MX Necaxa and MLS Eastern Conference opponent Charlotte in the first edition of the highly anticipated 2023 League Cup announced by MLS and LIGA MX today. The first League Cup will take place from 21 July to 19 August 2023.

Dallas would play the Necaxa for the first time since the 1998 CONCACAF Cup Winners’ Cup, when the Dallas Burns competed in what is now known as the CONCACAF Champions League. The Burn lost to LIGA MX team 4-1 with a single goal from former Burn striker Dante Washington. Dallas and Charlotte will face each other for the first time since Charlotte debuted in the league in 2022.

All 47 clubs from LIGA MX (18) and MLS (29) participate in the official Concacaf competition. The teams will play in a World Cup-style tournament in which three clubs will qualify for the 2024 CONCACAF Champions League.

As champions of the 2022 MLS Cup, Los Angeles Football Club qualified directly for the 2023 League Cup Round of 16. The LIGA MX champion Club de Fútbol Pachuca became the LIGA MX champion with the most points scored during the Clausura and Apertura seasons. in calendar year 2022.

The 2023 League Cup groups are based on the clubs’ performance in 2022 as well as their geographic regions. 15 groups will be divided into four regions: West, Central, South and East. There will be four groups per region, except for the West, which will have three groups due to the LAFC’s promotion to the playoffs. Pachuca will enter the playoffs in the south, on the opposite side of the grid from the MLS Cup champions and in the opposite quadrant from the top seeded MLS club based on the 2022 Fan Final Score. As the LAFC won the 2022 Fan Shield, the club in the opposite quadrant will be the runner-up Philadelphia Union, which will be placed in East 1 Group 1.

The top 15 MLS clubs, with the exception of the MLS Cup champion, were first placed in their respective geographic region and then based on their position in the 2022 Fans Final Rankings. The top 15 LIGA MX teams based on the combined Clausura 2022 and Apertura 2022 scoring, excluding the LIGA MX champion as described above, were paired in reverse order with the top 15 MLS clubs (the No. 15 seeded LIGA MX club was paired) . with the No. 1 MLS seed club and so on).

Continuing with the competitive balance criteria, the remaining 13 MLS clubs have been grouped, again first based on their geographic region and then based on their position in the 2022 Supporters’ Shield final standings.

Since the MLS clubs are grouped, the South Region and East Region each have one slot. Based on the combined standings of Clausura 2022 and Apertura 2022, the last two remaining LIGA MX clubs, FC Juarez and Querétaro, have been placed in open positions in these two regions to complete the groups. Queretaro (No. 17 LIGA MX) and FC Juarez (No. 16 LIGA MX), ranked in reverse order from the highest seed in each group, were respectively paired with Philadelphia Union (No. 1 MLS) East and FC Austin (No. 3 MLS) on South.

Each team will play two matches in the group stage, with the top two teams from each group determined by points advancing to the knockout round. No match in the League Cup group stage will end in a draw. If the game ends after 90 minutes, the game proceeds to a penalty shoot-out. The 2023 League Cup rules for tiebreaks and other competition elements will be published in the coming months.

The 2023 League Cup draw and schedule will be announced in the coming months.

Starting in 2023, MLS and LIGA MX will suspend their league seasons every summer and all 47 First Division clubs in Canada, Mexico and the United States will take part in a World Cup-style tournament that is Concacaf’s official competition. The first League Cup will consist of 77 matches starting on Friday 21 July and the final will take place on Saturday 19 August. The tournament will be held in the USA and Canada. The champion, as well as the runners-up and third-place finishers, will qualify for the CONCACAF Champions League and have the opportunity to earn a spot in the FIFA Club World Cup.

Fans around the world will be able to watch the League Cup* with the MLS Season Pass on the Apple TV app, available on Apple devices, smart TVs, streaming devices from Roku, Amazon and Google, game consoles and the web on TV. .apple.com.

In addition, TelevisaUnivision, FOX Sports, TSN and RDS will be live streaming select League Cup matches. The League Cup Final will be available on Univision in Spanish.

As previously announced, IMG Arena will be the data distribution partner for the Leagues Cup. Full details of the League Cup format can be found here.

Ticket Information

MLS season ticket holders should contact their club representative for more information. Contact your local MLS club for more information on when tickets will be available to the public.