The two leagues announced Thursday that LAFC, LA Galaxy, Chivas of Guadalajara and Club America will compete in the first-ever soccer event at Los Angeles’ glistening new 70,000-seat venue in the Leagues Cup Showcase this August.
The marquee doubleheader will serve as a preview to the highly-anticipated Leagues Cup – the annual, month-long official tournament between MLS and Liga MX – to kick off in the summer of 2023.
“We look forward to participating in this historic doubleheader at SoFi Stadium and rekindling our rivalry with Club America,” LAFC co-president and CBO Larry Freedman said in a release. “Los Angeles is showing, yet again, why it is one of the top sports cities in the world, and it is an honor for our club to have the opportunity to compete in this showcase.”
LA Galaxy vs. Chivas
The LA Galaxy and Chivas will meet for the first time in 15 years and just the fourth time overall. It will be the first time Galaxy star Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez faces his first professional team. Chicharito scored 26 league goals for Chivas before moving on to Manchester United as a 21-year-old in 2010.
In their series history, the Galaxy won in a 1999 friendly at the Rose Bowl and in penalty kicks at the Concacaf Cup of Champions in 1997 in Chicago. Chivas won the most recent meeting 2-1 at LA Memorial Coliseum during SuperLiga 2007.
“The LA Galaxy are excited to be part of a historic event in Los Angeles as four of the biggest clubs in MLS and Liga MX face off against one another in the first-ever soccer event at SoFi Stadium,” Galaxy president Chris Klein said in a release. “There’s a great history of big soccer matches being played in the United States and in Los Angeles, dating back to the 1994 World Cup, the 1999 Women’s World Cup, and all of the big games that the LA Galaxy has been a part of, so having the opportunity to play against a storied franchise in Liga MX is an honor that we are looking forward to.”
LAFC vs. Club América
The match between LAFC and Club América will be only their second meeting after LAFC’s 3-1 triumph in the 2020 Concacaf Champions League semifinals.
That game was played before an empty Exploria Stadium in Orlando amid the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, which means this will be the first where fans of both storied clubs can be part of the action.
“This will be another historic day for soccer in Southern California,” LAFC co-president & general manager John Thorrington said in a release. “Facing off once again against Club America in the first soccer event at SoFi Stadium is another major moment for our club.”
The Leagues Cup Showcase will be a taste of what’s to come in 2023, when all 47 MLS and Liga MX clubs will participate in the Leagues Cup while both leagues break from domestic play. The tournament’s expansion is the product of a partnership that began in 2018 and will continue to build to the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Source: MLSSOCCER.COM
