COMMERCE CITY, Colo. — The Colorado Rapids announced today the club’s match schedule for the Leagues Cup 2024 Group Stage. Colorado will travel to Providence Park to face the Portland Timbers on Thursday, Aug. 1 at 7:30 p.m. MT. Days later, they will host LIGA MX side Club León at DICK’S Sporting Goods Park on Monday, Aug. 5 at 7 p.m. MT.
The Rapids, León and Portland Timbers occupy the fifth group in the West region. The tournament introduces a tiered Leagues Cup Ranking system, as well as hubs for the highest-ranked LIGA MX clubs. The Leagues Cup ranking is strictly based on combined MLS and LIGA MX club performance, relying on points in the last 34 regular season matches. MLS teams are ranked based on the 2023 MLS Supporters’ Shield standings, while LIGA MX clubs are ranked based on the cumulative 34 matches in the 2023 Clausura and Apertura tournaments. Leagues Cup maintains its current No Ties format, with each team receiving one point if the game is tied after 90 minutes. The winner of the subsequent penalty shootout earns an additional point. Regulation wins count as three points, with games being decided by a penalty kick in case of a regular-time draw.
The second edition of this Concacaf-sanctioned competition features all 18 clubs from the Mexican league, LIGA MX, and all 29 clubs from Major League Soccer (MLS) representing the U.S. and Canada. These 47 clubs will compete in a World Cup-style club tournament July 26-Aug. 25, 2024.
Advancing teams will compete in the single-game elimination knockout rounds, beginning with the Round of 32 from Aug. 7-9 (16 matches), followed by the Round of 16 from Aug. 12-13 (eight matches). The eight advancing teams will compete in the Leagues Cup Quarterfinals on Aug. 16-17 (four matches) before the two semifinal matches on Aug.20 or 21.
The Leagues Cup 2024 Final and the Third-place match will be played on Saturday, Aug. 25, which will determine the three clubs that will qualify for the 2025 Concacaf Champions League. The game times and broadcast details for the elimination rounds and Finals will be announced once the match ups are known.
Founded in 1944, León, the winners of the 2023 CONCACAF Champions Cup, have an illustrious history. Los Verdiblancos have won the Liga MX Primera División title eight times, Ascenso MX five times, Copa México five times, and have been Campeón de Campeones champions on five occasions. The club is led by Jorge Bava, who previously had a stint with the Chicago Fire in 2017. The squad features former Mexican internationals Andrés Guardado and Luis “Chapo” Montes. Guardado, has represented his country in five World Cups, four Gold Cups, two Copa Américas, and two Confederations Cups. Meanwhile, Montes holds the club's all-time appearances record with 409. Rapids Gallery of Honor inductee Marcelo Balboa starred for León from 1994-95 before joining Colorado in 1996, the club’s inaugural season.
The Portland Timbers are captained by Diego Chará, a 2019 MLS All-Star and 2020 MLS Best XI player. Their roster includes Kamal Miller, winner of the 2023 Leagues Cup, as well as Chile National Team forward Felipe Mora, who competed in Liga MX from 2017 to 2021, and Maxime Crépeau, the 2022 MLS Cup winner. Phil Neville, appointed as head coach in November 2023, leads the team. Additionally, Portland defender Eric Miller previously played for Colorado from 2016-18. In 2015, The Timbers won the MLS Cup.
Fans in over 100 countries and regions will be able to watch all 77 Leagues Cup matches on MLS Season Pass on the Apple TV app, the subscription service from Apple and Major League Soccer that is available on smart TVs, streaming devices, Apple devices, set-top boxes, game consoles, and the web at tv.apple.com. In addition, Televisa Univision, TV Azteca, FOX Sports (FS1), TSN and RDS will be the linear broadcast home for selected group stage matches in Mexico, United States and Canada.
The Rapids’ match against Club Leon on Aug. 5 is included in 2024 Season Ticket Memberships. Season Ticket Members will receive pre-sale access to purchase additional tickets to this match beginning tomorrow, March 15, at 10 a.m. Following the Member pre-sale, tickets will be made available to the general public at 2 p.m.
