MLS Real Salt Lake

2023 Leagues Cup Dates Confirmed as Real Salt Lake Welcomes CF Monterrey and Seattle Sounders

Published on March 9, 2023 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
Real Salt Lake News Release


NEW YORK; MEXICO CITY; HERRIMAN, Utah - Major League Soccer (MLS) and LIGA MX, with the support of CONCACAF, today finalized Group stage dates for Real Salt Lake's participation in the highly-anticipated Leagues Cup 2023, which will occur from July 21 - August 19 this Summer, amidst RSL's 19th campaign. Please visit www.LeaguesCup.com for detailed information on the entire tourney.

RSL will host MLS power Seattle Sounders FC on SATURDAY, JULY 22 and legendary Mexican side CF Monterrey on WEDNESDAY, JULY 26 at America First Field during the first two group matches. The Sounders visit will be included in RSL's 2023 Season Ticket Membership plan as Bonus Game A, while the Monterrey visit will be available at www.RSL.com/tickets in the future, following an exclusive window for Season Ticket Members to secure their seats, as well as extras. Kickoff times and broadcast plans will be announced in the near future.

"We look forward to competing in this year's inaugural Leagues Cup tournament, providing our Club the invaluable opportunity to compete against the best in North America," said RSL General Manager Elliot Fall, now in his 17th season with the Club across various disciplines. "Continental competitions are always exciting, especially with three CONCACAF Champions League berths at stake. We have a deep and proud history of CCL moments that began a decade ago, and I know our fans harbor fond memories of intense, energetic and very meaningful games on Utah soil against regional powers. Kicking off the Leagues Cup this Summer at our America First Field home - especially with our history against Monterrey and Seattle - raises the excitement and intensity levels to surely unprecedented heights."

Los Rayados visit Utah for the first time since April, 2011, when the storied club defeated Real Salt Lake, 1-0, in that year's CONCACAF Champions League Final. Twelve years since they last squared off, RSL will host CF Monterrey in the rematch. RSL secured a 2-2 tie in the first leg of that 2011 CCL series, but Rayados, thanks to a late first-half goal by Humberto Suazo, took the title with a 1-0 upset in Utah. Victor Manuel Vucetich was the coach for Monterrey then, and returned to the club in 2022.

Earlier this year, Seattle became the first-ever MLS side to represent the League and U.S. Soccer in the FIFA Club World Cup in Morocco, following last year's CONCACAF Champions League title. Despite the departure of former RSL General Manager Garth Lagerwey from Seattle, multiple ties bind the clubs, whose rivalry was formed during contentious postseason series in 2010 and 2011. Former RSL manager Freddy Juarez joined the Sounders' staff in August, 2021, after 11 years with the Utah organization, while another former RSL GM, Craig Waibel, Lagerwey's successor from 2015-19, is now in his third season with the Pacific Northwest side. Former RSL playmaker Albert Rusnák signed with Seattle 14 months ago as a free agent, after notching 41 goals and adding 39 assists for the Claret-and-Cobalt from 2017-21.

Should RSL emerge as one of the two teams from West Group 2, advancing sides will compete in the single-game elimination Knockout Rounds, beginning with the Round of 32 on August 2-4 (16 matches), followed by the Round of 16 on August 6-8 (eight matches). The eight advancing teams will compete in the Quarterfinals from August 11-12 (four matches) before the two Semifinal matches on August 15. The possibility exists that America First Field in Sandy could host Knockout Round matches involving Real Salt Lake, as well as potential "intra-league" matches between Liga MX opponents.

The Leagues Cup 2023 Final and third-place game will be played on Saturday, August 19 and determine the three clubs that will qualify for the 2024 CONCACAF Champions League.

Fans around the world will be able to watch Leagues Cup* on MLS Season Pass on the Apple TV app, which is available on Apple devices, smart TVs, streaming devices from Roku, Amazon, and Google, game consoles, and the web at tv.apple.com. In addition, TelevisaUnivision, FOX Sports, TSN and RDS will be the linear broadcast home for select Leagues Cup matches in the United States and Canada.

While RSL could not host any matches during the 2022 Audi MLS Cup Playoffs, last year's postseason qualification - the Claret-and-Cobalt's fourth in the last five years, and its 12th in 15 seasons since 2008 - did clinch at least these TWO home matches at America First Field in Sandy against both Monterrey and Seattle for the 2023 Leagues Cup. Real Salt Lake Season Ticket Members will receive priority access to their seats for all Leagues Cup, Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup and any other matches / events hosted at the Club's primary venue.

Visit www.RSL.com for 2023 RSL Season Tickets and more information on the Club's 2023 Major League Soccer campaign - which kicks off SATURDAY with an expected sellout against Austin FC in a playoff rematch - the Utah side looks to build upon last year's 17 consecutive MLS sellouts and a NEW Club-high average attendance of 20,470, RSL's new standard after 18 MLS seasons. In 2022, Real Salt Lake improved to 9-3-5 (W-L-T) in its 17 MLS matches on Utah soil, posting the League's eighth-best home record, a slight improvement over the 9-4-4 mark in 2021. Each of the Club's 17 America First Field matches last season exceeded the venue's 20,000-seat capacity, a Club-record sellout streak both from the beginning of the season and at any point in one of its 18 Major League Soccer campaigns.

In a monumental new chapter for North American soccer, beginning in 2023, MLS and LIGA MX will pause their respective league seasons each Summer and all 47 first division clubs in Canada, Mexico and the United States - including Utah-based Real Salt Lake - will compete in the World Cup-style tournament.

Last Fall, competition details were unveiled for the annual, month-long competition that will crown the winner among MLS and LIGA MX. The champion, as well as the second- and third-place finishers, will qualify for the CONCACAF Champions League and an opportunity to earn a spot in the FIFA Club World Cup.

The 2023 Leagues Cup will begin on Friday, July 21 with the final taking place on Saturday, August 19. The tournament will be played across the U.S. and Canada. An event unprecedented in global football, the inaugural Leagues Cup will consist of 77 matches.

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