MLS vs Liga MX: Which league has the best Campeones Cup record?

The champions of MLS and Liga MX meet in the 2024 Campeones Cup on Wednesday evening, battling for continental bragging rights between CONCACAF’s top leagues.

MLS Cup winners Columbus Crew will host the game at Lower.com Field, taking on Mexican giants Club América, who won both the Apertura 2023 and Clausura 2024 competitions.

The Campeones Cup was only founded in 2018 but has already become a fixture of the soccer calendar in both nations. The first iteration in 2018 was won by Tigres UANL, beating Toronto FC 3-1 at BMO Field.

Tigres are the only team to have won the comPetition twice, having also clinched the 2023 edition with a penalty shoot-out victory over LAFC. But while you may expect Mexican teams to have dominated the comPetition, Tigres remain the only Liga MX side to have lifted Campeones Cup.

Other winners have been Atlanta United (2019), Columbus Crew (2021) and New York City FC (2022). The Crew can become the second repeat winner this evening.

Why is Campeones Cup always played in the US?

Now, there is no shortage of intercontinental comPetition between the United States and Mexico. Leagues Cup has grown into a major event with an entire month now dedicated to the MLS-Liga MX tournament. In recent years the MLS All-Star Game has often been played against a select XI from Liga MX, and the Mexican national team is increasingly eager to play friendly fixtures in the US.

But these opportunities were few and far between in 2018 when Campeones Cup was introduced and the new comPetition offered the chance for Mexican soccer to engage with supporters in the US. For this reason, all Campeones Cup matches are played at the home of the MLS representative.

In 2018 Liga MX president Enrique Bonilla explained: “For Mexican soccer, accepting the invitation to this project is a fantastic opportunity to meet our vital goals with a long-term vision.”

He continued: “It will allow us to grow closer to our fans in the United States and Canada, who are passionate about their Liga MX clubs.”

In the preceding six years there has been real development in the competition between the two leagues, with MLS now viewed as a worthy rival. When the Campeones Cup was introduced MLS featured just 23 teams. It’s now at 29 with another, San Diego FC, set to join the league for the 2025 season.

The recently-expanded Leagues Cup may have usurped Campeones Cup as the primary indicator of the comparative strength of the two leagues. But for Columbus Crew and Club América there remains real stakes on the line on Wednesday evening, and the chance to add more silverware to their bulging trophy cabinets.