The 2025 Leagues Cup has provided an exciting ground for both Major League Soccer and Liga MX clubs to prove themselves against one another.
With three places in next year's CONCACAF Champions Cup on the line for the top three finishers, as well as a trophy, there's plenty of competitive stakes for players to grasp at.
This season also brings with it a new look for the tournament in its third year, with the Leagues Cup still in its infancy and searching for its best foot forward. The complete revamp brings many questions about how the tournament will play out, and the final remains shrouded in mystery.
The Sporting News brings you all the available information on when the final will be held and where it will be played, with lots of information still to be flushed out.
MORE: A full look at the 2025 Leagues Cup bracket, fixtures, and results
When is the 2025 Leagues Cup final?
The 2025 Leagues Cup final will be held on Sunday, August 31, 2025.
The kickoff time for the final is yet to be announced.
With the coveted title on the line, the match will come just four days after the semifinals conclude.
Where is the 2025 Leagues Cup final?
The Seattle Sounders will host the 2025 Leagues Cup final, welcoming Lionel Messi and Inter Miami to Lumen Field in the Pacific Northwest.
The LA Galaxy retained hosting rights all the way through the knockout stage, including the final, as they are defending MLS Cup champions, but were knocked out in the semifinals by Seattle. Club America would have also held hosting rights as the defending Liga MX Apertura winners, but they were eliminated in the group stage.
From there, with the Galaxy failing to reach the final, the Leagues Cup league phase is used to determine the host. Of the three semifinal participants outside the Galaxy, the Seattle Sounders finished highest in their respective league phase table by topping the MLS side of the standings.
Inter Miami, finishing second in the MLS table, will be the road team for the 2025 final.
How is the Leagues Cup final host determined?
The 2025 tournament featured a significant overhaul to its competition format, and for this year, one of the final participants will play host to the title match. Or, "host," depending on the qualifiers.
Under the current format, knockout stage participants were determined by grouping the League Phase participants into two tables separated by league, and then selecting the top four from each table. Thus, there are four quarterfinal qualifiers from MLS and four from Liga MX.
Priority hosting rights throughout the knockout round are given to the defending champions of each participating league. Thus, defending MLS Cup champions and defending Liga MX champions have hosting rights throughout the knockout round.
Beyond those two priority hosts, League Phase results would decide the final host if there were even seeds to reach the final. For example, if the first-place MLS finisher meets the fourth-place Liga MX finisher, the MLS team would host.
If the second-place MLS finisher meets the second-place Liga MX finisher, say, in the semifinals, they would compare League Phase results to determine the host. They would use points, then number of regulation victories, then goal difference, and so on.
Because the Leagues Cup is held entirely in the United States, Liga MX clubs aren't able to play at their home venues. Thus, they have been assigned "home" venues that serve as their home base throughout the tournament. Thus, while they may not have hosting rights in the traditional sense, they are able to avoid traveling for matches, which does provide some advantage.
For example, Toluca, who finished first in the Liga MX League Phase table, have been assigned Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, CA (the regular home of the LA Galaxy), as their "home venue" for the knockout phase. Thus, if they were to advance past Orlando City in the quarterfinals, they would "host" either Inter Miami or Tigres in Carson, while the opponent would be traveling from the east coast.