WASHINGTON, D.C. - D.C. United announced today the club's CONCACAF Champions' Cup first round schedule with CD Olimpia of Honduras and plans for the team to compete in the newly-created SuperLiga this summer. United and Olimpia will first meet in Honduras on Feb. 21 (9 p.m. EST) at Estadio Tiburcio Carias Andino and play the return leg at RFK Stadium on Thursday, March 1 (7:00 p.m. EST). In SuperLiga play, the Black-and-Red will host Monarcas Morelia (July 25), and Club América (July 29) at RFK Stadium, and play the Houston Dynamo (Aug. 1) at a to-be-determined location in this summer's competition pitting four American teams and four Mexican clubs. All SuperLiga matches will kick-off at 8 p.m. EST.
Ticket packages to Champions' Cup games played at RFK Stadium are now available to plan holders by calling 202-587-5000. SuperLiga matches played at RFK Stadium are set to be a part of United's season ticket package.
The CONCACAF Champions' Cup is the longest running international club competition in the CONCACAF region and has crowned the champion club of the Confederation since its inception over four decades ago. This marks D.C. United's seventh appearance in the tournament, more than any other MLS team. The Black-and-Red qualified for the event by winning the 2006 MLS Supporters' Shield with a league-best 15-7-10 record (55 pts.). D.C. won the 1998 Champions' Cup by defeating Mexican champions CD Toluca. The 2007 tournament will be broadcast on Fox Soccer Channel.
Should United advance to the semi-finals of this year's Champions' Cup, the Black-and-Red would play the winner of CD Guadalajara of Mexico and the CFU champion in a home-and-home series beginning in mid-March.
SuperLiga will be the preeminent club tournament in North America that will not only decide the best in the region, but will also award the heftiest winner's purse in North American soccer history. Eight clubs - four each from the top-flight leagues of the United States and Mexico - will vie to determine a champion of North America. The format, modeled after the UEFA Champions League, will include a group phase and a knockout phase with all games held in U.S. venues. SuperLiga will be played between July 24 and August 29, 2007. In addition to the prestige of capturing this continental honor, the club that emerges as SuperLiga champion will take home $1 million dollars in prize money, an unprecedented prize purse in North American soccer history. The entire tournament will be broadcast live in primetime by Univision's TeleFutura Network in the United States and by Televisa and TV Azteca in Mexico. The SuperLiga final will be held on August 29 at a U.S. venue to be determined.
The SuperLiga field of teams is divided into two groups, each with two representatives from the respective leagues:
Group A
CD Guadalajara (México)
FC Dallas (MLS)
Los Angeles Galaxy (MLS)
CF Pachuca (México)
Group B
Club América (México)
D.C. United (MLS)
Houston Dynamo (MLS)
Monarcas Morelia (México)
