The Federación Mexicana de Fútbol (FMF), together with Soccer United Marketing, today unveiled the official groups, venues and schedule for the 2008 edition of InterLiga at a press conference held at the FMF headquarters in Mexico City.
InterLiga 2008, the fifth edition of the tournament that determines two berths for Mexican clubs to the prestigious Copa Libertadores, will be held between Wednesday, January 2 and Saturday, January 12, 2008, with stops in Dallas, Houston, and Los Angeles.
The eight teams participating in InterLiga 2008 earned berths based on their combined record in the 2006 Apertura and 2007 Clausura seasons of the Mexican domestic league.
Teams
The eight squads are:
Group A - América, Atlas, Toluca, Morelia;
Group B - Cruz Azul, Pumas, Monterrey, San Luis.
If any of the participating eight teams becomes champion of the current 2007 Apertura season, to be crowned the weekend of December 8, that club will be replaced by Atlante. The champion of the 2007 Apertura is required to participate in the 2008 CONCACAF Champions Cup.
While InterLiga 2008 will determine two Mexican club births for Copa Libertadores known as "Mexico 2" and "Mexico 3", the other spot, known as "Mexico 1," has been determined according to the regulations set forth by the Federación Mexicana de Fútbol. Given Pachuca's required participation in the 2008 CONCACAF Champions Cup due to its status as the champions of Mexico's 2007 Clausura, CD Guadalajara, the 2006 Apertura champions, have been selected as "Mexico 1" and will participate in the 2008 Copa Libertadores.
Schedule
In its fifth anniversary, InterLiga will kick off on Wednesday, Jan. 2 in Frisco, Texas, a suburb of Dallas, with a Group B doubleheader, highlighted by a duel between InterLiga veterans Cruz Azul and newcomers San Luis (matches start at 7 p.m. local). Group A action hits Frisco on Sunday, Jan. 6 including a match up between Mexican powers América and Toluca (matches start at 4 p.m. local).
InterLiga will return to the Bay Area for the first time since 2005, beginning Thursday, Jan. 3 with Group A action starting at 6:30 p.m. (local time). Less than a week later, Group B clubs will be featured in a doubleheader on Wednesday, Jan. 8 at 6:30 p.m. (local time). The Bay Area venue will be announced in the coming weeks.
For the second consecutive year, InterLiga returns to Houston's Roberston Stadium for a Group B doubleheader on Saturday, Jan. 5 featuring Cruz Azul against Monterrey as well a match between San Luis and Pumas (matches starting at 7 p.m. local time).
Group A teams will close out the group phase on Wednesday, Jan. 9 in Carson, California including a match between América and Atlas, Mexican League playoff opponents during the last two seasons (matches starting at 6 p.m. local).
The InterLiga 2008 finals will then take place on Saturday, Jan. 12 at The Home Depot Center, site of the finals in 2004, 2006 and 2007. Match times and order of the games will be announced in the upcoming weeks.
InterLiga 2008 groups, schedule and stadium information follow below.
InterLiga 2008 Groups
Group A
América
Atlas
Toluca
Morelia
Group B
Cruz Azul
Pumas
Monterrey
San Luis
INTERLIGA 2008 Calendar (Local Time)
All matches will be televised live in the United States by Fox Sports en Español.
Wednesday, January 2, 2008, Pizza Hut Park (Dallas, TX)
Match 1 - Group B - Monterrey vs. Pumas - 19:00
Match 2 - Group B - Cruz Azul vs. San Luis - 21:30
Thursday, January 3, 2008, Stadium TBD (Bay Area, CA)
Match 3 - Group A - Toluca vs. Atlas - 18:30
Match 4 - Group A - Morelia vs. América - 21:00
Saturday, January 5, 2008, Robertson Stadium (Houston, TX)
Match 5 - Group B - Cruz Azul vs. Monterrey - 19:00
Match 6 - Group B - San Luis vs. Pumas - 21:30
Sunday, January 6, 2008, Pizza Hut Park (Dallas, TX)
Match 7 - Group A - América vs. Toluca - 16:00
Match 8 - Group A - Atlas vs. Morelia - 18:30
Tuesday, January 8, 2008, Stadium TBD (Bay Area, CA)
Match 9 - Group B - Monterrey vs. San Luis - 18:30
Match 10- Group B - Pumas vs. Cruz Azul - 21:00
Wednesday, January 9, 2008, Home Depot Center (Los Angeles, CA)
Match 11 - Group A - Toluca vs. Morelia - 18:00
Match 12 - Group A - Atlas vs. América - 20:15
Saturday, January 12, 2008, Home Depot Center (Los Angeles, CA)
Final 1 - TBD
Final 2 - TBD
Venues
The Home Depot Center (Carson, California)
18400 Avalon Blvd., Suite 200
Carson, CA 90746
(310) 630-2200
Inauguration: 2003
Total Seating Capacity: 27,000
The state-of-the-art soccer stadium is home to Major Leagues Soccer's Los Angeles Galaxy and Club Deportivo Chivas USA, hosting major national and international events, including the 2003 and 2004 MLS Cup and the 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup championship game, as well as the 2004, 2006 and now 2007 InterLiga finals and several matches featuring the Mexican National Team. The HDC is also the soccer training headquarters for the U.S. Soccer Federation National Teams and offers nine practice fields for training.
Pizza Hut Park (Frisco, Texas)
9200 World Cup Way
Frisco, TX 75034
1-888-FCD-GOAL
Inauguration: 2005
Total Seating Capacity: 20,500
Pizza Hut Park, home to Major League Soccer's FC Dallas, is one of just a handful of soccer stadium facilities in the United States. Since its inauguration in August 2005, the complex in Frisco has hosted the MLS Cup 2005, a sell-out InterLiga 2006 doubleheader, and Mexico vs. Ghana in March 2006. With 17 championship size soccer fields for the local community leagues, the soccer complex will host its third consecutive InterLiga.
Robertson Stadium (Houston, Texas)
3700 Cullen Blvd.
Houston, TX 7720
(713) 743-9550
Inauguration: 1942
Total Seating Capacity: 32,000
Robertson Stadium, home of the Houston Dynamo (MLS) and its second consecutive year as an InterLiga venue, sits on the campus of the University of Houston. A massive renovation of Robertson Stadium took place in 2004, thanks to a $6 million gift from the John and Julie O'Quinn Foundation to the University of Houston. In addition to the 20 luxury suites added in the summer of 1998, "Phase I" entailed replacement of the track with a ring of tiered seating, bringing the stadium's capacity to 32,000. Robertson has also seen prominent international clubs on its field including River Plate and Boca Juniors of Argentina, as well as Mexican clubs Club America, Cruz Azul, Tigres, Chivas, and Monterrey.
Note: The Bay Area venue will be announced in the coming weeks.
