LOS ANGELES, July 23 (Reuters) - Record prize money of $1million is on offer at the inaugural SuperLiga, a competition Major League Soccer (MLS) commissioner Don Garber hopes will lift the game in the U.S. and Mexico to unprecedented heights.
The SuperLiga, which starts on Tuesday, is an eight-team
tournament featuring four MLS sides from the U.S. and four
clubs from the Mexican first division.
'This is no exhibition,' Garber told a news conference in
Hollywood on Monday at the SuperLiga's official launch. 'This
is a legitimate, athletic competition with serious prize money.
'It will ensure that the fans can enjoy a high-level,
serious competition to see who, on a club level, will have the
bragging rights in North America, at least between Mexico and
the United States.
'It is part of our ongoing quest together to turn this
region of North America into a region that can be competitive
with Europe, that can be competitive with Africa and other
dominating soccer or football regions around the world.'
Garber believes the passionate soccer rivalry which already
exists between the U.S. and Mexico will give the SuperLiga an
added dimension.
'The U.S. national team has taken on the Mexican national
team and we all know what that has done to World Cup
qualifying,' he told Reuters.
'We have seen tremendous success with the Mexican national
team games that have been produced in large stadiums across our
country. We sold out three NFL stadiums in the off-season and
that is not something one would ever expect to happen.
'So we started seeing that maybe there was a way of
extending from national team programmes to team rivalries. I
think it will take a while to grow.
'We are not expecting sellouts, we are not expecting these
games to be on the level of Champions League games. This is the
beginning of a long-range deal but we are very confident that
it will develop over time.'
The MLS teams aiming for the highest winner's purse in
North American club history are Los Angeles Galaxy, D.C.
United, Houston Dynamo and FC Dallas.
The Mexican challenge is provided by Chivas de Guadalajara,
Pachuca, Club America and Monarcas Morelia.
In Tuesday's opening group matches, Dallas host Monarcas
Morelia at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco and the Galaxy take on
Pachuca at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California.
A knockout phase will follow the group stage with the final
scheduled for Aug. 29 at a venue yet to be decided.
