Liga MX clubs travelled twice the distance of MLS rivals in the Leagues Cup

Data shows that travel distribution has not been equal in the Leagues Cup. Nine MLS clubs did not even leave their stadiums.

Eduardo LópezFmercu9Andy HallCiudad de MéxicoUpdate: Aug 11th, 2023 11:45 EDT

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Rayados president José Antonio Noriega set the topic alight with his words following the team’s victory over Tigres in the last round. “It will be our fifth game in which we have been constantly travelling, while for Los Angeles it will be different. Their players will be able to go home to eat every day, with their families, go to the movies, rest while ours are making a huge effort. It seems to me that there is a great lack of organization. It needs to be more equal. I do not want to keep moaning about it, but say for example we win in Los Angeles, I am sure that we will have to go to the other side of the country for the next game, it’s crazy,” the Monterrey president argued.

Liga MX clubs have voiced their concern almost since the start of the Leagues Cup about the difference between the logistics of their trips and those of their MLS rivals, among other arbitration and organizational complaints.

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The data reveals that the Mexican teams have every right to complain. An official tournament with hardly any neutral venues and in which a whole hosts of competing teams have to play exclusively as visitors. And with many more kilometers in their legs. AS found that the 18 Liga MX clubs covered more than double the combined distance travelled by all 29 MLS clubs in the tournament so far. The Mexicans have racked up an estimated 69,495 km; North Americans and Canadians: 33,995 km. The calculation has a minimum margin of error, due to the extension of the air route traced by the planes and the availability of more than one airport in the same city, but nevertheless the results speak for themselves. The total distance travelled covers only the group stage and Round of 16.

Con sus atajadas ilusiona al @Club_Queretaro en esta #LeaguesCup2023 🧤

— Leagues Cup (@LeaguesCup) August 11, 2023

On average, Mexican teams have travelled 3,860 km to their matches while those based north of the Rio Grande have only had to move an average of 1,172 km. The team with the busiest schedule, until the round of 16, was León, who had to traverse 3,600 km to reach Vancouver; by the end of their campaign, in Salt Lake City, the players had already covered over 6,361 km.

Monterrey is another team who have been deeply affected: up until their last outing against Tigres they had added 6,246 km to their frequent flyer points. La Pandilla had to tour the west side of the States (Salt Lake City, Seattle and Portland) before crossing a large part of the fifth largest country on the planet to land in Houston. Now, Monterrey will be back on the road once again, with a 2,219 km trip to return to California for their quarter final meeting with LAFC at the Rose Bowl in Los Angeles – those ps are not part of the overall calculation.

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🇪🇸 En su natal España, a este fenómeno le llaman "llegar y besar el santo". El primer gol de Sergio Canales con @Rayados, sirvió para que el equipo ganara el #ClásicoRegio

— Leagues Cup (@LeaguesCup) August 10, 2023

In contrast, nine MLS clubs didn’t even have to leave their stadium – we could even claim that 10 were classed as the home team if we include New York City, who never left the New York/New Jersey metropolitan area. Mileage for Austin, Cincinnati, Columbus Crew, Dallas, LA Galaxy, Los Angeles FC, Montreal Impact, Philadelphia Union and Portland is zero.