Sporting Kansas City vs. Chicago Fire FC
Leagues Cup 2024 | Group Stage
Sunday, July 28 | 8 p.m. CT (8:10 kickoff)
Children's Mercy Park | Kansas City, Kansas
Broadcast Schedule:
Apple TV | MLS Season Pass
English Radio | Sports Radio 810 WHB
Spanish Radio | La Grande 1340 AM
Tickets | Know Before You Go | 5 Things | By the Numbers | Tune In on Apple TV | Pub Partners | SKC App | MatchCenter
Sporting Kansas City will kick off play in Leagues Cup 2024 at 8 p.m. CT on Sunday when the club hosts Chicago Fire FC at Children's Mercy Park.
Tickets, which are included for Sporting Kansas City Season Ticket Members, are available to purchase online via SeatGeek and college students can take advantage of the Sporting U Pass offering $15 Supporters' Stand tickets. Sporting Kansas City will wear the club's new third kits at home for the first time on Sunday and ticket holders can pre-order items from the adidas x MLS Archive Collection online at SportingStyle.com for matchday pickup.
Sunday's showdown will be available to watch on Apple TV for MLS Season Pass subscribers and pub partners in the Sporting Pub Network will also show all of the action. Radio coverage will air on Sports Radio 810 WHB and La Grande 1340 AM with live streams available in the Sporting KC App.
Sporting Kansas City and the Chicago Fire have no shortage of history in the all-time series between the two clubs. The teams met in 26 straight regular seasons from Chicago's inaugural year in 1998 through 2023 -- including the inaugural match at Children's Mercy Park on June 9, 2011 -- in addition to memorable moments in cup competitions with Kansas City defeating the Fire in the 2000 MLS Cup and 2004 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Final.
Chicago is led by manager Frank Klopas and assistant coach Paulo Nagamura, both former players in Kansas City with Klopas (1996-97) scoring in the club’s inaugural match and Nagamura (2012-16) lifting MLS Cup at Children’s Mercy Park in 2013. The Fire roster is headlined by 32-year-old playmaker Xherdan Shaqiri, who featured for Switzerland in the last four FIFA World Cups and has extensive European experience highlighted by Bundesliga and English Premier League titles, UEFA Champions League trophies and FIFA Club World Cup championships.
Sporting Kansas City enters Leagues Cup with striker Willy Agada in a strong run of form as the 24-year-old Nigerian has scored five goals in his last four starts for the club. Agada, who leads the team with 10 goals this season across all competitions, has flourished at Children's Mercy Park where he has scored 19 career goals while starting 19 matches.
Leagues Cup 2024 features all 47 clubs from MLS (29 teams) and LIGA MX (18 teams) in a World Cup-style tournament with the top three teams qualifying for the 2025 Concacaf Champions Cup. Every team will play two matches in the Group Stage with the top two teams from each group advancing to the single-elimination Knockout Stage.
Notably, no Leagues Cup matches in the Group Stage will end in a tie. Instead, matches tied after 90 minutes will proceed to a penalty shootout and the winner will earn an extra point in the group standings.
LEAGUES CUP 2024 WEST REGION GROUP 4 SCHEDULE
July 28: Sporting KC vs. Chicago Fire FC at Children's Mercy Park
Aug. 1: Chicago Fire FC vs. Deportivo Toluca FC at SeatGeek Stadium
Aug. 5: Sporting KC vs. Deportivo Toluca FC at Children’s Mercy Park
Sporting Kansas City and Chicago are joined in Group 4 of the West Region by 10-time LIGA MX champions Deportivo Toluca FC, who finished third in the 2024 Clausura and have begun the 2024 Apertura campaign unbeaten through their first four matches (2-0-2). Toluca will travel to Chicago to play the Fire on Aug. 1 before arriving in Kansas City for the group finale on Aug. 5 at Children's Mercy Park.
The group winner will meet the winner of Group 8 of the West Region - a group that features Atlas FC, Houston Dynamo FC and Real Salt Lake - in the Round of 32, while the runner-up will play reigning MLS Cup champions Columbus Crew on Aug. 9 at Lower.com Field in the Ohio capital.
