By Jon Arnold
It is more than 2,700 miles away, but Chase Stadium will once again have the glitz and glamor of Hollywood during Leagues Cup this year - and not just because of the stars on the field.
There will be plenty of celebrities watching Inter Miami take on Necaxa, two of the teams in MLS and Liga MX with the most potential to grab headlines. Both have owners who are in front of the cameras often, both vocationally and because of their soccer projects.
David Beckham is the most visible member of Inter Miami’s ownership group as he continues to grow his brand from who he was as a soccer player with Manchester United, the LA Galaxy and other clubs. He helped bring Messi, Sergio Busquets and Luis Suarez to South Florida
Necaxa is partly owned by an American group that includes celebrated actress Eva Longoria. Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, known for buying Welsh club Wrexham and creating a TV show as well as for their own acting careers, joined the group last year.
It all adds up to plenty of figures who will be in South Florida to see the teams square off in Leagues Cup action. Those scenes will bring to mind Inter Miami’s 2023 Leagues Cup debut, when basketball star LeBron James, actress Kim Kardashian and tennis legend Serena Williams were among the big names who watched as Lionel Messi fired in a late free kick to push his new team past Cruz Azul. The Herons would go on to win that tournament, lifting a first trophy with Messi in the squad and earning a place in the Concacaf Champions Cup. The 2024 campaign was cut short by the Columbus Crew in the Round of 16, which has Miami hungry for another deep run and a shot at a second Leagues Cup trophy.
While dedicated soccer fans already know all about Necaxa, the club’s history and what Rayos have been able to do the last several years in Aguascalientes, the team will be getting more name recognition worldwide in August. In addition to the Leagues Cup matchups in the U.S., the FX show about the club and its new investors is set to premier August 8, putting it in front of new fans.
The Leagues Cup will give Necaxa a bit of build-up to that, with the players hoping to be featured on screens across the U.S. for what they can do on the field as well as the story off it.
“We’re really excited. We know the stars we’re facing,” Necaxa midfielder Agustín Palavecino told LeaguesCup.com when asked about the contest with Miami. “We’ll also try to enjoy it. We know it’s a very important tournament for the club that we have to face in the best way possible, get the most points possible in the three matches to qualify for the next round in the new format.”
The new format means both teams will be trying to accumulate points to get into their league’s top four. With 17 other clubs vying for the same four places, tasting defeat in front of the star-studded crowd could spell the end for either side’s hopes of earning one of the three Concacaf Champions Cup places awarded to the podium finishers.
“In previous editions, MLS teams have shown they can compete at the same level as the Mexicans,” Inter Miami manager Javier Mascherano said Tuesday. “In fact, they’ve been the champion in the last two - Columbus and Inter. Our idea is to be able to compete as well as possible.”
They’ll do it with plenty of attention on them as fans in Florida enjoy a taste of Hollywood with some of the biggest stars out to see their teams.
