October 29th, 2007 . 11:44 pm . By: Buzz Carrick

The FMF and SUM have announced that the 2008 InterLiga tournament will kick off at Pizza Hut Park January 2nd.

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INTERLIGA 2008 KICKS OFF AT PIZZA HUT PARK ON JAN. 2

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, Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area.

In its fifth anniversary, InterLiga will kick off on Wednesday, Jan. 2 at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas, home of FC Dallas, with a Group B doubleheader, highlighted by a duel between Cruz Azul and 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).

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

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

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 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

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