The Seattle Sounders learned they will face Guatemala’s Antigua GFC in Round One of the 2025 Conacacaf Champions Cup, following the draw on Tuesday. The winner of their two-legged series will then face the winner of Cruz Azul-Real Hope, a Haitian team, in the Round of 16. The exact dates for the match have not yet been announced, but the tournament is scheduled to begin on Feb. 4 with Round One wrapping up on Feb. 27.
Beyond them, one of Club America or Chivas de Guadalajara likely await in the quarterfinals.
The matchups are set in @TheChampions. 🔒 pic.twitter.com/L4s6Ud0KCP
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) December 11, 2024
Before all that, the Sounders must first navigate a two-legged series with Antigua GFC, a team that qualified by making it to the semifinals of the Concacaf Central American Cup where they lost to eventual champion Alajuelense. This will be their second time competing in the Concacaf Champions Cup, after making it to the group stage in 2016-17.
Antigua finished 7th of 12 in the most recent Liga Nacional de Guatemala’s Apertura tournament. They play in a 10,000-seat stadium called Estadio Pensativo and have been relatively successful in the domestic league, having won it four times in the last 10 years. They are currently No. 55 in the Concacaf club rankings
Although not particularly populous with about 60,000 residents, the city of Antigua is a former capital of Guatemala, is a UNESCO World Heritage site and is considered a tourist destination. The Sounders will likely need to fly into Guatemala City and then take a roughly hour-long bus ride.
2025 Concacaf Champions Cup Schedule
- Round One: February 4-6 (Week 1), 11-13 (Week 2), 18-20 (Week 3) and 25-27 (Week 4)
- Round of 16: March 4-6 (First Legs) and 11-13 (Second Legs)
- Quarterfinals: April 1-3 (First Legs) and 8-10 (Second Legs)
- Semifinals: April 22-24 (First Legs) and April 29 - May 1 (Second Legs)
- Final: Sunday, June 1 (Single Leg)
