Coachella Valley Invitational

Coachella Valley Invitational

Founded	2022
Region	United States California (host)
Teams	6 (2022) 10 (2024)
Current champions	New York Red Bulls
Most championships	LA Galaxy II (1) New York Red Bulls (1)
2026 Coachella Valley Invitational

The Coachella Valley Invitational is a preseason exhibition tournament hosted by the LA Galaxy at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California. The first edition of the tournament was held in February 2022 and featured clubs from Major League Soccer, MLS Next Pro, and the USL Championship. It was expanded to include National Women's Soccer League teams in the 2024 edition.

History

The tournament was announced on January 18, 2022, by the LA Galaxy and the Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG), the owner of the team and the Empire Polo Club. The company had sought new events for the Empire Polo Club, the host of the annual Coachella music and arts festival as well as polo, during its lower-demand months. AEG chief executive Dan Beckerman proposed an MLS preseason tournament that emulated spring training for baseball teams; the LA Galaxy had previously declined requests to host preseason tournaments at their training facilities in Carson, California, due to inadequate space. ^[1] The first edition of the event was held behind closed doors and had six teams. ^{[2] [3]}

The second edition in February 2023 featured 12 MLS teams and a USL Championship side—San Diego Loyal FC. ^[4] Ticket sales were opened for matches and teams were each assigned a groundskeeper to fulfill requests from coaching staff. ^{[1] [5]} The 2024 edition drew 30,000 fans and was expanded by a week to accommodate its larger field of 18 teams—including four from the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). ^{[1] [6]} A limit of 5,000 spectators for each of the seven match days was set for the tournament, during which teams played a minimum of two public matches and had the option of scheduling additional fixtures behind closed doors. ^[7]

The 2025 edition will take place over a three-week period in February and include fourteen MLS teams and six from the NWSL. ^[7] The Empire Polo Grounds has two fields that will be used during the tournament. ^[8]

Participants

2022 edition

Standings

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	PPG	Qualification
1	LA Galaxy II	1	1	0	0	4	2	+2	3	3.00	Champions
2	D.C. United	2	1	1	0	3	1	+2	4	2.00
3	LA Galaxy	2	1	1	0	3	2	+1	4	2.00
4	Los Angeles FC	2	1	0	1	6	3	+3	3	1.50
5	Seattle Sounders FC	2	0	1	1	3	5	−2	1	0.50
6	New York Red Bulls	3	0	1	2	3	9	−6	1	0.33

Source: ^{[ citation needed ]}
Rules for classification: 1) points per game; 2) total wins per match played; 3) total goal differential per match played; 4) total goals scored per match played; 5) fewest disciplinary points per match played; 6) away goal differential per away match played; 7) away goals scored per away match played; 8) home goal differential per home match played; 9) home goals scored per home match played; 10) coin toss or drawing of lots.

Teams

Team	Location	League
D.C. United	Washington, D.C.	Major League Soccer
LA Galaxy	Los Angeles
Los Angeles FC
New York Red Bulls	New York City
Seattle Sounders FC	Seattle
LA Galaxy II	Los Angeles	USL Championship

Matches

February 10

11:00 am PST (UTC−8)

LA Galaxy	1–1	Seattle Sounders FC
Joveljić 48'	Report	Ruidíaz 41'

Empire Polo Club , Indio, California

Attendance: 0

February 10

1:00 pm PST (UTC−8)

LA Galaxy II	4–2	Seattle Sounders FC
Davila 40' Salazar 49', 57' Cobian 72'	Report	Montero 21' Adeniran 29'

Empire Polo Club , Indio, California

Attendance: 0

February 10

4:00 pm PST (UTC−8)

New York Red Bulls	1–1	D.C. United
Barlow 65'	Report	Flores 27'

Empire Polo Club , Indio, CA

Attendance: 0

February 13

12:00 pm PST (UTC−8)

LA Galaxy	2–1	New York Red Bulls
Vazquez 4' Hernandez 54'	Report	Mullings 68'

Empire Polo Club , Indio, California

Attendance: 0

February 15

4:00 pm PST (UTC−8)

D.C. United	2–0	Los Angeles FC
Kamara 9' (pen.) Skundrich 77'	Report

Empire Polo Club , Indio, California

Attendance: 0

February 19

12:00 pm PST (UTC−8)

Los Angeles FC	6–1	New York Red Bulls
Rodríguez 28', 34' 38' (o.g.) Vela 46' Fall 58' Opoku 60'	Report	Klimala 9' (pen.)

Empire Polo Club , Indio, California

Attendance: 0

2023 edition

Standings

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	PPG
1	New York Red Bulls	3	3	0	0	4	0	+4	9	3.00
2	Portland Timbers	3	2	1	0	7	3	+4	7	2.33
3	San Jose Earthquakes	3	2	0	1	6	4	+2	6	2.00
4	Vancouver Whitecaps FC	6	3	3	0	9	3	+6	12	2.00
5	Charlotte FC	2	1	0	1	4	3	+1	3	1.50
6	Los Angeles FC	2	1	0	1	3	3	0	3	1.50
7	LA Galaxy	3	1	0	2	5	6	−1	3	1.00
8	D.C. United	4	1	1	2	6	7	−1	4	1.00
9	New York City FC	2	0	1	1	3	4	−1	1	0.50
10	St. Louis City SC	3	0	2	1	4	7	−3	2	0.67
11	Toronto FC	3	0	1	2	3	7	−4	1	0.33
12	Minnesota United FC	3	0	0	3	1	7	−6	0	0.00

Source: ^{[ citation needed ]}
Rules for classification: 1) points per game; 2) total wins per match played; 3) total goal differential per match played; 4) total goals scored per match played; 5) fewest disciplinary points per match played; 6) away goal differential per away match played; 7) away goals scored per away match played; 8) home goal differential per home match played; 9) home goals scored per home match played; 10) coin toss or drawing of lots.

References

1. Belson, Ken (February 23, 2024). "Spring Training at Coachella: Can M.L.S. Cash In on Its Preseason?" . The New York Times . Retrieved December 23, 2024.
2. "LA Galaxy to host inaugural Coachella Valley Invitational Feb. 10–19 at Empire Polo Club". LA Galaxy. January 18, 2022. Retrieved January 21, 2022.
3. "Los Angeles Galaxy To Host Inaugural Coachella Valley Invitational". KMIR-TV . City News Service. January 18, 2022. Retrieved January 21, 2022.
4. "Dajome scores twice as Whitecaps blank Toronto FC at Coachella Valley Invitational". CBC Sports. The Canadian Press. February 8, 2023. Retrieved December 23, 2024.
5. Clarke, Ryan (February 10, 2023). "Portland Timbers building confidence, basking in the sun at Coachella Valley Invitational". The Oregonian . Retrieved December 23, 2024.
6. Reineking, Jim (November 9, 2023). "Largest-ever MLS preseason event coming to Coachella Valley in 2024". USA Today . Retrieved December 4, 2023.
7. Reedy, Joe (December 17, 2024). "Coachella Valley Invitational will include 14 MLS and 6 NWSL clubs". Associated Press . Retrieved December 23, 2024.
8. Finley, Ryan (December 17, 2024). "San Diego FC, Wave will play in same Indio tournament as they prepare for 2025 seasons". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved December 23, 2024.