2005 InterLiga Qualifying Tournament @ Fox Sports en Espanol.

Fox Sports en Espanol will kick off the new year with a series of live doubleheader matches from the InterLiga competition, the Copa Toyota Libertadores qualifying tournament that will determine the two Mexican League soccer teams who qualify directly for the 2005 Copa Toyota Libertadores.

Eight clubs have qualified to compete in the InterLiga, to be played January 2-12 at venues in Arizona, California and Texas: America, Atlante, Chivas, Jaguares, Necaxa, Santos, Tigres and Toluca. Chivas and Santos will open the tournament on January 2 at 3:00 p.m. ET/noon PT from Bank One Ball Park in Phoenix, Arizona and will be followed by the second match between Tigres and Atlante at 5:00 p.m. ET/2:00 p.m. PT. Then, live from the Home Depot Center in Carson, California at 7:30 p.m. ET/4:30 p.m. PT, it is Necaxa and Jaguares followed by America and Toluca at 10:00 p.m. ET/7:00 p.m. PT. Fox Sports en Espanol will offer exclusive, live telecasts of the complete InterLiga competition.

The eight teams are divided into two groups of four teams each: Group A with Atlante, Chivas, Santos, and Tigres and Group B with America, Jaguares, Necaxa, and Toluca. The eight teams participating in the InterLiga were selected based on their performance during the Mexican League’s Apertura 2003 (fall-winter season) and Clausura 2004 (spring-summer season).

The Copa Toyota Libertadores is one of the most important international club competitions in the world, with 36 teams participating from South America and Mexico. Since 1998, Mexican clubs have competed against the Venezuelan clubs in these qualifying matches, but they will have three direct berths to the tournament in 2005, of which one spot has been claimed by Pachuca with their defeat against Monterrey. Fox Sports en Espanol will once again provide live and exclusive coverage of the complete 2005 Copa Toyota Libertadores starting in February. For more information concerning the Spanish-language telecasts of the InterLiga tournament, visit the Fox Sports en Espanol web site at fse.yahoo.com.