The inaugural Copa Merconorte, matching clubs from the USA, Mexico and five South American countries, has been cancelled by the tournament organizers. Teledeportes, the Argentine television company sponsoring the event, cancelled the tournament after being unable to come to terms with the Mexican federation over what clubs would participate. Cruz Azul, Chivas of Guadalajara and Club America were originally invited to play in the tournament. However, after the Mexican federation created a tournament to decide that country’s entrants into the 1999 Copa Libertadores (the South American club champions cup), all three clubs pulled out of the Copa Merconorte in order to play in the new playoff. The Mexican federation nominated Toluca and Necaxa to replace two of the clubs, but Teledeportes balked, saying those clubs didn’t have the same appeal as the invited clubs. When the two sides couldn’t come to an agreement, Teledeportes on August 20 announced they were abandoning the tournament. D.C. United had been slated to host Alianza Lima of Peru (Sept. 8), while the L.A. Galaxy was to host Cruz Azul (Sept. 9). United has said that fans holding tickets to the three schedule home games will be informed at a later date as to their disposition.