The fact that the defending champion doesn't qualify for the following year's competition is a weird quirk of the CCC that can be easily remedied. There were 4 qualifiers via MLS, 5 qualifiers via Liga MX and 3 places up for grabs in the Leagues Cup. That's opposed to 2022 when there were 4 Liga MX places 3 MLS places. But the Liga MX teams, that agreed to this format, don't care about the Leagues Cup you keep telling us, so they don't really care about those three slots. Fair enough. Anyhow, the best Liga MX teams were all there. But I'm all for only awarding Leagues Cup 2 spots and giving one to the CCC Champs.
Is CONCACAF just waiting on me to see it so they can change it? There is nothing I can do. That's all on CONCACAF and probably Liga MX and MLS that agreed to it too. Depends who those teams play against but pretty sure one is bound to have a popular Euro in their group. The top European and South American clubs playing here is enough to have lots of interest in the tournament. Even if you aren't a fan of any of them it's something new (just like Leagues Cup was last year). Thinking if support is there it will be because "it's a fair tournament that isn't designed to fleece the consumer" is way reaching. It's a new tournament never before played here. It'll have attention regardless if we have Liga MX teams playing on it or not.
It's so unfair that Liga MX, that championed this competition and is making a ton of money from it, is victimized by the terms it agreed to.
It’s like a big summer international tournament but pulled off with clubs to me. It’s been fun from the start and hasn’t faded. Plus I barely care about CCL and view the Open Cup as a minor distraction at best, so I’d like to see Leagues Cup stay. I’ll live if it doesn’t, of course, but I won’t be dedicating much fan energy to those other competitions.
How exactly does Leagues Cup "ruin the USOC" considering there are NO Open Cup games in the months of July and August? US Soccer has done all that they can do to minimize the importance of the Open Cup over the years. All the social media Open Cup Crusaders love to point out crowd size for Leagues Cup games, but then fail to mention that most attendances are higher than Open Cup attendances. The Philadelphia Union have NEVER come close to selling out their stadium for an Open Cup game, and that includes the two FINALS they hosted!!! Most if not all of the early round games they hosted were included for FREE to Season Ticket Holders..... and the attendances of those games were around 4K-5K at best. US Soccer needs to do SO MUCH BETTER when it comes to promoting and organizing their showcase tournament. Get more sponsors, get an actual long term media rights deal, and build actual partnerships with the professional leagues in this country. As for the CCC and Concacaf??? Perhaps they should take a page from UEFA's playbook and go to the swiss model??? How many more teams does the 18 team Liga MX need to satisfy some people's idea of fairness?
Sometimes another word for whining and crying is discussion. If you don’t like to discuss the structure of the league cup perhaps ignore those comments and just read the ones about the games.
While you're right on all your other points you're being a bit disingenuous here. We all know that one of the reasons cited for MLS dropping most its first teams from the USOC this year was fixture congestion. Fixture congestion caused in no small part by the Leagues Cup schedule.
And we all know that that reason is BS. The real reason they wanted to pull teams from the USOC was because the Open Cup loses them money, and they also can't just use NeXT Pro players in the competition due to the CBA with the Players Association. The bottomline is that IF US Soccer got off of its' lazy ass, and also cleaned the copious amounts of wax out of their ears and listened to MLS and also USL, they would have put far more effort into putting the USOC onto a path to one day reach its' potential. Instead they've just spun their wheels and let it be what it's been for the past 20+ years.
I don't think that's its BS. I don't think its the primary reason, but I do believe it played a part in the decision. MLS jam-packed May, June, and July with midweek games in order to free up the schedule for Leagues Cup. Where were USOC games going to fit in there if they had 14 first teams in the round of 16? It was an additional headache on top of the other issues with the USOC. Easier for them just to get rid of the competition and not worry about scheduling. It wasn't the primary reason for them dropping out but it was a reason. And its a reason that relates directly back to the Leagues Cup.
It was their public reason. IF teams could call up their academy and reserve side players for the Cup and not have to put them on short term loans, they'd be more than willing to enter every team in the USOC. Also, players don't get paid to play in USOC unless they win it. Leagues Cup has win bonuses for every game.
You're right. Philly vs Mazatlan is sumptuous. I've been waiting years for this battle and it is finally here. I hope the Union can handle the heat in Sinaloa on the return leg.
The only problem is people simply repeat their whines ad nauseum. Nothing new is presented, just the exact same whines they had 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30 ... 50, 55 pages ago. What is needed is a separate thread for results so that those of us who just want to enjoy soccer could ignore those comments. But I have no doubt a results thread would just become polluted by the same people posting the same exact whines ad nauseum in both threads.
This. A game day thread might be a good thing, keep the structural discussion and snarky prodding separate.
Maybe? Maybe after years of trying to get a better tournament and not moving any needles, they used a business technique of just stop buying from someone who is selling. Next thing you know US Soccer is on line three asking to talk to the purchasing agent. Did you ever drop your cable only to get a call offering a better deal? Let's face it, they charge to host and take a cut of the gate after certain thresholds have been passed without doing much work. That's a good deal when business is booming or you have no alternative. . This year US Soccer made some changes and a few teams are playing. We have reached the first negotiating point for 2025. My guess it will go something like no more hosting fees, teams in the final rounds getting a cut of TV revenue, CCC teams exempt from playing & last years champion has a choice if in CCC if they want to defend.
Apple picked up the closing rounds. Last year CBS paid something for chance at Messi. Before ESPN+ had games. I don't think any of them broadcast for free did they? Worst case scenario is they split advertising revenue. Yea, I think that would be on the table if the thought is in the future this will be a more compelling tournament. Otherwise, why have it if nobody can watch it besides fans in the stadium?
As I remember all of those TV contracts were signed at the last minute and after the competition had started, so I doubt they were very lucrative.
Seriously, how can USSF promote USOC that it captivates the casual to tune in? I'm not referring to those that do watch or those that do attend USOC games. I'm talking about the casuals that make a big majority. Games are a drag to see. The visuals and quality of games are atrocious. The lower the leagues the worse it is. Other than being a fan of the club that is playing (which in the lower leagues there aren't that many) no casual or neutral will watch no matter how much promotion it has. Even games involving MLS vs lower tier clubs are a drag to see. I just don't see how that can all change even with promoting USOC. The concept of USOC is great but the execution I just don't know what can be done to make that execution be better.
That's why you take a percentage and hype your game. Maybe you do the samething MLS did and build a studio and produce games. Make a hub for lower division teams like a USL stadium. Also the nineteen caller during tonight's broadcast wins a USMNT set of tickets for the next game with all expenses paid. Worked for radio back in the day.
Looking at the USSF's financials, in 2019 the Open Cup generated $1.07M in revenue, which was lower than expenses, and in 2022 it generated $1.9M. By comparison the FA Cup has a single sponsor that pays $13 million a year for naming rights and a $83 million a year domestic TV deal.
Most of the pitches/stadiums I saw in this year's Open Cup weren't that bad. We seemed to have moved on from high school pitches with football and lacrosse markings.