Why the U.S. Open Cup may be in need of an overhaul
The U.S. Open Cup is America's oldest soccer tournament, dating back to 1914.
The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup is a competition that has a peculiar position on the American soccer landscape.
It appeals to the purists for its history. It has a charm among fans for the David vs. Goliath fairy tales. The drama and magic moments in the Open Cup are always guaranteed.
Despite all of this, the tournament’s place in the hierarchy of soccer competitions is an eternal topic of debate.
“There are organization and GMs who like the tournament and want to turn it into a very big and meaningful tournament,” Seattle Sounders GM Adrian Hanauer told MLSsoccer.com. “And there are some that would just assume it went away.”
The Open Cup remains in a state of limbo and is crying out for a makeover and some real direction. The question is, which entity can be the agent for change?
The play-in match-up between the Union and Red Bulls on Tuesday saw the Peter Nowak’s club train in Philadelphia and travel on the day of the game. Red Bulls manager Hans Backe also backtracked on his initial claim about fielding his best players in the match. He instead announced a starting lineup made up of reserves.
“The one thing I would say is that the Open Cup does suffer from a bit of an identity crisis right now and, in my opinion, either it needs to be improved, elevated and have some identity or it should go away,” Hanauer said. “As long as it’s there, we’re going to keep trying to win. But for it to stay status quo and for it not have greater attention in order for it to improve is inexcusable, no matter what.”
Interviews with some of the key players make it abundantly clear that the only way for the Open Cup to move forward is for the stakeholders to step up and take charge: MLS, NASL, USL and USASA. They control the variables that impact whether the competition rises to another level: format and schedule.
MLS spokesman Will Kuhns says a league subcommittee is currently charged with collecting feedback and making formal recommendations for future MLS participation in the Open Cup. The goal is to eventually present formal recommendations through the MLS representative on the U.S. Open Cup Committee, vice president Todd Durbin.
“The U.S. Open Cup and its rich history are very important to MLS,” Kuhns said. “We believe it has the potential to become more popular and more valuable. Therefore, we are reviewing the format, timing and structure with the hope of making recommendations to the committee. The sense that the Open Cup is fine the way it is, is not a common one. There are a lot of different ideas about the way it should go in the future. But MLS is committed to the competition and does not want it to disappear.”
The concepts being entertained range from an entirely new format (including talk of a Final Four format), a revamped schedule (condensing the tournament into a single month), a change in the number of MLS participants and the criteria by which the MLS qualifiers are determined.
A final determination of a schedule and format then leads to a discussion regarding television coverage and minimum standards. The Red Bulls streamed video of their home match against Philly on Tuesday. The San Jose vs. Real Salt Lake match-up was available online via radio broadcast two weeks ago.
The Open Cup is a U.S. Soccer Federation tournament and it's a common misconception that the federation isn't incentivized to grow it. It's the various participating leagues (MLS, Division II, PDL, USASA), all equally represented on the U.S. Open Cup Committee, which have the power to set the wheels of change in motion.
“We’re always looking for ways to improve the Open Cup and
want to figure out ways to make that happen,” said U.S. Soccer Federation
spokesman Neil Buethe. “We are open to working with the teams and leagues in
order to improve it.”
Although the prize money isn't attractive ($100,000 to the winners), there's still a CONCACAF Champions League preliminary-round berth at stake, which is a prestigious prize not commonly available through national domestic competitions around the world.
It's clear there is no one magic bullet that would solve the many issues plaguing the Open Cup. But there is enough of a consensus among all parties involved that the Open Cup needs an overhaul. This undercurrent of momentum could give the tournament a new look beginning as early as next year.
