US Soccer secures major US Open Cup sponsors
Federation calls MLS bluff at least on this front
While MLS has succeeded in its efforts to weaken the US Open Cup, a commercial property they controlled from 2005 to 2022, US Soccer has secured new commercial partners for the competition.
U.S. Soccer will be making its largest-ever investment in the tournament in 2024. With new commercial partners – including Marriott, Michelob Ultra, New York Life, and Nike – U.S. Soccer has prioritized enhanced financial incentives for participating teams, including significantly increased travel reimbursement. The Federation’s financial commitment also represents the most significant effort to date towards promotion of the tournament, underscoring U.S. Soccer’s dedication to fostering a more vibrant Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup experience for teams and fans alike.
These incentives will help to offset travel costs and concerns for lower division clubs as well as other issues related to the competition’s late issuance of prize money - a frequent complaint among clubs.
The best way to show the MLS that they have made a mistake is to have a successful Open Cup.
That will not be an easy task but exposure and a better run event will surely help.
A scintillating and financially successful US Open Cup --especially without a MLS team as the Champion-- would create the massive attention and future dollars that even the MLS can't ignore?
For this reason, perhaps we should all now pivot towards supporting US Soccer and the corporate sponsors that have stepped up to support the US Open Cup?