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USL Cup

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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the knockout cup competition. For the competition formerly known as USL Cup, see USL Championship final.
Not to be confused with U.S. Open Cup or U.S. Cup.

USL Jägermeister Cup
Organizing bodyUnited Soccer League
Founded2024; 0 years ago (2024)
RegionUnited States
Number of teams12 (2024)
Current champion(s)Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC
Most successful club(s)Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC (1 title)
Television broadcastersESPN+
MottoA Shot at Glory
Websiteuslleagueone.com
2024 USL Cup

The USL Cup is an annual soccer competition in men's domestic American soccer.[1] The USL Cup is currently known as the USL Jägermeister Cup after its title sponsor, Jägermeister.[2]

The first USL Cup features teams exclusively in USL League One; however, USL intends to expand the cup beyond just that league.[1] Richmond Kickers chairman Rob Ukrop stated at the time of the announcement that another league had been invited to participate, but wasn't “ready to jump in yet.”[3]

History

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Previous to the creation of the USL Cup, USL League One had regularly played an unbalanced schedule of 28–32 games, often playing other teams in the league three times. The league integrated the USL Cup into the league season, allowing each team to play each other twice (once home, once away) to balance the league schedule, while also preserving the length of the season.[3]

In an interview, USL Championship president Jeremy Alumbaugh and USL League One president Lee O'Neill stated that both USL Championship and USL League Two were being considered to enter the competition in future years. However, the USL Cup was not considered to be a replacement for the U.S. Open Cup, and USL teams would continue competing in future U.S. Open Cup tournaments.[4]

O'Neill emphasized in USL's announcement of the tournament that the creation of the USL Cup would "open up more possibilities for the competitive structure going forward." The announcement also hinted that the tournament could be a precursor to a promotion and relegation system within the professional levels of the USL.[1]

Competition format

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The competition splits the teams into three groups of four teams. Each team plays the other three teams in their group twice, home and away. They will play an additional two games against two teams in other groups, one at home and one away. If a game is tied at the end of regulation, a penalty kick shootout will occur. A regulation win is worth three points, a shootout win worth two, and a shootout loss worth one. The top team from each group advances to a knockout round, in addition to the team who scores the most goals in the competition that does not win their group.[1]

Sponsorship

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Jägermeister was announced as the title sponsor for the USL Cup on March 18, 2024, three months after the initial announcement of the tournament and one month before the competition's kickoff.[5] The announcement of Jägermeister's sponsorship stated that it was a multi-year agreement.[2] Sports Business Journal reported that the deal was for three years, worth "a mid-six-figure sum annually",[6] with a lawsuit by ownership of Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC placing that number at $300,000 per year.[7]

Broadcasting

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In February 2024, USL announced that ESPN+ would be the exclusive broadcaster for all matches in the 2024 USL Cup.[8]

List of USL Cup finals

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Key to list of winners
† Match decided via a penalty shootout after regulation
(#) Number of trophies won by club
  • The "Season" column refers to the season the competition was held, and wikilinks to the article about that season.
Season Winners Score Runners–up Venue Location Attendance
2024 Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC (1) † 1–1 †[a] Forward Madison FC 4Rivers Equipment Stadium Windsor, Colorado 3,550
  1. ^ Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC won the penalty shootout 5–4.

Winners and finalists

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Club Wins First final won Last final won Runners-up Last final lost Total final
appearances
Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC 1 2024 2024 0 — 1
Forward Madison FC 0 — — 1 2024 1

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "USL League One introduces new in-season cup competition". USLLeagueOne.com. USL League One. December 12, 2023. Archived from the original on December 12, 2023. Retrieved December 12, 2023.
  2. ^ a b "USL League One and Jägermeister agree to multi-year entitlement partnership for new "USL Jägermeister Cup"". USLLeagueOne.com. USL League One. March 18, 2024. Archived from the original on March 18, 2024. Retrieved March 18, 2024.
  3. ^ a b Ashton, Alex (December 13, 2023). "What We Know About the USL League One In-Season Cup". LeagueOneUpdater.com. League One Updater. Archived from the original on March 18, 2024. Retrieved March 18, 2024.
  4. ^ "Exclusive interview: USL bosses Alumbaugh & O'Neill on new cup format, pro/rel and expansion". Transfermarkt.us. Transfermarkt. April 26, 2024. Archived from the original on August 15, 2024. Retrieved August 15, 2024.
  5. ^ Jones, Kyle (March 18, 2024). "USL League One in-season tournament gets its name: The USL Jägermeister Cup". Channel3000.com. WISC-TV. Archived from the original on March 19, 2024. Retrieved August 15, 2024.
  6. ^ Silverman, Alex (March 18, 2024). "Jägermeister to title USL League One tournament". SportsBusinessJournal.com. Sports Business Journal. Archived from the original on March 18, 2024. Retrieved March 18, 2024.
  7. ^ Future Legends v. USL PRO 2 (Los Angeles County Superior Court) ("On information and belief, Jaegermeister [sic] entered into a multi-year deal with USL to sponsor the cup at a price of $300,000.00 annually."), Text, archived from the original.
  8. ^ "United Soccer League and ESPN Renew Multiyear Broadcasting Agreement for USL Championship and USL League One". USLLeagueOne.com. USL League One. February 27, 2024. Archived from the original on March 18, 2024. Retrieved March 18, 2024.
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