The highly-anticipated annual competition has become a point of debate among fans, clubs and its organizing bodies
Gillette Stadium, in its romp, can seat 65,000 fans. New England Revolution, on an average matchday, fills 24,000 of them. On Aug, 9, most of the seats were empty. It was a Wednesday night, and the Revolution were hosting NYCFC in a Leagues Cup Round of 32 knockout match. The official attendance was reported as 7,267. Photos from kick off suggest that figure might be generous.
This was a win-or-go-home match in a competition promoted by MLS as the next big club event in North American soccer. And the stadium was mostly empty.
Such has been a recurring story of this year’s Leagues Cup. Now in the second campaign of the expanded iteration, the tournament hasn’t quite been the overwhelming success some had hoped. Concerns over attendance, fan protests, scheduling issues, and a contentious format have marred what should, in theory, be an ideal way of pitting two of North America’s top two soccer leagues – MLS and Liga MX – against each other.
The excitement around intra-MLS matchups has been low, with more than 10 fixtures played in front of fewer than 15,000 people. The semifinal between Philadelphia and Columbus was attended by just more than 12,000. And in the shadow of a fading U.S. Open Cup, an exciting idea has instead become a hot-topic issue.
“It's been a super fun tournament, but I completely understand people who don't want to go, and I don't begrudge them.” Cameron Collins, president of Sounders Supporters group Gorilla FC said. “I totally get the boycotts, and I think that's effective.”
The whole thing ended in dramatic circumstances, with Columbus Crew scoring twice in second half stoppage time to down Olivier Giroud's LAFC in the final. The match was played before a sellout crowd of 20,190 at Lower.com Field in Columbus. Watchers couldn't really ask more from a tournament championship game. Still, there remain broader questions as to whether Leagues Cup is actually successful.
GOAL reached out to a range of players, fan groups, coaches, and executives about the state of the competition. Several coaches and executives declined to comment, while MLS and Leagues Cup also declined to give official statements – although MLS did provide some details regarding attendance.
Getty ImagesThe end of U.S. Open Cup?
For some, Leagues Cup is a competition that has severely impacted one of the great institutions of American soccer. The U.S. Open Cup has been fading for some time now, but was almost entirely gutted this campaign, when MLS decreased its involvement in the tournament to just eight senior teams, while stacking the competition with MLS Next Pro sides – effectively minor league affiliates for every top flight U.S. club.
The league faced immense scrutiny from USL, fan groups and veterans of the U.S. game for its decision, considered by critics as the beginning of the end of one of global soccer’s oldest tournaments.
At the time, USL commissioner Paul McDonough slammed the decision: "If soccer's going to grow in this country – I know [MLS] probably think differently – it's not going be built on the back of just the 30 or 32 MLS teams," McDonough said. "It's just not."
That opinion was shared by others in the U.S. soccer community.
“Globally, I think it's f—– brilliant," said David Wegner from Centennial 38, the Colorado Rapids’ Supporters Group, "but I think the timing is incredibly unfortunate. US Soccer and MLS can't figure out a way, so why not do both?”
MLS’s justification for its decreased involvement in the U.S. Open Cup centered around concerns of fixture congestion, and worries that a packed schedule could negatively affect player welfare. There was also apprehension about pitch quality, and the lack of a fully-fledged TV deal.
Yet, simultaneously, the league doubled down on the success of 2023’s iteration of Leagues Cup.
And on the surface, it’s easy to see why. Leagues Cup got a substantial spike in 2023 when Lionel Messi made his Inter Miami debut in the competition, complete with a magical last-minute free-kick to down Cruz Azul. It ended, too, with the great Argentine lifting a trophy after 11 rounds of penalty kicks. The whole thing was, at times, immaculate theater.
NYCFC head coach Nick Cushing can sympathize with fans who are disappointed with MLS’s handling of the U.S. Open, and the ensuing hesitancy to support Leagues Cup.
“I think the point of contention is really simple,” Cushing told GOAL. “There are soccer lifers from U.S. Soccer and they support soccer in America, and they want the Open Cup to exist. They support the Open Cup, and because the Open Cup has changed, they don't support the Leagues Cup.”
It has driven some fans to a point of protest – literally. Supporter groups from eight MLS clubs announced official boycotts of the tournament. Austin FC’s Austin Anthem refused to attend matches, and made their reasoning clear: “Our league and club care far more about the Leagues Cup than the US Open Cup, and by extension, care more about Apple TV money than our nation's soccer. We cannot support this.”
Chicago Fire’s Redline SG also announced their intent to boycott the tournament, and pointed out that they would spend the month “supporting the Red Stars and local grassroots soccer clubs across Chicagoland.”
Some, such as Gorilla FC, made symbolic gestures, such as turning banners upside down in protest.
“It’s a super important protest, no matter how teams are doing it. You have this 100-plus year history of this tournament, and it’s just a grassroots tournament,” Collins said.
AdvertisementMLS MediaScheduling complications
The way the tournament is set up has created its own set of challenges.
Last season, MLS changed its scheduling to predominantly play in set slots on Saturdays. The move was in part due to its new Apple TV deal for live-match streaming, and giving more consistency for its audience.
Leagues Cup, though, hasn't adhered to that same cadence. Instead, organizers have taken a somewhat scattergun approach, scheduling midweek games, short-notice turnarounds, and added some less-than-fan-friendly kickoff times. The Colorado Rapids, for example, kicked off its round of 16 fixture with Toluca at 8 pm local time on a Tuesday – an elimination game played out in front of 9,742.
“It's short notice, because we're in knockout rounds, which has been kind of crazy,” Collins said. “We have a game, and then four days later, if we win, we have another game, and then four days later, we win, we have another game. It's been just like, ‘OK, well, I guess I'm going because I opted in.’ “
Attendance issues
As a result of that confluence of factors, attendance has been mixed – a fact that has concerned some around MLS. The opening weekend drew crowds up 24 percent from last year’s tournament, but interest was inconsistent throughout. Images spread on social media and eye-witness accounts from reporters suggested that this was at times a poorly attended tournament, often defined by its empty seats.
“It's very challenging in the knockout stages,” Wegner said. “Very challenging to have Monday games, Tuesday games, Wednesday games. And I think that's where some of the unfair criticism is from a lot of supporters groups that are protesting it.”
Overall, Leagues Cup 2024 saw an attendance increase of 1% over the inaugural edition, with an average crowd of 17,131 for the 77 matches, according to Sports Business Journal. Leagues Cup attendance was below MLS’ regular-season average, which was a record 23,194 at this year’s All-Star break. SBJ also reported that Leagues Cup was supported by 15 corporate sponsors in 2024, up from nine in 2023.
A near-empty Gilette Stadium was perhaps an extreme example, but players have routinely taken the field in front of thousands of empty seats. MLS would not comment on the less-attended matches, but did point out that average attendance, overall, was up and that 1.28 million fans attended matches through the semifinals. Three matches that included major Mexican teams – Chivas, Tigres, and Cruz Azul – featured among the top five best-attended Leagues Cup matches in the competition’s brief history.
But outside of those big-name games, the numbers at many matches were less convincing. Intra-league contests, with MLS teams facing their domestic counterparts, were often been played out in front of near-empty stadiums – the Revolution’s quarterfinal with NYCFC just one of many such contests.
“I feel like the first couple of games were well attended. The ones where there was less time in between, it was, you know, I think a little bit less attended,” New England Revolution sporting director Curt Onalfo said.
They weren’t alone. Slightly more than 10,000 fans attended Miami’s round of 32 clash with Toronto at Chase Stadium – a game that Messi missed due to injury. Luis Suarez, Lorenzo Insigne and Co. played out a highly watchable 4-3 result in a half-empty arena.
Back at NYCFC, Cushing has heard similar complaints from the team’s fan base.
“I understand the fans,” he said. “I've spoken to all fans about it. I understand their frustration and their angle, and why they're not going to come to games.”
At home viewership has also changed. Although no Apple TV streaming data has been released, Fox Sports reportedly had an average viewership of approximately 30,000 per match – by comparison, 1.75 million watched last year’s Leagues Cup fixture between Miami and Cruz Azul.
The Messi effect, of course, cannot be ignored. There was palpable excitement around every Miami fixture last year – and in fairness to MLS, those numbers might have been significantly higher this campaign had he not been injured.
"Obviously, last year with Messi being part of every single game and part of the finals, obviously, more eyes and attention were probably on it," Crew midfielder Darlington Nagbe said. "But for me, it's just another trophy we get a chance to a chance to win and put in the trophy case. It's another big game for the city."
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MLS MediaThe benefits of a new competition
Still, the clubs themselves argue that reduced fan interest is outside of their control. There are many around the game who view the competition as imperative. The opportunity to face new opponents, for example, has broken up the grind of the MLS campaign.
“Playing against teams that you don't normally face is really positive,” Cushing said. “It brings a sort of different perspective, a different focus.”
The NYCFC boss also acknowledged the chance to rotate and see other members of his squad. Onalfo highlighted its importance for evaluating the squad.
“We're always looking to improve our players,” Onalfo said. “We have younger players that we also want to develop. When you have more games, more players get games. So from that standpoint, it's all positive.”
Some players have also acknowledged the benefits of a fresh competition. LAFC goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, a veteran who has fought for every trophy at the club and international level in a long European career, voiced his support.
"Obviously, this competition cannot replace the Champions League of CONCACAF, but it's still a trophy. We don't know if in 10 years, 15 years time, this competition will still be here, but I think the level is really interesting and it's good for helping all the clubs to grow and to continue the development because you need competitiveness to improve," he told GOAL.