The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, or simply the U.S. Open Cup, is a knockout soccer tournament hosted by the United States Soccer Federation (USSF). Clubs from America’s elite league, MLS, take on several semi-professional and amateur clubs playing in the minor leagues.
They compete for prize money and a trophy. It is the American equivalent of England’s FA Cup, which pits all pro or semi-pro English clubs against each other.
The U.S. Open Cup is notorious for producing unpredictable, viral moments, usually incredible goals scored by unknown amateur footballers against MLS giants. Now and then, we are gifted with an upset by one of the lower-league teams over an MLS team, but this latest one trumps them all. It’s a symbol that the grassroots growth of soccer is alive and well in America, and a sustainable approach can be thanked for it.
El Farolito Soccer Club (SC), which competes in the National Premier Soccer League in the unofficial fourth tier of American soccer, matched up against Portland Timbers 2 in the first round of the Cup on March 19.
Timbers 2 is the academy team of the well-decorated Portland Timbers, winners of five MLS Cups. They are considered some of the best young footballers in the American system, good enough to make a professional roster. And they were beaten by a team named after a Bay Area burrito shop.
The San Francisco-based club is entirely amateur. Playing in the fourth tier of the American soccer pyramid might not seem glamorous, but El Farolito is different. Originally named CD Mexico, the club won the Open Cup in 1993. The team’s history is not widely known (understandably so), as it happened before Americans embraced soccer as a household product. El Farolito’s triumph came before MLS’s founding in 1996.
This win is a testament to the organic growth American soccer has incurred over the last two decades. One notable critique among outside voices in the global soccer world is America lacks a “football culture” like European nations. Fanbases have been created on decades (sometimes centuries) of support. Supporting a team playing in the third tier of that country’s football system, attending matches, buying merchandise, and contributing to the club’s well-being are part of the organic fan experience.
Many fans lambast the American soccer system for not having promotion and relegation and operating closed leagues. The lack of a merit-based system and heavy emphasis on pay-to-play continually garners criticism.
Graphic Courtesy Reddit user Braedown
In our piece about MLS finances, we mentioned teams are withheld from overspending to encourage homegrown talent development (and stop clubs from going broke). Teams playing in the lower divisions of the confusing American soccer pyramid need more money to run their teams. They can’t attempt to woo a superstar player to join them (though a handful were successful).
Because of this structure, American soccer players have grown organically. Several leagues, like the United Soccer League (USL), the National Independent Soccer Association, and even the NCAA, have produced capable players who signed with some of the biggest clubs in Europe.
Sustainable development is influenced by the lack of funding in semi-pro soccer, and it has also fostered a greater connection with fans.
Taking the family to a USL match is cheaper than some MLS games, and the smaller stadium environment builds a better connection with the players and the fans.
Youth soccer participation is up, partially due to the organic soccer growth.
Vermont Green, whom Consensus has covered before, also competes in this tournament, taking down Lexington SC (KY) 4–3 in the first round. They compete in the USL League One in the third tier of American soccer. Those players aren’t making big bucks, but they noted how much they connect with the Burlington, Vermont, community.
El Farolito’s win over Timbers 2 also comes amidst changes with the Open Cup and MLS’s participation. Only eight MLS sides competed in this season’s tournament, with the new Leagues Cup between MLS and Mexico’s Liga MX stealing the spotlight. Timbers 2 is part of MLS Next Pro, the development league for the top division. Eleven MLS Next Pro teams are competing in this season’s Open Cup.
The Open Cup has taken a backseat to the MLS regular season. It doesn’t get nearly as much publicity or attendance. Even the CONCACAF Champions Cup — the North American equivalent of the Union of European Football Associations Champions League — gets more attention than the Open Cup.
That’s despite the USSF saying it’s making its “largest-ever investment in the tournament” with four new commercial partners and better financial incentives for teams to compete, including travel costs. For semi-pro and amateur teams, that’s a sweet deal, but MLS teams, which are now eclipsing the $1 billion threshold, don’t feel the same.
Last year, USSF and CBS agreed to stream four games of the contest, while fans can watch others on the Bleacher Report app or B/R Football’s YouTube channel (livestreamed).
The free streams offer more publicity to the lower-tier clubs, continuing to build that regional influence in smaller cities needing a sports team to rally around.
Photo Courtesy Wesley Tingey
Don Garber, MLS commissioner, has said he wants the Open Cup to succeed, but he doesn’t want MLS to be the sole proprietor of it. It is a USSF-sanctioned tournament, and he believes the organization needs to do more to make it more appealing. This upset by El Farolito will surely help the USSF’s case, but it’s unclear how impactful it will be.
Why is El Farolito’s victory a big deal? Even when money and capital gains have distorted the organic growth the sport was experiencing in the U.S., these magical moments show the “beautiful game” is alive and well among amateurs. It also points to the sustainability of a sport, which many in Europe are lambasting because of a growing wealth gap and double standard for richer clubs. The American approach isn’t perfect, but its organic feeling is working.
Since beating Timbers 2, El Farolito advanced past the second round of the Open Cup. They knocked out Central Valley Fuego of USL League One, advancing to round three, where the team lost to the Oakland Roots SC, 2–1 in extra time.
