Leagues Cup at a crossroads: Empty stadiums, fan protests remove luster from MLS-Liga MX competition
Getty ImagesThe 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.
Here’s the crowd at kickoff for tonight’s Leagues Cup game between the #NERevs and #NYCFC pic.twitter.com/fLHOkC3XYa
— Seth (@SethMan31) August 9, 2024
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.
