There are various Cup competitions that occur all around the world. This page has been created with the intention of informing viewers of what Cup competitions MLS club teams and the US National Team take part in.

The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup

      The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup is the oldest cup competition in United States soccer. Dating back to 1914, the U.S. Open Cup is a single-elimination tournament open to all affiliated amateur and professional teams in the U.S. It is played every year allowing local amateur teams the opportunity to compete against the best teams in the U.S.

      Teams compete in one of four categories: professional outdoor Division I (Major League Soccer); professional outdoor Division II (USL A-League); professional outdoor Division III (USL D3 Pro League); or Amateur Division (USL Premier Development League & U.S. Amateur Soccer Association). Through the quarterfinals these teams are pared off geographically. In the semi-final, teams are paired off by a blind draw.

      Neighboring countries have their own domestic cup competitions as well. In the past, the winner of the U.S. Open Cup and the foreign domestic cup competitions were placed in the CONCACAF Cup Winners' Cup tournament. However, this tournament is no longer played.

      On October 26, 2001 the Los Angeles Galaxy used a "Golden Goal" header from Danny Califf in the 92nd minute to defeat the New England Revolution 2-1 in overtime and win the U.S. Open Cup!

MLS Cup

      MLS Cup is Major League Soccer's most prestigious cup and it is awarded to the best team in MLS. At the end of every MLS season the MLS Cup Playoffs are played. They consist of a Conference Semifinal (first team to earn 5 points wins; 3pts for a win, 1 pt for a tie), a Conference Final and a one game championship. In 2001 the San Jose Earthquakes captured their first Major League Soccer championship with a 2-1 win over the Los Angeles Galaxy at Columbus Crew Stadium. MLS Cup 2002 will be held at the new CMGI Field in New England.

FC Champions' Cup

      The Football Confederation Champions' Cup is the top club competition for North America, Central America and Caribbean club teams. It features the best club teams the nations within the Football Confederation have to offer. It is held every year and it serves as a qualifying event for the FIFA Club World Championship.

      In 2001 the FC Champions' Cup tournament was played from January 16-21, 2001 in Southern California and it featured the eight best clubs in the FC. In 2002 the Champions' Cup will feature a new league format consisting of 16 top clubs from throughout the Football Confederation. The competition will span over a period of 6 months starting in March and ending September 2002. MLS clubs San Jose Earthquakes, Chicago Fire, DC United, and Kansas City Wizards will all be taking part in the FC Champions' Cup in 2002.

FIFA Club World Championship

      The FIFA Club World Championship is a tournament that crowns the world's best club team. 2000 was the first year the World Club Championship was played. The Championship was held in Brazil and it featured 8 world club teams including Corinthians, Real Madrid, Al-Nassr, Raja Casablanca, Vasco da Gama, Necaxa, Manchester United, and South Melbourne. Corinthians took home the first cup by defeating Vasco da Gama 4-3 (pk) while Necaxa placed third with its 4-3 (pk) win over Real Madrid.

      FIFA has now increased the number of teams that take part in this tournament from 8 to 12: two each from CONCACAF (North and Central America and the Caribbean), South America, Africa, Asia and Europe, plus one from Oceania and the champion of the Spanish league.

      The next Club World Championship was supposed to be held in Spain from July 29-Aug 12, 2001. However, do to various reasons, the tournament was cancelled. FIFA plans on staging the next Club World Championship in 2003.

The Gold Cup

      The Gold Cup is organized by the Football Confederation and it is the top competition for national teams within the North, Central America and Caribbean. Inaugurated in 1991, the Gold Cup is played every two years and it features the best National Teams the Football Confederation has to offer as well as quality invited teams from other regions of the world. The winner of the Gold Cup has the opportunity to compete in the FIFA Confederations Cup.

      The 2002 Gold Cup was played in February and it was hosted by the United States. National teams from the United States, Mexico, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago, Canada, Haiti, Ecuador, Martinique, and South Korea were all part of the excitement of Gold Cup 2002. US Men's National Team coach, Bruce Arena, fielded a team almost entirely composed of MLS players in an attempt to decide who can earn a place on the World Cup Team heading to Korea/Japan this summer for World Cup 2002. This team went undefeated in the Gold Cup competition and in the end it won the Cup by defeating a Costa Rican team composed of its best players. By shutting out Costa Rica 2-0, the US Men's National team not only claimed itself the best National Team in the Football Confederation, but it also showed the world how MLS has contributed greatly to the development of American soccer players and a strong US National Team. The next Gold Cup will be held between July 12-23, 2003.

FIFA Confederations Cup

      The FIFA Confederations Cup is a world play-off that allows the top national teams from all continents to represent their region. The Confederations Cup is held every two years and is comprised of eight participants. It features the champion team from each of the six confederations, with the World Cup Champions, and either the host country or another team from the host continent.

      The latest Confederations Cup was played in July of 1999, in Mexico. Beating Brazil 4-3, Mexico took home the Cup, while the United States placed an impressive 3rd place after shutting out Saudi Arabia 2-0!

      This year the Confederations Cup was held in Japan and South Korea from May 30-June 10, 2001. The 8 participants included host nations Japan and South Korea, as well as France, Brazil, Cameroon, Australia, Canada, and 1999 champions Mexico. France went on to claim the Cup title by beating Japan in the final. The next Confederations Cup will be held between June 18-29, 2003.

     If you know of any other existing Cup Competitions that take place in the Americas or are staged by the Football Confederation or USSF, that I am not mentioning here, please let me know and I will post information about that competition.