MLS commissioner Garber criticizes state of U.S. Open Cup - ESPN

MLS commissioner Don Garber criticized the state of the U.S. Open Cup on Friday, stating that the tournament is «a very poor reflection on what it is that we're trying to do with soccer at the highest level.»

Garber made his comments at the open session of the U.S. Soccer Federation board of directors meeting that is being held in Frisco, Texas, ahead of this weekend's National Soccer Hall of Fame induction ceremonies.

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Garber was responding to a presentation made by USSF chief commercial officer David Wright, who said that the USSF is «really bullish» about the U.S. Open Cup, which is a single-elimination tournament that is open to both professional and amateur sides from throughout the country and has a devoted following. Aside from the COVID-19-pandemic-affected years of 2020 and 2021, the tournament has been held every year since 1914.

But the tournament also suffers from a general lack of awareness, and some MLS teams don't make the tournament a priority, often fielding reserve sides in the competition's early rounds.

Wright admitted that the USSF doesn't have all the answers in terms of growing the tournament, and that not all games are able to be broadcast. But, now that the USSF's commercial rights are in-house, the Open Cup is now «front and center.» To that end, the USSF will be holding a U.S. Open Cup Summit later this summer in a bid to increase the event's profile.

At that point Garber chimed in, stating that, though Wright's group was «doing as best you can with this tournament,» the games are hard to find for viewers — including himself — and are played on subpar fields.

«I would say that they're not games that we would want our product to be shown to a