Image: Minnesota Super Cup
It’s something every local lower league soccer follower or supporter has thought about at least once. What if there was a tournament where teams from different statewide lower leagues could compete to prove who the best really is?
Now, thanks to Jonathan Martinson, we don’t have to think “what if?” any more.
Martinson has created the Minnesota Super Cup, set to launch this summer. The “World Cup” style tournament features six of the state’s best men’s lower league clubs going head to head for ultimate bragging rights.
To conceptualize the idea for the competition, Martinson just called upon his own experience as a fan and follower of the state’s soccer scene.
“There’s a lot of quality clubs [statewide] doing some really good things,” said Martinson. “And as that casual fan hat comes on…how can I experience more?”
In addition to the opportunity us fans get to see a competition like this, it also provides an additional platform for the players on these teams to showcase their talent against high level competition.
“It’s just yet another opportunity for these guys to have a little bit more exposure,” said Martinson. “It’s also that showcase for the talent.”
While no official dates have been announced, the plan is for the competition to not run completely parallel with league competitions, but as of now the possibility of minor overlap between the respective leagues and this tournament remains in place. Similar to US Open Cup, clubs will have to submit an application to host matches and meet minimum required standards with their facilities to do so.
The competing clubs will be representing USL League Two, NPSL, UPSL, and MLS Next, and we know the first two clubs who will be competing in the inaugural version of this event.
Minneapolis City SC and St. Croix Legends will be competing in 2023, with the complete field of teams announced later this week..
As far as a location for the Cup Final, that’s also TBD, but you don’t have to stretch your imagination too far to come up with the possible venues being pursued and considered.
Focusing on the logistics is obviously a big part of this and will help the tournament grow into a major summer event for the community, but it’s that community that has really driven the idea and hard work toward making this happen.
“I just love that idea, if we can put something together that gets excitement going, fostering more community involvement, and having these clubs throughout the state come together with supporters and soccer fans behind them. I think it’ll be awesome,” said Martinson.
David Naylor