Cascadia Cup Council Joint Statement on 2023 Cascadia Cup and MLS Schedule
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Cascadia supporters groups announce 2023 Cascadia Cup rules, call for balanced schedule
[Seattle, WA; Portland, OR; and Vancouver, BC; December 27, 2022]
The supporters groups from the three Cascadia MLS clubs have agreed on rules for the Cascadia Cup after MLS announced an unbalanced schedule in 2023.
The Emerald City Supporters, Vancouver Southsiders and Timbers Army have agreed that all matches will count towards the Cascadia Cup, even though the new unbalanced MLS schedule means each team will play a different number of home games against their Cascadia rivals this season.
“We all agreed that we are going to count every match. This format will be one that all supporters will find easiest to follow,” says Fernando Machicado, Timbers Army spokesperson.
Portland Timbers will host both Vancouver Whitecaps twice and Seattle Sounders once, Vancouver will see Portland once and Seattle twice at home, and Seattle will host Portland twice and Vancouver once. Despite the imbalance, the three supporters groups agreed to count all matches equally in order to keep the 2023 Cascadia Cup format simple.
“Ultimately, the Cascadia Cup is by the supporters, for the supporters, and we realized this was the best decision for the 2023 season,” says Tom Biro, co-president, Emerald City Supporters. “While we can appreciate MLS needing to make different scheduling decisions due to expansion, it’s pretty obvious the league recognizes where to generate the most attention each season.”
The Cascadia Cup will be awarded to the team with the most points after all matches have been played or when there is a clear winner. In the event of a tie, the Cup will be awarded to the team with the best goal difference. Should the MLS schedule remain unbalanced in 2024, the Emerald City Supporters, Vancouver Southsiders and Timbers Army insist that it should allow for a balanced distribution of the home and away matches amongst the Cascadia clubs.
“Scheduling all Cascadia Cup matches to be played on a Saturday is a positive adjustment” says Peter Czimmermann, president of the Vancouver Southsiders. “It is imperative that traveling to rivalry games is as accessible as possible for all supporters”
Background:
The Cascadia Cup was created in 2004 by supporters groups of the three Cascadia teams, and is awarded annually to the best team in the Cascadia region. Seattle has won it seven times, and Vancouver has won it six times, and current Cascadia Cup holder Portland has won it five times.
2023 Cascadia Cup schedule:
With the unbalanced 2023 MLS schedule, each team has 3 home and 3 away matches, two home games and one away against one Cascadia Cup rival and one home/two away against the other:
- April 8: Vancouver Whitecaps v. Portland Timbers
- April 15: Portland Timbers v. Seattle Sounders
- May 13: Portland Timbers v. Vancouver Whitecaps
- May 20: Vancouver Whitecaps v. Seattle Sounders
- June 3: Seattle Sounders v. Portland Timbers
- July 8: Vancouver Whitecaps v. Seattle Sounders
- August 26: Portland Timbers v. Vancouver Whitecaps
- September 2: Seattle Sounders v. Portland Timbers
- October 7: Seattle Sounders v. Vancouver Whitecaps
(Home team is listed first)
Full Cascadia Cup criteria:
- Greater number of points earned in matches between the teams concerned
- Greater goal difference in matches between the teams concerned
- Greater number of goals scored in matches between the teams concerned
- Reapply first three criteria if two or more teams are still tied
- Greater goal difference in all cup matches
- Greater number of goals scored in all cup matches
- Smaller number of disciplinary points in all cup matches (yellow = 1 point, red = 2 points)
About the Cascadia Cup Council
The Cascadia Cup Council is a recognized not-for-profit entrusted with the management of the Cascadia Cup. The Council is made up of one representative from each of the three founding Cascadia Cup supporters groups, the Emerald City Supporters, Timbers Army, and Vancouver Southsiders.
