U.S. Soccer to launch Arthur M. Blank Crest Cup for women's clubs; initial prize pool set at $1.5 million — SkimNews
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- U.S. Soccer is launching the Arthur M. Blank Crest Cup, a first-of-its-kind women's club competition with a $1.5 million initial prize pool, aiming to have it operational by the 2031 Women's World Cup (expected to be hosted jointly by the U.S., Mexico, Costa Rica, and Jamaica).
- NWSL and Gainbridge Super League teams will compete in the inaugural edition, with U.S. Soccer president Cindy Parlow Cone saying lower-division professional and amateur women's teams could join as the tournament evolves.
- The Crest Cup format will mirror the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup and FA Cup, with single-elimination play, and the winner will qualify for the Concacaf W Champions Cup — giving more clubs a path to international competition.
- Scheduling presents a major challenge: the 2026 GSL season runs only August through November with 14 regular-season matches, while NWSL players already face a growing calendar that includes the inaugural Concacaf W Champions Cup, the FIFA Women's Champions Cup, and a planned 2028 Women's Club World Cup in the U.S.
- Cindy Parlow Cone said she had long wanted to launch a women's equivalent of the Open Cup but waited until the women's club ecosystem — now featuring two Division One leagues and a growing amateur base — was robust enough to support it.
- Crest Cup games are expected to be played midweek between regular league matches, though Parlow Cone declined to commit to a specific launch date or match-day schedule, citing ongoing coordination with NWSL and GSL sporting leaders on player load.
Why it matters: By creating a cross-league women's cup with a direct path to Concacaf's W Champions Cup, U.S. Soccer gives NWSL and GSL clubs — not just national team players — a route to meaningful international matches, while the $1.5M purse signals real financial commitment to a competition format that has existed for men via the U.S. Open Cup for a century.
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