7 reasons the International Champions Cup should be thrown down a well and left there

ICC’s confusing format

The Champions Cup features games in three different countries: the United States, China and Singapore. The U.S. bracket features eight teams, while China and Singapore have six and three teams, respectively. In the U.S., each team plays three games and a winner is determined based on points, goal difference and goals scored. There’s no rhyme or reason as to how matchups are selected. For this year’s edition, it seems like the organizers went with the “let’s replicate traditional derbies” system. This is how we ended up with a Manchester derby, an Italian derby (Roma vs. Juventus) and a La Liga Clasico. These games are made to sell.

In China and Singapore, each team plays only two games. A “champion” is crowned in each region. Due to obvious logistical issues, there are no matchups between regional champions so the team winning the U.S. bracket is crowned champion. This all feels clunky and pointless. A hodgepodge of exhibition soccer all leading up to a contrived trophy that only half the teams involved are eligible to win.

Any self-respecting cup has a playoff-like format where the top teams get to face each other to determine who the superior team is. The ICC does not. Which means, you guessed it, it can’t be a self-respecting cup.