Adult soccer teams from across the country come to Asheville to compete and celebrate the sport at the annual Beer City Cup hosted on Labor Day weekend, Sept. 5-6.
For tournament director and co-founder Usher, the event has become a primary event of Asheville’s soccer community.
“It’s been a staple of the Asheville soccer community for the 16th year now,” Usher said. “It’s our time every year that we celebrate not only our local soccer scene but the greater southeastern soccer scene, and even beyond that.”
Usher founded the cup with David Turner in 2010 with a goal to bring men’s, women’s and coed teams from around the country to Western North Carolina to compete in a premier league tournament in a festival-like environment.
The tournament combines competitive adult soccer with the culture and atmosphere Asheville is known for and creates an event that extends beyond the fields. Teams travel to Asheville for the opportunity to compete, but the tournament also gives players, spectators and members of the soccer community a chance to come together around the sport.
“It’s the nation’s premier adult soccer tournament,” Usher said. “Teams come from all over to play for cash prizes in a festival atmosphere.”
This year the tournament had 126 teams compete in 13 divisions split up between men’s, women’s, and co-ed. The winners of the 3 premier divisions won $5,000 cash prizes and the bragging rights for the year. In men’s division Asheville based FC Morales, and Atlanta based woman’s and coed team Tequila Mockingbird took the top position in their division.
The event also provides an opportunity for local businesses to benefit from the influx of players and visitors. Breweries and food trucks are among the businesses that contribute to the tournament atmosphere. Local support connects the soccer event with Asheville’s broader community, and it gives players and spectators opportunities to spend time together between matches.
“People from all over come hang out and enjoy top-level soccer in a beautiful setting,” Usher said.
While the Beer City Cup remains rooted in Asheville, its reach has continued to grow. The organization now hosts seven events annually in cities across the country, including upcoming tournaments in Atlanta, Miami, Savannah, Nashville, Philadelphia and now Austin, Texas, all in addition to its annual Asheville tournament.
The expansion has taken the Beer City Cup beyond its original home, but Asheville remains central to the tournament’s identity. For the local soccer community, the annual return of the tournament provides a chance to celebrate a sport that has brought players and fans together for more than a decade.
And for the teams traveling to Asheville, the weekend offers both competition and community. “It’s the best place to win, best place to lose,” Usher said.
