Three years ago, Icarus FC launched the Icarus Cup in Philadelphia. In partnership with a massive local soccer league, CASA, Icarus wanted the cup tournament to be an opportunity for clubs from around the world to come to Philadelphia to play soccer in one of the best dressed tournaments in the country. The jersey company has used the tournament as an opportunity to showcase its wares, by providing registered clubs with bespoke uniforms. As Robby Smukler put it in 2021, “as part of your registration, you got a kit that you can wear for the tournament. I think that makes it kind of unique. A lot of other tournaments you don’t really get anything, maybe a t-shirt to wear.” Participants in the Icarus Cup go home with a one of a kind kit.

The Icarus Cup was also a chance to expand the relationship between Icarus FC and CASA, as many of the clubs that play in CASA are wearing Icarus uniforms. Nolan Bair, President of CASA, commented on that relationship after the first Cup. “Icarus has benefited from the league by access to a large number of teams and players, and promotion across all of our broadcasting wavelengths. The league has benefited by having an affordable jersey kit supplier to recommend a teams, which helps creates an identity. Together, both entities have created a union/partnership that helped create the tournament, which was a byproduct of both entities successes and help the league expand beyond the Philadelphia area in terms of awareness and helped promote the jersey company.”

That focus on expansion could not be more on display than this year, as the Icarus Cup is expanding to Austin, Texas. The Texas version of the Cup is scheduled to kick off in two weeks (May 26-28) at the Onion Creek Soccer Complex. Texas is far removed from Philadelphia, but Robby sees it as a natural fit. “After two successes in Philly we felt like it was time to take the show on the road! Also, our tournament director Charlie Shea moved down to Austin and thought it was a good candidate. The city loves soccer and has a ton of cool culture, it's been a super natural fit.”

The launch of the Austin version of the competition in addition to the third annual Philadelphia-based Icarus Cup will require the Icarus team to ramp up the bespoke designs for the registering clubs. The Icarus team decided to expand on that front as well. “We've completely revamped our design process for this year's Icarus Cups, and focused our efforts on making sure every single jersey for Austin and Philadelphia is unique. To do so, we put every design through a major "design gauntlet" before it was approved for use, and as a result, this year's designs are on a completely different level. This year we've collaborated with world-class designers and friends that we love, from Matt Wolff (of Nigeria 2018 World Cup kit fame) to Floor Wesseling (designer of USMNT and England kits) to Phil Delves (designer of Red Star FC kit) and many others.”

While the Austin Icarus Cup will require a lot of focus and hands-on management, Icarus is not scaling back its commitment to CASA or Philadelphia. In fact, the 2023 Philadelphia tournament is expected to expand again. This year, the tournament is hoping to grow to 80 teams and for the entire experience to be a “7v7 soccer festival.” With that in mind, they’ve added “live music, games, a beer garden, and stand up comedy to the offerings. It's no longer a tournament with cool jerseys - it's an Icarus experience.”

Texas-favorite Shiner Beer is signed up as a Cup sponsor.

With Austin just two weeks away and Philadelphia kicking off in July, it’s fun to think of where this tournament could expand to in the future and Robby has international dreams. “With an office in London (and half of our team now in the UK), we've dreamt of running a version of the Icarus Cup in London. Everyone in the UK team plays already and there's obviously a huge soccer footprint in the capital, so we'd like to someday do a smaller scale event there, capitalising on the culture around London as well as that interest in soccer.”

The Icarus Cup is one of our favorite events every year, as it emphasizes how fun soccer can be for everyone. All ages and levels of experience and interest can enjoy a weekend of soccer, music, and food. And now with the competition happening in two different states, there’s even more opportunities to experience what people love about the beautiful game.

For more information regarding both of this year’s tournaments, visit the official website.

- Dan Vaughn

Editor’s Note: Icarus FC is an advertiser with Protagonist Soccer