 | |
| Organizing body | Charleston Battery |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2004 |
| Region | United States |
| Number of teams | 4 |
| Current champion(s) | Inter Miami CF (1st title) |
| Most successful club(s) | D.C. United Columbus Crew (4 titles each) |
| Website | carolinachallengecup |
 2022 | |
The Carolina Challenge Cup, officially the Breeze Airways™ Carolina Challenge Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a four-team round robin pre-season competition hosted by the Charleston Battery. It was started in 2004 and features teams from Major League Soccer and the United Soccer Leagues.[1] The Columbus Crew edged out D.C. United on goal differential to win the 2004 competition, while the San Jose Earthquakes won the 2005 competition. San Jose's second iteration (although a separate team), the Houston Dynamo, won the 2006 and 2007 versions.[2] The San Jose Earthquakes again won the tournament on their return to the MLS in 2008 while Real Salt Lake claimed the title in their debut in 2009.
Over the first few years of the tournament, the champion had gone on to win one of the two year-end MLS trophies, the Supporters' Shield or MLS Cup. This streak ended in 2008 as San Jose Earthquakes failed to make the playoffs, consequently missing out on both titles. Between 2008 and 2010 it either predicted the MLS Cup winner or the team with the worst record in the league. San Jose and D.C United had the worst records in 2008 and 2010 respectively, while Real Salt Lake won the 2009 MLS Cup.
- ^ "Carolina Challenge Cup Schedule Set". Charleston Battery Communications. CharlestonBattery.com. November 16, 2011. Archived from the original on January 19, 2012. Retrieved February 10, 2012.
- ^ "DC United, Toronto FC & Real Salt Lake join Charleston Battery for 2009 Carolina Challenge Cup". CharlestonBattery.com. January 20, 2009. Retrieved February 10, 2012.[permanent dead link]