All right, hot tag, and this is where we get to try and chase after one of the busiest men in show business. And I mean this because phase one, and it took me a while to figure out how that it is phase one. It wasn't necessarily group stage. It's phase one. Phase one is done. Now we're getting into quarters and semis and working through and juggling that in the MLS schedule. And for that we go and catch up with the executive director of Leagu's Cup, Tom Mayo.
Tom Mayo on the keyboards, Tom Mayo, Sorry, as my Peter Frampton joke this morning.
Tom, welcome aboard to.
The Morning show and the chaos that is a Friday. Glad that we were able to finally catch up with you to find out everything about League's Cup.
Thank you apologies about the earlier bump we were in the in the process, lots goes on right and we've got a considerable amount of games in this very it's great. Thank you, Thank you for appreciating on the show. It's great talk to you listeners, and yeah, explain a little bit more about Leaguess Cup.
What attracted you to become the executive director of League's Cup in the first place, lots.
Of aspects, great teams to work with. You know, I met with both legam X and MLS teams and their front of office. Great teams to work with, right, and they've got some bold plans. I think secondly was how often is a soccer tournament in its infancy like this in its year three and it's got so much future ahead of it. That's incredibly rare. There might be one or two added to the global soccer calendar every year, but that was it. And I think, yeah, opportunity to
work with great people. This new soccer venture that was building had some history and was looking for some you know, someone to jump in and you know, sort of guide it for the next five ten years.
And if I remember your past correctly, you're a track and field guy. Yeah, so I would imagine to carry out an early analogy here in the interview.
Were you a sprint guy or a distance guy?
Middle distance? So mana, okay, So.
You know about strategy in a race, whether you need to be the rabbit, whether you like to hang off the outside shoulder of somebody while they're in the inside lane and make your move last lap, bell lap, backstretch, whatever, I would imagine that that kind of a mentality also helps when you're trying to piece together this tournament and all of the tweaks that are in this year where the schedule is more compressed. You don't have the gap space between the end of Phase one and getting back
to MLS scheduling. I would imagine that part of that mentality helps in trying to figure out, Okay, let's do this, let's do this, let's do this so that way when we get to the bell lap in twenty five, everything is fine and we make the sprint to the tape and it is what it is exactly right.
There is that ability to sort of maneuver quickly in the environment that you're in and stay calm. At is, stay calm in it. I mean the fact of running a mile or a fifteen hundred meters. It's the ability to stay calm under pressure. And the calmer you are for the longer you are, the more the more you can sustain and think clearly across the line. But there was what there's one aspect of the you know, the mile, and it took me eight years to break four for
a mile. It just took eight years of hard work and it's just relenting, unrelenting hard work to do that, and you only see the end and it's the race. But and I think that the team around me and myself is we've dug in for the long run. It's gonna be really hard, and so sort of I've got
the same mindset. Look, this is going to take eight to ten years to to you know, keep keep applying pressure every day, keep building the tournament, and that's how you end up with those great races because it's just hard work every day. So that's sort of my mentality of going into it. It's it's delightful when you get to that end of the eight years and you break the break the all minute mild, but it is just that focus every single day.
You just keep going and going. So yeah, both skills.
How difficult is it to show patient or have other individuals around you be as patient as you and your group are, because there's always that idea of instant results, instant gratification.
Hey we got to turnament on. Hey it's new, Hey it's shiny.
We've got to you know, we have to have all the fireworks exploding, you know, like the end of the Yabu Dhabi you know, one race or something, how difficult is it for folks around you to be patient understanding that slow, you know, slow and steady wins the race.
It's sometimes it is difficult sometimes, and I think everybody wants there's there's no magic wand and I learned that probably quickly, of course all the sports I've been involved with. Sometimes you're blessed with moments like MESSI with his comments last week or two weeks ago, and that suddenly gives you a bump. But I think incremental every single day
you make an incremental step forwards. You're making incremental changes, and the stakeholders and all the partners you're with, whether it's Ligo, Max, MLS, Conker, CAF, sponsors, everyone, they're seeing these incremental changes and just building on the tournament, building, you know, building its future. And I think that's important that everyone sees so that we're just focused on, Look, we want this to be a cornerstone of global and US soccer in ten years and how are we going to get there?
And all those little steps together is there.
I know that scheduling for those of us that cover the event, the idea of wrapping phase one and the tournament into the MLS schedule instead of having the big gap spaces there have been in years past. That's been a help in blending everything together. What's the feedback that you've gotten from clubs etc. When it comes to the new tweaks coming into the twenty twenty five version.
Good, very positive.
So obviously there was a lot of work then actually before my tenure. I started in December, but I know as soon as the format finished last year, all the club CBOs you know, the front office staff and every club in Mexico and US got together into right this, there's something great to this tournament. How do we just make it better? And they just went through in a process and went to, okay, every aspect, what's our focus and those matchups?
Was it right?
So you put the matchups on and you put Lega X versus MLS and then you see that creates the competition on the field and everything flows off that. And then it was about finding that window. And there are much smarter people than me and you know, in MLS and Lego X putting these schedules together, and it's a very complicated process, you know, sort of the regular season, the FIFA windows, you've got CONCAFT competitions.
You've got all of this myriad and.
Then they're presenting everyone of the best options for you know, players travel, player travel. You know, what's the best windows for you know, for broadcast, what's the best windows, for partners, what's the best window. But you know for fans and so yeah, there's lots to take in. But I think it's been great so far, so I won't say anymore. We head into a quarter final with some great feedback.
No doubt.
Guy like Dominate Toron has been quite vocal about the scheduling from a Lega Emeki's perspective. I believe he called it a trap tournament, where he says it gives you very little, takes away a lot, takes away training time quality from what we're trying to build, argues winning the trophy wouldn't bring much prestige. What would you say to coaches and to those that might have that point of view when it comes to the Lega Mchi side of things, I.
Think, Look, we work with Lega e Mechis closely and you know, I know lots of comments in post match conferences and it's it's always you know, people are immediate views and they think we just take a step back, and we talked to them all as well after the competition, and we meet with all the players and many players as we can, and the coaches, and we say, look, what is it about this format that we can improve and look after we've made considerable strides with you know,
looking after players this year flying in from Mexico and their travel arrangements and how we best prepare them for their best performance. And I think it is you know, we are still year three and this format, the tournament, everything else only aims to improve and address any comments that they've got when we all catch up afterwards in September.
I know that it's difficult to juggle two leagues, three countries all at the same time. And I know that there is probably a desire on some front, at some point somewhere down the road where the Lega Emechi sides could have home matches in their own stadium, because if you go to a place like Nemessio Diaz or Akron or as Teca, those are great ambassadorial locations for the sport.
How difficult is it for someone who doesn't know the logistics, How difficult is it to do something like that where all three countries are represented, and I know that for the sake of travel and making sure that everybody gets the destinations, that it's self contained inside the US and Canada.
Yeah, once again, I think good question because when I started, as was another question I had as well. It's like, look at you know, we've got a location in the USA, and what's what's the now for this at this stage in year two heading into year three, and I'm about to go through that process as well. But it is a very thorough analysis just around starting a tournament, the logistics, the schedules, and they chose the USLC to and both parties in LIGROMX and with the support of all the
clubs and the US as well. So look, it's going to be a full analysis at the end of this year and then we start to look at we will look at it again and it's something we're committed to every single year as this tournament grows. So I won't say a either way, but look, it's full analysis. We go back to the just like coaches do. Right of the end of the tournament, you go back, you look at everything, so how can we improve And it'll be definitely a consideration.
Tom Ayo, the executive director of League Cup, hanging out whether it's here, is phase one is now complete? There were some bouts are crazy in phase one. I mean, I'm not gonna lie there. There were some matchups that were just absolutely nuts. You had Seattle putting seven on the board in forty five minutes. You had matches that were going through thirteen minutes. Added, you had Crazy shoe
out to going twelve frames before they were decided. What's the feedback been like for you about Phase one in general? Where you've had a great run by a team like Juarez, who was I think ranked thirty second coming in and they get right to the end before math and a loss takes care of it. What's the feedback then about phase one with all the different storylines.
I think there's been a we're getting stats last night in the operations center. There hasn't been a game nil MIL in this tournament, which is unheard of.
Right.
Ninety three percent of our games that have gone through have consequence, right, And it was only in that final day that you know, you found those teams, a couple of those teams that matched up that weren't able to
alter the table. So from those fronts, we were delightfully surprised that the nil nil aspect, you know, there is no nil, it's just everyone's scoring and then going into penalties, we've got on average or was it three point five goals per game, up from two point five last year and up again from them less league next season.
So it's we're going to go and looking at it.
The intensity on the field that's being created by this intense tournament, which you.
Know it's it is.
There are no prisoners here, right, You've got to win straight away, as soon as you're in your first game. You've got to take as many point time as possible. When you go again, you go again, and I think there is yeah, and I think that's shown on the field emotion.
I was delightfully surprised as well.
You know, when the penalties are taken, all the teams, you know, arm in arm, and they're very emotional about it, and it starts.
It means a lot to them, right, they are going to advance or they're not.
And for some players this is their first international tournament and for some clubs this is the first potentially a first international trophy as well, and it's a different pace and it's a different level.
I remember my first international tournament.
Right, and it's just a completely different world, different pace of the game, different just everything changes and you just step up another level. And that's what I've been That's what's been great to watch is just that competitive aspect of these are hard games to win and people are fighting.
For it is Obviously, I would imagine one of the other things that's going to get just put on the table the idea of more than four making it from each side. Obviously TV partners have to be a part of the discussion as well, because in American college football there is the discussion with the college Football Playoff where they go from four to eight to twelve and it's like Team thirteen.
Is going to sit there and go, well what about us?
Obviously, the idea possibly expanding after phase one into a phase two on the table two.
Yeah, I think, well that happened in some respects last years we went into that other round and we had seventy seven and this year we you know, we've gone down to sixty two. So it is a very it's a very you know, tight pyramid in that regard, whereas
last year there was that that that room. So yeah, I think once again, we'll just get the end this season, say right, what can we do to take that feedback from those clubs that you know may want to you know, have a second chance or be you know, remain in the tournament for longer. But it is a it's ruthless. It's a tough competition. You've got to win everything and get out on top. Look at Seattle, yeah they they
and then look at Club America. You know, if you don't put away that first win, it's your strategy has to be as many goals as possible and as many wins thereafter.
Nothing like win and win big. You got to like win them all and you've got to win big from the absolute beginning.
Loaded with strikers, right, you're just going to put all your strikers on goal.
We're going to go nine to one one, and we're just going to go ahead and line everybody up and rock and roll. How many of the matches were you able to see in person to gauge atmospheres and things like that.
I saw two in person, and obviously we were running and that was great to see. I think we were down at Red Bulls there was the we were watching the weather down there, and that was great to see
the atmosphere. And I think from from our perspective obviously in the the O sort of the operations committee, so we're surrounded with you know, you know, I'm sure the listeners understand, but everything from medical to security to broadcast, and we're in there making live decisions whether the game needs to be bumped because of lightning, you know, as you find sort of you know in Orlando or Cincinnati.
We're watching those, and then you're looking at other aspects that on the field, quality of the field, how are the players, the referees, the var all of those aspects that's all coming into one room, and it's it's a very intense five six hours that we go from you know, I'll say it's longer at seven hours, from seven in the evening to last night with two am, and then we pick it.
Up again the next morning.
So yeah, it's I couldn't go to as men as I wanted because it's just the way the formats structured. Right, You've got East coast, West coast, five to six games a night and it's on and I'll spend all my time in an airplane, but I'll get to see more as quarters, semis and final go on.
So what cup of coffee are you on this morning?
But my second, my seconds ago.
But look, i'm I'm I benefit from an incredibly smart bunch of people that work in LEGA X and MLS, right there is some of the smartest brains in soccer, whether it's the scheduling, whether it's the fields, whether it's weather, and they really surround themselves with some very smart people to help us all make good decisions together and keep building this tournament. So yeah, I think everyone's on coffee,
and yeah, we're all in this together. And let's three weeks, two and a half weeks to go and we'll find the winner.
Yep. And there's some great matchups coming up in the quarters.
When it comes to officials and officiating, who is in charge?
Is that a conker CAFF decision crews and such?
Yeah, it's concer We work with CONCAF on it and it's a program we have in working with Concer CAF and it's a long time. We don't just turn up to them and say, hey, look can you provide some referees. We really you know, we've got a very close relationship and we work on every aspect. Obviously the tournament's new and educating the format and educating the new rules of the game that came in this year as well, and we do summits and workshops and we really are very.
Close in this process.
But ultimately it's Conka CAF that make those decisions nominate the referees.
But they're a great partner.
I was going to ask because does League's Cup as an entity have discussions about peer review, official review, those kinds of things where that specifically just left a conkor Calf and their own devices when it comes to cruise an individual, I think.
I think we have an open conversation about the games. You know, every day we're looking at every game, whether it's what were the the red cards, what were the yellow cards, what with the you know what the field conditions like, what with the picture everything. You can imagine that we're just going through for two hours every morning and just reviewing.
So if there's something with with referees or there's feedback, it's.
It's an open communication with conkor CAF on it and it's something we'll review as well at the end of the tournament and we put.
It all together.
We don't make decisions in the heat of the moment with this stuff. We we really try and take it away. If we can't sit down, then just have a you know, have a have a discussion around how it went, what we can do to improve, and we move.
On to next year.
Round of eight and there's one matchup that just jumps out at you. Messy and Friends and Tea and nothing like nothing like being the three team out of League Amechis and having to play Inner Miami in round two. It's Seattle Puebla, Messi and friends in Tigress lag who has had a rough season in Major League SciTS. We always talk about tournaments and what they can be. You get through the math in the West and you take on Pachuca and the Purple team, ticking on to Luca.
You look at those final eight, what do you see.
I think it's always a surprise, right, you know, as much as everyone in the office has got their own sort of different positions, I think we've got a very you know, we've got some very strong games and some
good narrative going in. I think our focus is just like we're just you know, working with all the stadiums of the venues and they're travel and making sure you know, all the places in place for the players for broadcast for TV, and yeah, that's going on all around us this morning before we announced the exact date and time for kickoff. So yeah, it's great matchups. It's the into Miami t gress. Well you've got those, you know, two
Argentinian strikers. Who would have thought that in Messi's hometown, right, And yeah, it's good, it's exciting to watch, but lots of work.
To do in the meantime.
Well, as always, you know that as long as the tournament exists, you've got a home. You know, if you want to come in and sit there and say, I got something to talk about, what we'd like to do if it's okay when League's Cup is over over, is have you back to kind of talk about the tournament on the whole and what everybody learned and now that you've got a champion with a trophy and all these kinds of things, and maybe you can bring the trophy on the show and sit there and just kind of
show it to everybody's kind of borrow it from the champions.
The team though, I've got to go in and get off the team. That might be quite difficult. We'll just sit there and.
Go tell you now, we got to get it shiny. We got to take the fingerprints off of it. You get your day with it. From there, I got to take it someplace, so I will roll out the red carpet when the tournament is over, over for you to come back and we can talk about things. Thank you for doing this. Unlimited sleep and your second cup of coffee. I know we've been trying to track you down for a while, but I'm glad we did. When's your first meeting today?
It's in. We've already hit We started at two o'clock this morning.
Whoa.
Then we all got some sleep and then we're going again in twenty minutes. Okay, look, just once again, thank you so much. Thanks for havings on. I appreciate all the listeners here. We'll come down, we'll try and bring the trophy. Let's see if we can get some players as well, maybe to talk too. But thanks again for the support.