The Desert Showcase (formerly the Desert Cup, the Desert Diamond Cup, the Mobile Mini Sun Cup, and the Visit Tucson Sun Cup), is a preseason soccer tournament hosted by Phoenix Rising FC of the USL Championship and

FC Tucson FC Tucson is an American soccer club based in Tucson, Arizona that plays in USL League Two. The club has an amateur women’s team, FC Tucson Women, that play in the WPSL. Organized in 2010, the club first fielded a team in March 2011, then joine ...

of USL League One. The tournament is sponsored by the Tucson Convention and Visitors Bureau, known as Visit Tucson. Beginning in 2011, the inaugural Desert Cup featured two

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

(MLS) clubs,

Sporting Kansas City Sporting Kansas City, often shortened to Sporting KC, is an American men's professional Association football, soccer club based in the Kansas City metropolitan area. The administrative offices are located in Downtown Kansas City, Missouri, and t ...

and

New York Red Bulls The New York Red Bulls are an American professional soccer club based in the New York metropolitan area. The Red Bulls compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The club was established in October 1994 and be ...

. In the years since, the number of participating MLS clubs has continued to grow, with the 2018 Mobile Mini Sun Cup featuring eleven MLS clubs ‒ nearly half of the league's total membership.

History

The

first edition The bibliographical definition of an edition includes all copies of a book printed from substantially the same setting of type, including all minor typographical variants. First edition According to the definition of ''edition'' above, a b ...

of the tournament, held at Hi Corbett Field, a former

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

spring training stadium saw sellout crowds with international stars such as

Thierry Henry Thierry Daniel Henry (born 17 August 1977) is a French professional football coach, pundit, and former player who is an assistant coach for the Belgium national team. Considered one of the best strikers of all time and one of the best players ...

, Rafael Márquez, and

Omar Bravo Omar Bravo Tordecillas (born 4 March 1980) is a Mexican former professional footballer who played as a striker. He is Guadalajara's all-time leading scorer in all matches. Club career Club Deportivo Guadalajara Omar Bravo has scored 132 goals ...

playing. The second edition was held from February 22 through March 3, paralleling several other preseason tournaments ahead of the 2012 American outdoor domestic league seasons. Three new clubs competed in the

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

edition of the tournament: defending MLS Cup champions

LA Galaxy LA Galaxy, also known as the Los Angeles Galaxy, are an American professional soccer club based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Galaxy competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), as a member of the Western Conference. The club began pl ...

Real Salt Lake Real Salt Lake, often shortened to RSL, is an American professional soccer franchise based in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area. The club competes as a member club of Major League Soccer (MLS) in the Western Conference. RSL began play in 20 ...

, and the

New England Revolution The New England Revolution is an American professional soccer club based in the Greater Boston area that competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), in the Eastern Conference of the league. It is one of the ten charter clubs of MLS, having compet ...

joined the

, who returned for their second Desert Cup appearance. The 2012 Desert Diamond Cup moved to

Kino Veterans Memorial Stadium Kino Sports Complex is a multiple-use sports complex in Tucson, Arizona. The Arizona Diamondbacks and Chicago White Sox formerly utilized the complex's main ballpark, Kino Veterans Memorial Stadium, for Cactus League games each March and had their ...

and saw clubs play a total of four matches each. Phoenix Rising FC purchased

on October 11, 2017. On December 5, Phoenix Rising FC and FC Tucson announced that they would co-host the tournament and that it would be renamed the Mobile Mini Sun Cup, with

Mobile Mini Mobile Mini, Inc. is an American portable storage company founded in 1983 and based in Phoenix, Arizona. The company manufactures, leases, sells, and transports welded steel mobile storage containers, converted into storage units, guard sha ...

as sponsor. Games will be played at North Stadium at the

Kino Sports Complex Kino Sports Complex is a multiple-use sports complex in Tucson, Arizona. The Arizona Diamondbacks and Chicago White Sox formerly utilized the complex's main ballpark, Kino Veterans Memorial Stadium, for Cactus League games each March and had their ...

as well as Phoenix Rising Soccer Complex. A record 11 teams will participate in the 2018 tournament. In 2020, the tournament will be renamed the Visit Tucson Sun Cup and will host Sporting Kansas City, Real Salt Lake, New York Red Bulls, Houston Dynamo and Columbus Crew SC along with Phoenix Rising FC.

Results

References

External links

* Phoenix Rising FC &

- Tournament Hosts
Facebook Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Visit Tucson Sun Cup Soccer cup competitions in the United States American soccer friendly trophies Phoenix Rising FC FC Tucson

History

Sponsors

Results

See also

References

External links