Carolina Challenge Cup
| Founded | 2004 |
|---|---|
| Region |
United States South Carolina (host) |
| Number of teams | 4 |
| Current champions |
Columbus Crew SC (2nd title) |
| Most successful club(s) | D.C. United (4 titles) |
| Website | Official website |
 2017 Carolina Challenge Cup
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The Carolina Challenge Cup 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. 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. 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.
The tournament has always featured four clubs in a round-robin format, with each club playing three games over the span of a week.
The cup competition was established in 2004 by the Charleston Battery, who invited teams from Major League Soccer to participate. It was the first competition hosted by a lower-league team to feature MLS teams during their preseason.
The cup was not held in 2016, instead opting to hold individual friendly matches with Saint Louis FC, Wilmington Hammerheads and the New York Cosmos. The Carolina Challenge Cup resumed in 2017.
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