Icarus Cup 2023 was a year of milestones. Not only was it our first 80 team tournament (applause for CASA for negotiating that step up!), but it was the first time the two Icarus offices - Philadelphia and the newly-formed London office - all met in person for the first time.
Because the Icarus Cup is all about celebrating the things we love about soccer, we got the help of some of our favorite designers to craft the mammoth 86 jerseys for the event, including Matt Wolff (Nigeria 2018 World Cup, PSG x Jordan) and Floor Wesseling (Netherlands and Portugal 2014-16, USMNT).
The design process wasn’t the only gauntlet run at the Icarus Cup: a heatwave followed by a thunderstorm kept players on their toes, and shepherded some teams to the pub while we waited out the worst of it.
With the help of CASA’s quick thinking we persisted though, and managed to finish the tournament early on Sunday, fresh off our first Black Sheep party, complete with a DJ set in the basement and an impromptu appearance from Philly’s premier Ben Franklin impersonator.