Loor opens the door to a mid-season cup in Ecuadorian soccer

The calendar of Ecuadorian soccer could look very different soon. Amid rumors of a possible reform to the format of the Liga Ecuabet, the league's president, Miguel Ángel Loor, decided to address the matter directly on his X account, hinting that something is indeed in the works for next season.

The idea generating the most buzz is the creation of a new mid-season tournament, an additional competition that would join LigaPro and the Copa Ecuador. Loor put it this way: "Practically all of those markets also have additional competitions during the year. Here we'd be talking about three: LigaPro, Copa Ecuador and a mid-season cup. And yes, a mid-season cup with guaranteed 'premium' matches at midyear makes a whole lot of sense," the official explained, pointing to what already happens in other South American countries.

Where does all this come from? According to the president himself, it isn't something dreamed up at a desk. There are studies behind it, firms that specialize in analyzing the soccer industry and that handed Liga Ecuabet a complete breakdown covering stadiums, audiences, marketing and sponsors.

In Ecuador we've done great work growing broadcast and commercial revenue. But we can't stop there. We have to look at the rest of the industry: stadiums, audiences, excitement, product, marketing, sponsors and the ability to keep fans engaged all year long. When companies that professionally study these things, after analyzing all our data, tell us where we can improve, we also have to be humble enough to listen to themMiguel Ángel Loor

Fewer friendlies, more official matches

Another argument he put on the table has to do with a trend already visible on the rosters: teams are playing fewer and fewer friendlies. "Modern soccer wants official matches, competitions that generate interest, audience, content and commercial value. That also came out of the studies," Loor added, making clear that the mid-season cup wouldn't be a whim but a response to that shift in habits.

That said, not everything points to adding tournaments just for the sake of it. The president was insistent on one point that, in his view, is non-negotiable: consistency across the full season still has to carry a big reward. "Everything has to be done while strongly rewarding consistency. The team that puts together a great campaign all year long has to get a huge reward. The idea is to have the best of both worlds: properly reward whoever was best over the whole season, but also make sure the championship has excitement, interest and heat right down to the end," he stressed.

Loor returned to that idea several times, almost as if he wanted it to stick: "I'll say it again, I'll clarify it and I'll say it again: consistency has to be rewarded in absolutely everything." A message aimed squarely at the teams that have historically fought for the title from start to finish and that might worry a new format would water down the points piled up over the course of the year.

What's certain is that nothing has been decided yet. The Liga Ecuabet Council of Presidents meets next Tuesday, the body that will debate whether the championship format finally changes and whether the mid-season cup stops being a rumor and becomes reality. That's when we'll find out if Ecuadorian soccer adds a third official competition to its calendar.