July 9th was supposed to bring the UWS to the forefront of the grassroots soccer landscape, but the pandemic decided otherwise. With cases spiking in Texas (and many other parts of the country), the league has decided to cancel the UWS National Cup.

The Medical Director for the UWS, Dr. Martha Pyron, expressed the league’s concerns in a press release. “Due to the increase in cases in our area and the fact that teams would be flying in, I felt that the risk had increased to a point where we could not ensure the safety of all participants.” Danny Woodfill, owner and GM of FC Austin Elite, offered his own thoughts. “When we first started planning, things looked very promising, but since announcing the cup things haven’t been as rosy. Taking into account Gov. Abbott’s recent announcement and our medical advice from Dr. Martha Pyron, now is not the time to have teams flying in from around the country to Austin. We’ll look at what we can do within our local area and what competition would be appropriate, but this national tournament doesn’t make sense at this time.”

With the Challenge Cup cancelled, there are some friendlies still scheduled in the month of July. If things continue to spiral, those may be in jeopardy as well.

- Dan Vaughn