The supporters groups from the three Cascadia MLS clubs have agreed on new rules for the Cascadia Cup after MLS moved to an unbalanced schedule in 2012.

The Emerald City Supporters, Southsiders and Timbers Army agreed that all matches will count towards the Cascadia Cup, even though the new unbalanced MLS schedule means each team will play a different number of home games against their Cascadia rivals this season.

“We all agreed that this was the simplest format, one that all fans will find easiest to follow,” says Brenton Walters, Southsiders spokesperson.

Portland Timbers will host both Seattle Sounders and Vancouver Whitecaps twice, Vancouver will see Portland once and Seattle twice at home, and Seattle will only host each team once.

Despite this imbalance, the three supporters groups agreed to count all matches equally in order to keep the 2012 Cascadia Cup format simple.

“It’s unfortunate that the league didn’t work out a balanced schedule for the Cascadia teams,” says Garrett Dittfurth of the Timbers Army. “We think the league should fix this for next season so that no team has an unfair advantage in Cup matches.”

The Cascadia Cup will be awarded to the team with the most points after all matches have been played or when there is a clear winner. In the event of a tie, the Cup will be awarded to the team with the best goal differential.

Should the MLS schedule remain unbalanced in 2013, the Emerald City Supporters, Southsiders and Timbers Army insist that it should allow for a fair distribution of the home and away matches amongst the Cascadia clubs.

“Cascadia is home to the oldest and strongest rivalry in North American soccer, and the value that the supporters put on the Cascadia Cup reflects that,” says Greg Mockos of the Emerald City Supporters. “The league should pay attention.”