Major League Soccer teams will not compete in the 2024 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, the league announced Friday. Instead, MLS will have its development teams, which play in the third-tier MLS Next Pro, participate in the country’s oldest ongoing tournament, which was first held in 1914.
The league will re-evaluate the inclusion of its first teams after the 2024 season to determine if this change will become the new standard for participation.
According to MLS chief communications officer Dan Courtemanche, MLS has been in discussions with US Soccer about this potential change “for several months, possibly going back to August.” EVP of sports product and competition Nelson Rodríguez has led those talks on the MLS side. Among the main drivers of this decision was a goal to reduce after-hours congestion Los Angeles FC played a record 53 competitive games in 2023.
For US-based MLS teams, there will be anywhere from one to six fewer games on the schedule for their first teams after this swap. The league began a new League Cup leg in 2023, with each MLS team playing at least two games and up to seven in the month-long tournament with Liga MX. However, there are no plans to withdraw Montreal, Toronto or Vancouver’s first teams from the Canadian championship.
“MLS’s announcement today of the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup was a surprise to us and contrary to recent public statements,” USL president Paul McDonough said in a statement Friday. “We will speak with US Soccer and our owners before making any further public comments regarding MLS’s position.”
At a meeting of the U.S. Soccer board of governors in May, MLS commissioner Don Garber stated that the U.S. Open Cup was “a very poor reflection of what we’re trying to do with soccer at the level higher”. Speaking from his podium during the state of the league press conference in Columbus, Ohio, last week, however, his tone was one of unity across the domestic soccer landscape.
“I made those comments because I believe that if we are going to have our professional teams competing in a tournament that is the oldest tournament of its kind, we should all embrace it – from our federation to our respective leagues – and profile him and give him the support he needs,” Garber said of his comments in May. “If we can’t do that, then we all need to come together and decide there needs to be a new plan. I will say that I am pleased that our competition group and US Soccer have been working together since the last US Soccer board meeting and working on ways to evolve the US Open Cup so that more valuable life for everyone. This process is ongoing.”
This year marked the first of a new broadcast deal for the US Open, with some games featured on B/R Live as well as their YouTube channel. As the tournament reached its final stage, cup matches were also shown on Paramount+ via the CBS Golazo network, including a “Star cam” fixed only on Lionel Messi tall Inter MiamiThe semi-final victory over FC Cincinnati. As is often the case in the modern broadcast landscape, viewing figures for US Open Cup matches were not shared by Turner/HBO or CBS.
Currently, DC United is the only team without a development team in MLS Next Pro. The team’s former USL affiliate, Loudoun United, was sold to independent owners and still competes in the second division USL Championship. As a result, DC United will not have any participation in the 2024 US Open Cup, Courtemanche confirmed.
A source briefed on previous discussions with US Soccer said the league explored expanding MLS rosters significantly for the Open Cup to allow teams to choose when to rotate in Next Pro players. However, this was rejected as an alternative. The decision to replace first teams with development teams was discussed at Wednesday’s MLS board of governors meeting in New York.
It’s unclear how the move will fare against the Professional League Standards, a USSF document that guides the sanctioning and structure of leagues within the American soccer pyramid. According to the guidelines for an outdoor men’s soccer league, one of the first points for sanctioning is that all “US-based teams must participate in all US Soccer and CONCACAF representative competitions for which they they are right”.
The Independent Supporters Council, the central body for US soccer supporters, shared its “deep concern” about MLS’ decision in a statement Saturday, calling it “not only a disservice to the fans, but also to the sport itself.”
“It undermines the inclusive nature of American football, where dreams and ambitions are nurtured on the principle of open competition,” the group said, urging the league to reconsider. “The decision threatens to erode the very foundations of the sport’s legacy and its connection to communities.”
In June, executive director of the MLS Players Association Bob Foose said Athletics that “The US Open is certainly not something our players look forward to.”
“We have not taken an official MLSPA position on the US Open Cup,” Foose said. “I will say that my personal opinion is that it is not at the level that our players should be playing. At this point, the seats are not there; objects are not there. The tournament structure is not contributing to making MLS a better league, and I think that’s something that needs to be thought about.”
With these scheduling talks taking place between MLS and US Soccer, Courtemanche added that “key partners” were informed of the news in the last hour before Friday’s announcement. The USL Championship will now be the highest ranking league in the pyramid to participate in the US Open Cup, with the last non-MLS champion being the 1999 Rochester Ragin’ Rhinos.
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(Photo: Nathan Ray Seebeck / USA Today)
