While Major League Soccer continues to push the sport in the United States to new heights at club level, the league has also seemingly attempted to dismantle one of the sport's oldest hallmarks in the U.S.
The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup is the most prestigious soccer competition in the nation, established in 1913/14 and set to embark on its 109th edition in 2024.
However, the participation of MLS clubs for the coming edition of the competition was under real threat, before the league eventually came to a compromise with U.S. Soccer.
To the surprise of fans and media, the U.S. top flight attempted to withdraw its senior clubs from the US Open Cup, before being rebuffed by US Soccer and forced to walk back those plans. MLS hoped to have their MLS Next PRO clubs participate instead, but U.S. Soccer rejected that proposal outright, leading to a compromise being reached.
The Sporting News has all the latest on why this change is occurring and what could come next as U.S. Soccer hopes to keep the U.S. Open Cup alive regardless of the involvement of its most visible participants.
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U.S. Open Cup format for 2024
In 2024, only eight first-team clubs from Major League Soccer will participate in the tournament, while MLS Next PRO sides will represent nearly all of the rest.
2023 champions Houston Dynamo will attempt to defend their title, alongside Atlanta United, FC Dallas, LAFC, Real Salt Lake, San Jose Earthquakes, Seattle Sounders, and Sporting Kansas City. In addition, 11 MLS Next PRO clubs affiliated with MLS sides will participate, replacing their first-team affiliated clubs.
The only MLS side without any representation in the 2024 tournament by either first-team participation or MLS Next PRO affiliation will be D.C. United, who were not selected to participate and do not have an MLS Next PRO affiliation.
MLS decided the eight clubs to participate as the eight highest-performing clubs from the 2023 regular season who did not qualify for the CONCACAF Champions Cup. This was to give merit-based qualification, while also leaving out clubs who are involved in continental competition with an eye towards fixture congestion. The only exception to this rule is Houston Dynamo, who are participating in continental play thanks to their U.S. Open Cup title in 2023, but will be given a chance to defend their Cup title.
Additionally, there are some smaller competitive tweaks. In the first round of the tournament, every match will pit one amateur club against a professional club, while participating MLS clubs will face lower-level opposition at every single round until it cannot be avoided.
Why is MLS only sending eight clubs to U.S. Open Cup in 2024?
Nelson Rodriguez, EVP of sporting product and competition at Major League Soccer, pointed to economic and competitive factors in their decision to reduce participation of first-choice MLS clubs in the U.S. Open Cup.
Specifically, Rodriguez called out fixture congestion, player load, and "onerous hosting fees" as major contributors. The fixture congestion is why they decided to eliminate any clubs participating in CONCACAF Champions Cup (except defending champions Houston Dynamo) from also participating in the Open Cup.
Changes to the competition this year will see all participating clubs at all levels have either most or all of their travel costs covered, and many of those hosting matches will see an increased share of both matchday expenses covered and ticket revenue retained.
All those involved in this collaboration have either hinted or outright said this format is, for now, specific to just the 2024 competition and that future discussions will be had about how to approach the tournament in the coming years. On a call with media to announce the decision, Sporting KC head coach Peter Vermes was most vocal about his desire for more MLS clubs to participate in the future, but that they also had to be "realistic" about having limited resources regarding fixture schedules and player load.
Why did MLS attempt to withdraw from U.S. Open Cup?
In mid-December of 2023, Major League Soccer revealed that its clubs would not be participating in the U.S. Open Cup, a surprising development given the league's annual involvement in the oldest soccer competition in the country.
The move has been considered by many to be an affront to the greater good of the sport in the United States. While many nuances make comparisons difficult, on a surface level, this is similar to the Premier League withdrawing its clubs from the FA Cup, upsetting the accepted standard competitive practices in the country.
MLS chief communications officer Dan Courtemanche told The Athletic that MLS has been discussing its participation in the competition with U.S. Soccer "for several months, probably going back to August," but the news was a surprise to many others. The announcement "was a surprise to us and contrary to recent public statements" according to United Soccer League president Paul McDonough.
MLS commissioner Don Garber had previously criticized the competition as "a very poor reflection on what it is that we're trying to do with soccer at the highest level".
"I appreciate the enthusiasm about it [the U.S. Open Cup], but we need to get better with the U.S. Open Cup. It's just not the proper reflection of what soccer in America at the professional level needs to be."
When asked about his critical comments of the competition from back in May, Garber's response suggested there could be a pathway back to MLS participation in the future, but was vague about what kind of progress the league is hoping for in the meantime.
"I made those comments because I believe if we're going to have our professional teams competing in a tournament that is the oldest tournament of its type, we all need to embrace it — from our federation to our respective leagues — and give it the profile and give it the support that it needs," Garber said.
"If we can't do that, then we all should meet together and decide that there needs to be a new plan. I will say that I'm pleased that our competition group and U.S. Soccer have been working together since that last U.S. Soccer board meeting and have been working on ways to evolve the U.S. Open Cup so that it can be more valuable to everybody. That process is ongoing."
US Soccer federation rejects MLS Next PRO representation
In the aftermath of the initial MLS announcement in December, USL president Paul McDonough said that it was "a surprise to us and contrary to recent public statements."
On December 20, 2023, U.S. Soccer released a statement saying that it would not allow MLS Next PRO teams to participate in the competition in lieu of their parent clubs.
"Major League Soccer has requested to allow MLS Next PRO teams to represent MLS in the 2024 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. After thoughtful consideration, we have informed MLS that the U.S. Soccer staff recommendation, which was adopted by the Pro League Taskforce, is that the request be denied. As we move forward, we will continue our review of the Open Cup to ensure it aligns with the U.S. Soccer strategic pillars. We remain committed to addressing the needs and concerns of all of our members, including MLS, and other stakeholders to enhance and improve the U.S. Open Cup."
In the recent past, U.S. Soccer chief commercial officer David Wright has boasted about the competition's current standing in the U.S. soccer landscape, calling the federation's outlook of the competition "really bullish" before admitting there are some limitations to its viability.
"We understand that the Open Cup is not where we all want it to be, and we're committed to getting there," Wright said during a presentation at a U.S. Soccer board of governors meeting back in May of 2023. "It also takes resources and something that we're spending a lot of time thinking about."
MLS clubs may participate in 2024 US Open Cup after all
Following backlash from the initial decision, Major League Soccer may actually end up participating in the upcoming US Open Cup in the end. In a statement provided to the Sporting News in January 2024, MLS said that discussions were ongoing between the league and US Soccer, but denied that the league had withdrawn its first-team clubs from the competition.
"Major League Soccer remains in active discussions with U.S. Soccer regarding the League’s participation in the 2024 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open tournament. We continue to discuss how the tournament can address several objectives that are priorities for Major League Soccer, including providing young players with more opportunities to compete in meaningful matches in a tournament environment, ensuring player health and safety, reducing fixture congestion for MLS clubs, and increased investment from U.S. Soccer in the Open Cup.
"MLS is committed to working with U.S. Soccer to establish a plan for the League’s participation in the 2024 tournament that addresses our goals and concerns."
Prior to that statement,
The problem is that in withdrawing from the competition, MLS may have sealed the fate of the U.S. Open Cup and rendered commercial progress of the U.S. Open Cup impossible. MLS clubs are the most visible participants in the competition by a gargantuan distance, and their withdrawal may harm the tournament irreparably and leave the U.S. Open Cup without the eyeballs to make whatever kind of innovation MLS wants unachievable.
Yet the possibility that MLS clubs return their first-team clubs to the 2024 tournament remains. In a statement to Sporting News,
