Major League Soccer has doubled the amount of teams who will be participating in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup this season, it announced on Tuesday. Though the current Open Cup holders Los Angeles FC won’t be able to defend their title, as the MLS club will be represented by their MLS Next Pro team, LAFC2.
There are also significant changes coming to the Leagues Cup with only 18 teams competing to match the number of Liga MX sides in the competition, with more changes coming, but those oveses won’t be announced until a later date due to it being managed separately than the U.S. Open Cup, which is overseen by U.S. Soccer.
Each team will only compete in a maximum of two Concacaf competitions between the U.S. Open Cup, Leagues Cup, Canadian Championship, and Concacaf Champions Cup with the exception of Inter Miami and the Seattle Sounders who will also be in the Club World Cup. During that competition, as well as the Concacaf Gold Cup, MLS will take a summer break easing the number of games that these teams will play during that time.
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The decision to cap competitions at two for each team was made to address scheduling concerns, the league said, as games were piling up left and right. However, this is also a time when MLS looks to put its best foot forward in international competitions to continue growing as the league enters its 30th year.
“What brought us to this is experience. Competing in international tournaments is very important to us and it’s important to our fans and they’ve told us that,” MLS executive vice president of sporting product and competition Nelson Rodriguez told CBS Sports. “Our research has also shown that our performance in the international competitions directly impacts the quality of how our league is seen and why it continues to grow.
“History has shown us that our teams left to their own competitive desires would enter every tournament and compete to win every trophy that they could but there are practical realities that are being experienced around the world. So, as we look at workload and schedule management, we feel it’s important that two cup competitions be the limit.”
Changes that the league has made to roster rules such as the off-roster homegrown changes will help teams go deeper down their rosters for these competitions as well. An off-roster homegrown who is 21 or younger may now appear in up to six MLS league matches and make unlimited first team appearances in cup competitions, an increase from four short-term agreements previously. This can only be done prior to a player being moved to a club’s senior roster but it will provide more flexibility while also operating under the salary cap while also giving those younger players critical playing time.
What teams will feature in each competition?
*Denotes MLS Next Pro teams
- Club World Cup: Inter Miami, Seattle Sounders
- Concacaf Champions Cup: FC Cincinnati, Columbus Crew, Inter Miami, Colorado Rapids, LA Galaxy, LAFC, Seattle Sounders, Sporting Kansas City, Vancouver Whitecaps
- Leagues Cup: Atlanta United, Charlotte FC, FC Cincinnati, Columbus Crew, NYCFC, New York Red Bulls, Orlando City SC, Colorado Rapids, LA Galaxy, LAFC, Minnesota United, Portland Timbers, Real Salt Lake, Seattle Sounders, San Diego FC
- Canadian Championship: Vancouver Whitecaps, Toronto FC, CF Montreal
- U.S. Open Cup: Charlotte FC, Chicago Fire, D.C. United, NYCFC, New York Red Bulls, Nashville SC, New England Revolution, Orlando City SC, Philadelphia Union, Austin FC, FC Dallas, Houston Dynamo, Minnesota United, Portland Timbers, St. Louis City SC, LAFC2*, FC Cincinnati 2*, Columbus Crew 2*, Inter Miami CF II*, Sporting KC II*, Tacoma Defiance (Seattle Sounders)*, Ventura County FC (LA Galaxy)*, Carolina Core FC (Independent)*, Chattanooga FC (Independent)*
Including MLS Next Pro teams, 24 of the 27 eligible MLS clubs will be represented which is an increase from only 17 who took part in the 2024 edition. While that’s still a drop from every team competing, it is closer to what the cup was. Rodriguez also didn’t rule out all 27 eligible teams being represented in the future in some way.
“It’s certainly possible. Some of that will be dictated by the federation and the nature of the tournament, the size of the tournament,” Rodriguez said. “There’s been a proliferation of pro soccer teams in the United States and at some point, I wouldn’t blame the federation if it had to limit the number of entries into the tournament because it’s all got to fit into a calendar and a schedule. But again, if we could have all 27 of our clubs in the tournament, either through Next Pro or an MLS first team, that would be terrific.
“I want to give credit to U.S. Soccer. They know that we have wanted to enter Next Pro sides. They currently have a one team per club rule but being able to have 24 of our eligible 27 U.S.-based teams in the tournament, we think is a positive and we’re excited by it.”
The inclusion of Next Pro sides has been able to provide those players with real match experience that they wouldn’t be able to get while playing Next Pro matches, going up against more experienced and talented players who have played at a higher level. With teams already having been pulled from the competition, being able to find a balance is what’s critical now, and having more clubs represented is a step in the right direction.
Competition qualification for the 2025 and 2026 seasons
These will be evaluated for the 2027 season
- Concacaf Champions Cup: Qualification set by Concacaf.
- Leagues Cup: Eighteen MLS clubs qualify to match the 18 Liga MX Clubs with the top nine teams in each conference qualifying. In 2025, San Diego FC will join the Leagues Cup due to the Vancouver Whitecaps taking part in the Concacaf Champions Cup and the Canadian Championship.
- Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup: MLS teams not competing in the Leagues Cup or Concacaf Champions Cup will automatically qualify for the tournament. The remaining teams are added based on the Supporters’ Shield standings while excluding those competing in the Concacaf Champions Cup. Ten MLS Next Pro teams will also compete in the tournament.
- Canadian Championship: All three Canadian teams will compete.
With these guidelines only being for the next two seasons, there will be more evaluation to come but ahead of year 30, a lot is changing around Major League Soccer. From roster rules to competitions, even the stature of players that the league is able to attract is increasing. There’s much more to come but it will be quite a time when the season officially kicks off as expectations rise with each year.
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