The ongoing feud between Major League Soccer and tournament organizers. Lamar Hunt US Open Cup The gradual move by MLS teams to send their first teams to America’s oldest pro-am soccer tournament is well underway.
On Wednesday, ESPN soccer correspondent Jeff Carlisle tweeted that only eight MLS clubs will be among the first teams in the MLS portion of the tournament. There had previously been talk of each club sending an MLS Next Pro team to compete for trophies, but since it would essentially be amateur and semi-professional clubs playing against second-division teams, ultimately Many people feel that there will be no interest in it, and there are strong arguments against it. MLS Roster.
I’ve heard that the US Open Cup format could be released as early as today, but it will probably be the next day or two. Currently, the top seven teams in the Supporters’ Shield that are not participating in the CCC will be included in the 1st Team, with Houston also joining the defending champions in a total of 8 MLS 1st Teams. It’s not “done” yet, but it’s close.
— Jeff Carlisle (@JeffreyCarlisle) February 28, 2024
All of this is primarily due to the league looking to turn its attention to the League’s Cup, an upstart tournament that pits MLS clubs against Liga MX competition. The League’s Cup has attracted intense interest since it was first held last July, with excitement rising after Inter Miami and first-year Lionel Messi ran through each team en route to winning the inaugural trophy. It increased rapidly.
Lamar Hunt MLS’ history with the U.S. Open Cup is well documented. An MLS club has won this tournament every year since 2000, with Seattle and Kansas City boasting the most Open Cup wins (four) in his MLS era.
Will MLS deliberately lengthen and disrupt the planning process for the U.S. Open Cup in order to shorten the promotional period because it wants to minimize the legitimacy and value of the Cup and the participating non-MLS clubs? probably! pic.twitter.com/RrcmYTU5YF
— Green Mountain Boys (@GreenMtBhoys) March 1, 2024
Additionally, teams like New York City FC and Hudson River’s rival New York Red Bulls are said not to be participating in this year’s U.S. Open Cup. These types of omissions don’t help if a team sees value in playing in the Open Cup. Or maybe it’s essentially solidarity in not allowing the ‘B’ team to play against other clubs.
MLS may want to pull out of the U.S. Open Cup, but many MLS players think it’s a terrible idea.
“If you want to make the game in this country, how are you going to eliminate the national tournament? That’s like eliminating the FA Cup in England.” – @johntolken #vamospod pic.twitter.com/k83khI5LwR
— Hercules Gomez (@herculezg) February 23, 2024
We’re guessing the former and hoping for the latter. Non-MLS clubs and their fans vying for a spot in the tournament will all be watching to see which MLS teams withdraw and which teams field the number two team.
Either way, the drama isn’t over yet, and by the looks of it, it could become even more harmful.
